The 13th Plenary Meeting of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21) will be held in 2014 in Tomsk in Russia. To prepare for the Plenary Meeting, the Secretariat visited the Tomsk Oblast for the first time in January. Furthermore, for those among our readership who have never visited the city, this article will introduce some of Tomsk's attractions.

Being the Siberian city with the longest history, this year Tomsk will celebrate its 410th anniversary as a seat of municipal government. Of the modern city's population of approximately 1.05 million, roughly 30% are young people aged 24 years old or younger. With approximately one in every four city residents being a student, Tomsk is a city buzzing with youthful vitality. There are a total of seven universities within the Tomsk, the region having been developed as the center of education and science.
With its advantage of location that is halfway between Asia and Europe, gifted young human resources produced by concentrated universities and research institutions, and both a wealth of natural resources and a rich natural environment around the region, Tomsk was designated as a special economic zone for technological innovation in 2005. Compared to other regions of Russia, within this special zone, a business friendly environment is offered such as the provision of preferential tax treatments mainly in the area of information technology and nanotechnology industries.
Furthermore, within the region of the Tomsk, there are a number of projects in progress such as the new industrial park which is planned for completion in 2015 and redevelopment of urban centers, etc.
These measures to invigorate the city via the leveraging of regional resources are one aspect of Tomsk's attraction. Hopefully, we can share such measures among ANMC21 member cities in the future.

On this occasion, we, the Secretariat members, had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Sergey Zhvachkin, the Governor of Tomsk Oblast. In addition to the governor saying, "I would definitely like to tell ANMC21 members about the contribution Tomsk has made to the development of the Siberian region," concerning the Plenary Meeting, he strongly stated, "I am very happy to be able to welcome representatives from leading Asian cities to the city of Tomsk, and I would like to make the Plenary Meeting very fruitful." Furthermore, the city's citizens seemed to be strongly interested in the ANMC21 Plenary Meeting being held in Tomsk, insomuch as the local media crews accompanied us to cover the visit.

If another Tomsk attraction is to be mentioned, it is the richness of nature and the warmth of the people.
When arriving in Tomsk from Tokyo via Moscow after a flight of approximately 20 hours, what confronted us was a beautiful snowy world. January is the coldest time of the year, and the temperature at that time was -20℃. Because we had never experienced such a cold temperature before, our bodies were initially surprised and needed some time to adapt the environment. However, the beauty of the Siberian winter was stunning. Moreover, at the time of year when the Working Level Meeting and the Plenary Meeting are to be held, participants shall enjoy other faces of Tomsk with beautiful green trees and autumn leaves.

Furthermore, due to the warm, unreserved kindness and smiles of people in Tomsk, it was possible to enjoy an ongoing heartwarming experience despite the cold. We feel that participants at the Tomsk Plenary Meeting will enjoy an even more wonderful experience. We look forward to meeting everyone from AMNC21 member cities at the Tomsk Plenary Meeting this year.