IUPS2002, which was perfectly organized by our colleagues from CAPS offered five days of exciting science presented by speakers in 7 plenary lectures, 21 keynote lectures and 48 symposia. The program was completed by 4 Young Physiologist Symposia and more than 800 poster presenters on 12 major topics of physiology. Overall, 4219 physiologists from 71 countries and regions registered for the congress reflecting the global importance of our discipline. Nearly 800,000 minutes of viewing on PC and smartphones were registered. It was indeed an excellent showcase for global physiology!

Many thanks to the local organising committee under the guidance of Prof. Yun Wang, the President of CAPS, the  international program committee, and the many excellent speakers who shared exciting science with us and, of course, all attendees.

The only thing that we missed were personal meetings and the atmosphere of a big vibrant city but Covid could not be ignored.  However, we look already forward to IUPS2025 where we all hope to meet in person again!  Or as Professor Wang stated, referring to an old Chinese saying “We are destined to meet thousands of miles away”!