As the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) celebrated its 40th anniversary, Dr. Huabei Liu presented ‘Geosynthetics in China: history, manufacturing, and applications’ which offered a brief history of geosynthetic application and manufacturing in mainland China, followed by the applications of various types of geosynthetics in the sectors of water conservancy and water resources engineering, transportation, and environmental protection. (6-10 November 2023)