HANOI, Vietnam, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 22, the Weichai Group 2026 Global Partners Conference was held in Hanoi, Vietnam. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Weichai and the 40th anniversary of its presence in the Vietnam market. Over 40 years in Southeast Asia, Weichai has deeply integrated into the local industry, supporting Vietnamese customers throughout their growth journey. At this new starting point, Weichai will work with partners to advance comprehensively toward green and intelligent transformation and embark on a new journey of high-quality development.
For 40 years, Weichai has localized and adapted products to Vietnam's hot, humid, and complex operating conditions, earning market trust through quality. It has also expanded its local ecosystem: Baudouin high-end power entered marine and generation markets; it secured Vietnam Register certification as the first overseas power firm; and its products comply with Euro II to V emissions standards. Weichai has thus evolved from product exports to integrated offerings of products, service, technology, and brands, becoming a reliable long-term partner for Vietnamese customers.
With reliable quality and attentive service, Weichai has established a full-category, full-scenario presence in Vietnam across buses, truck, marine, Construction Machinery, and power and energy, while steadily building its brand leadership and maintaining market performance among the industry's best. To date, the cumulative sales of Weichai's full range of power products in Vietnam have exceeded 160,000 units, with market share in the buses and marine engines segments remaining firmly in first place. In the first half of 2026, engine sales rose 19% year on year, continuing to lead the Vietnam power market.
These results are built on stable local partnerships. Weichai has long cooperated with THACO, a leading Vietnamese firm, as the core powertrain supplier for buses and light trucks. The partnership has expanded from engine supply to the full vehicle chain, shifting from trade to deeper localization, and building a solid bridge for China‑Vietnam economic cooperation through technology and strength.
At a new milestone after 40 years of partnership, Weichai will follow global new‑energy and smart trends, deepen Vietnam presence, focus on green and smart upgrades, upgrade tech, products, services, and explore green growth with partners and pursue high‑quality development.
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40 Years in Vietnam: Weichai and Partners Reap the Rewards, Ready for More
KATSUYAMA, Japan, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kanazawa Biyori, a regional media outlet rooted in the Hokuriku region of northwestern Japan — one that reports not only on famous landmarks but on the culture that still breathes through this region — turns its lens toward a gathering of prehistoric giants. The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum's special exhibition for 2026, titled in Japanese Ryūkyakurui: Daichi o Yurugashita Chijō Saidai no Ikimono and rendered in English by Kanazawa Biyori as "Sauropods: The Largest Creatures Ever to Walk the Earth," runs through November 3 and explores how these long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters grew to such extraordinary size.
A Skeleton Preserved as It Was Found
The centerpiece is Xinjiangtitan, a sauropod from China displayed in situ, preserving the arrangement in which its bones were excavated rather than reconstructing the skeleton from scattered remains. The cast measures approximately 19 meters in length. The specimens displayed alongside it, drawn from Japan, China and Spain, include fossils being shown in Japan for the first time and together explore a central question: how did any land animal grow this large?
A World First, and Fossils From Across Japan
Also on view is Iniestapodus, a footprint fossil exhibited as a cast and, according to the organizers, displayed publicly for the first time anywhere in the world. Alongside it are sauropod fossils — some of them actual specimens rather than casts — from every locality in Japan where such remains have been discovered, gathered together for the first time. Among them is Tambatitanis.
A Summer Project and a Lifelong Fascination
Throughout the exhibition, the museum offers guided tours led by its own researchers as well as lectures by visiting specialists. The exhibition also provides an ideal subject for the summer research projects commonly assigned to Japanese schoolchildren, making it a destination for families as much as for lifelong dinosaur enthusiasts. An exhibition of this scale and scope could be realized only at one of the world's leading dinosaur museums.
Standing Beneath Nineteen Meters of History
Kanazawa Biyori visited the exhibition. Until we entered the hall, "19 meters" was merely a number — these animals had existed for us only in books and illustrations. The museum bridges that gap with video installations, dioramas and skeletal models that allow even visitors with no background in paleontology to grasp the scale of what stands before them.
One display in particular remained with us: restored forelimbs presented side by side at full scale. Brachiosaurus, the largest, reaches 5.0 meters, while Fukuititan stands at 1.8 meters — a difference immediately apparent to the eye. Beyond that are world-premiere exhibits, fossils excavated from sites across Japan, and specimens brought from China and Spain. The exhibition traces the evolution of these animals, the excavation of their remains and the lives they once led, in a sequence so absorbing that we lost track of time.
Why Kanazawa Biyori Tells This Story
Hokuriku is often reduced to a handful of familiar images — gardens, hot springs and gold leaf. Yet this coast also preserves the ground from which Japan's dinosaurs emerge, and it is home to a museum regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the world.
We are reporting on this exhibition not simply as another destination to add to a travel itinerary, but because standing beneath a 19-meter skeleton fundamentally alters one's sense of scale in a way no photograph can capture. That experience, we believe, deserves to be shared with readers far beyond these shores.
Special Exhibition Ryūkyakurui: Daichi o Yurugashita Chijō Saidai no Ikimono (English rendering by Kanazawa Biyori: "Sauropods: The Largest Creatures Ever to Walk the Earth")
Dates: Friday, July 10 – Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (November 3 is a national holiday in Japan)
Hours: 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30. Extended summer hours apply from Saturday, July 18, to Sunday, August 16: 8:30–18:00, last entry 17:30.
Closed: Wednesday, September 9; Thursday, September 24; Wednesday, October 14; Wednesday, October 28
Admission:
Adults: ¥1,800 (¥1,600 for groups of 30 or more)
High school and college students: ¥1,600 (¥1,300)
Elementary and junior high school students: ¥1,000 (¥800)
Visitors aged 70 and over: ¥1,000 (¥800)
Preschool children: Free
Tickets: Timed-entry tickets are generally required and should be purchased in advance. Same-day tickets are available at the museum only while capacity remains, and telephone reservations are not accepted. Advance purchase is strongly recommended.
Venue: Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Special Exhibition Room, 51-11 Terao, Muroko-cho, Katsuyama-shi, Fukui 911-8601, Japan
Parking: Available
Official site: www.dinosaur.pref.fukui.jp/special/sauropod2026/
Media Contact
Kanazawa Biyori Co., Ltd.
Sunpia Izumigaoka 511, 255 Fushimishinmachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0964, Japan
Email: info@kanazawabiyori.com
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Sauropods in Katsuyama: Standing Beneath the Giants That Shook the Earth at Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
