On our Cultural Heritage page we feature all the posts that relate to the subject of Chinese cultural heritage and projects on cultural heritage preservation.

China, considered one of the worlds oldest continuous civilizations and comprising of 56 ethnic groups, has a lot of cultural heritage to preserve. From protecting uncovered (and covered) Terracotta Worriors to government subsidized rents for workshops and galleries to enable local artisans to continue creating and teaching their local trades and handicrafts, preserving cultural heritage is a multi-faceted task, and one that is not easy. After all, living in an original Qing dynasty courtyard house with no central heating or plumbing, trying to go about your daily life whilst surrounded by western bars and shops, is not a well balanced solution for preserving a particular area’s cultural heritage. Cultural heritage preservation often occurs in areas with larger or more diverse ethnic groups (i.e. areas where the majority people are of an ethnic group other than Han Chinese), for examples in the old town areas in Cities such as Dali or Lijiang in Yunnan, for the purposes of attracting tourists. Whilst in these examples the quality of living conditions for the local people have surely increased, it is still a rather superficial form of preservation, not a long term solution. Sometimes there is a form of second-hand cultural preservation that emerges from urban restoration projects, such as for example with the Nanluoguxiang area in Beijing. Whilst the street itself is very much commercialised for tourists, sprucing up an area in a local community can have a positive effect on that wider community, such as taking better care of properties, opening small businesses and so on.

If you’ve come across an article about, or a had a personal experience involving preservation of Chinese cultural heritage that you would like to share with us, feel free to contact us.