On the morning of May 19, 2024, the Membership Representative Assembly and Election Conference of the Gansu Geographical Society were held in the Student Activity Center Lecture Hall at the Chengguan Campus of Lanzhou University. This event was hosted by the Gansu Geographical Society and organized by the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University. Experts and scholars in the field of geography from the Northwest Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as universities and high schools within the province, participated in the conference. Vice Presidents of Lanzhou University, Pan Baotian and Gou Xiaohua, attended the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Professor Li Yu, Dean of the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University. At the beginning of the conference, Vice President of Lanzhou University and Chairman of the Science Education Professional Committee of the Chinese Higher Education Society, Professor Pan Baotian, and Vice President of Lanzhou University and Chairman of the Gansu Province Geography Education Steering Committee, Professor Gou Xiaohua, delivered speeches.

All attendees listened to the "Work Report of the Gansu Geographical Society" presented by the ninth president, Ding Yongjian, and the "Financial Work Report" presented by the ninth secretary-general, Han Tianding. The assembly reviewed and approved the "Constitution of the Gansu Geographical Society" and elected the tenth board of directors of the society.

In the second phase of the meeting, the first meeting of the tenth board of directors of the Gansu Geographical Society was chaired by Geng Haopeng, Deputy Dean of the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University. The entire board elected the executive directors, legal representative, president, vice presidents, secretary-general, and deputy secretary-generals of the tenth board through anonymous voting. Li Yu was elected as the president and legal representative of the tenth board, with Li Xinrong, Shangguan Donghui, Zhang Mingjun, Ma Libang, and Sun Wenhua elected as vice presidents. Geng Haopeng was elected as vice president and secretary-general, while He Xiaobo and Wang Xiang were elected as deputy secretary-generals.

In his concluding speech, Li Yu emphasized that the Gansu Geographical Society, with its unique perspective on Northwest China's geographical sciences, provides solutions and intellectual support for national strategies such as the "Belt and Road" initiative, ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, the large-scale development of the western region, and sustainable development. Together with the Gansu Province Geography Education Steering Committee, the Science Education Professional Committee of the Chinese Higher Education Society, and Lanzhou University, the society is committed to enhancing the level of geography discipline construction in Gansu's higher education institutions, advancing the construction of geography degree programs, and improving the influence of geography higher education in the province. The College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, actively supports the development of geography. The college aims to achieve world-class standards, following an intrinsic development path with quality improvement at its core, focusing on research in resources, environment, and ecological security in the western region. It is dedicated to building geography into a world-class discipline and enhancing the international influence of geography at Lanzhou University. Li Yu pledged to fulfill his duties as president and contribute to the development of the Gansu Geographical Society and the field of geography.