BEIJING: China should strengthen the protection of the Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and inherit the Great Wall cultural heritage in a more professional, collaborative and innovative way, according to a high-level forum held on Sept 23 in northwestern Beijing’s Yanqing district, where the most renowned Badaling Great Wall is located.
The Badaling Great Wall Summit Forum, part of this year’s Beijing Great Wall Cultural Festival, brought together experts, scholars of Great Wall, and officials and related stakeholders to discuss the protection and development of the Great Wall, its culture as well as the Great Wall National Cultural Park under the theme of “protection, inheritance, innovation, development”. “The Great Wall is a symbol of architectural miracle, which links the past and the future,” said Xia Zehan, director of the East Asia Regional Representative Office of the UNESCO, in the opening speech at the forum via video. “We should explore innovative solutions and sustainable ways to protect the Great Wall and inherit its rich cultural heritage,” Xia added.
He also encouraged open dialogue, idea exchanges and close partnership to enhance the protection. Yu Bo, governor of Yanqing district, Beijing, said the district released a three-year action plan in 2019 for the Great Wall protection, taking the lead nationwide in implementing a series of punishment measures, which has effectively restrained the behaviors of damaging cultural relics like graffiti. The district has set up digital archives for the Great Wall, initiated the Beijing Great Wall Cultural Research Association, held cultural festivals and academic seminars, and published literary works to inherit the Great Wall culture. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
