Sister Cities of Durham

View the Sister Cities of Durham statement on the events of January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol building

The City of Durham has nine sister cities around the globe:


  1. Arusha, Tanzania
  2. Durham, United Kingdom
  3. Kostroma, Russia
  4. Toyama, Japan
  5. Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, China
  6. Celaya, Mexico
  7. Kavala, Greece
  8. Sibiu, Romania
  9. Tilaran, Costa Rica

The city also has two friendship cities:


  1. Kunshan, China
  2. Xianning, China

Activities and Events


Activities and events for our sister cities are handled through the non-profit organization, Sister Cities of Durham, Inc.

  • Sister Cities of Durham promotes international friendship, intercultural understanding, and economic development with exchange programs in the areas of Education, the Arts, Medicine, Local Government, Business, and Environment.  
  • The major program is the Annual Festival of Nations, a virtual festival beginning on October 17 at 9 a.m., and continuing to November 30. The Festival features our 9 Sister Cities and 18 other countries connected to Durham. Learn more and participate on the event website.
Email Sister Cities of Durham for more information.