The 12th International Symposium on Calcium Signaling in China (SCSC), organized by the Biophysical Society of China and hosted by China Medical University, on July 18-22, 2018, in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.Previously known as Chinese Symposium on Calcium Signaling (CSCS), SCSC is an international conference series founded and organized by calcium signaling researchers, and held in China. Beginning with its first symposium in Xuzhou, 1987, the subsequent symposia were held every three years in different sites (Tianjin 1990, Shijiazhuang 1993, Nanjing 1996, Xuzhou 1999) until its 6th symposium in Qingdao when the scientific advisory committee decided to adopt the Gordon Research Conference style with the symposia held biennially and greater international participation. Since then, the 7th to 10th symposia were held in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 in Yichang, Beijing, Huangshan, and Yichun, respectively, and the conference series has gradually become internationally known as an excellent platform for calcium signaling researchers both in and outside of China to communicate research findings and ideas as well as networking and fostering collaborations. Particularly, the 8th symposium in Beijing was jointly sponsored by the Biophysical Society and the Biophysical Society of China, with the participation of dozens of world-renowned calcium signaling experts including Richard Tsien, Wolf Almers, John Lederer, David Clapham, and etc. To promote its international recognition, in the 2014 symposium in Yichun, the scientific advisory committee decided to use SCSC as the new acronym for this conference series to emphasize its geological location rather than language or ethnicity. The 2016 symposium in Zunyi had participants from abut ten different countries from Asia, North America and Europe. The official language of the symposium is English.We fully expect the SCSC 2018 to be an exciting congress that covers all fields and aspects of calcium signaling with the themes of “calcium signaling and cell function, calcium signaling in health and disease, calcium signaling in drug development”, and so on. A large number of well-known calcium signaling experts from many countries have confirmed to speak at the conference. This promises to be an excellent opportunity to bring together all of the latest outstanding research for the participants to network, share and foster collaborations in this rapidly developing research field.Besides science, SCSC 2018 will provide you a rare chance to experience Chinese culture. Shenyang, as the biggest city of northeast part of China, is a well-known Chinese city in history and culture, and has long been reputed as “the birthplace for one dynasty and the capital for two emperors ”. We sincerely look forward to seeing you at SCSC 2018 in Shenyang.