These mathematicians often chose a touristy attraction with pleasant scenery for their parties, some place that was fun. However, for large international academic conferences like this, a region's mathematics strength was also one of the factors that were taken into account.
After all, everyone wanted to host this party in their hometown since it was an honor and made attending the conference much more convenient.
However, it wasn't easy to sell your hometown to scholars around the world.
This required not only the academic influence of the region but also one's connections in the academic community.
Thanks to Mr. Shiing Shen Chern, the International Congress of Mathematicians was held in Beijing in 2002. That was the first time the International Congress of Mathematicians was held in a non-first-world country.
That opened a door for Chinese mathematicians to connect and network with the international academic community.
