From Southwest Associated University to the "Davos of Science and Technology," over a hundred academicians joined hands to continue the legend of Yunnan. On December 1st, 2023, coinciding with the 85th anniversary of the founding of Southwest Associated University and Yunnan Normal University, the 2023 Tengchong Scientists Forum was held as scheduled. Yang Zhenning, a distinguished alumnus of Southwest Associated University and a centenarian at the age of 101, delivered the opening speech at the forum. Former presidents Gu Binglin, Xu Zhihong, and Rao Zihe reunited in Tengchong, accompanied by over 100 academicians, more than 20 renowned university presidents from home and abroad, over 500 experts and scholars, and over 300 prominent entrepreneurs and financiers.

The inaugural Tengchong Science Award were presented. Pioneers in the field of non-invasive prenatal testing, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, foreign academician of the National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and President of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, Lu Yiming; and one of the pioneers of CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, foreign academician of the National Academy of Sciences, fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, molecular biologist Zhang Feng each received a prize of 10 million yuan provided by Yunnan Baiyao Group.