Preserving The Past

Xingjiao Temple in Xi’an， capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province， was built about 1，300 years ago. It houses the relics of Xuan Zang， a famous Buddhist monk and Chinese pilgrim to India during the seventh century. In April， the temple experienced an instant rise to media prominence because of a local government plan to remove large sections of the temple complex. According to the original plan， two thirds of the buildings in the temple， including around 80 rooms—some of which house the monks’ dormitories and a dining hall—would be pulled down to make room for foliage.

Although officials explained that the renovation would only affect the surrounding complex built in the 1980s and 90s， the project was met with public opposition and triggered outrage online. According to a government announcement， the renovation is part of the site’s preparation for an application for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. If successful， the obtainment of UNESCO’s recognition is ex- pected to facilitate the protection of the temple.

“Applying for UNESCO World Heritage status is good and can help protect cultural relics， but how can you protect something by demolishing parts of it？” said Zhang Junyu， a news commentator.“Are you really protecting the cultural relic， or just destroying it？”

The events ended in Xingjiao Temple withdrawing its application， but the debate on the protection of cultural heritage sites in China continues to grow： In what ways should China’s numerous cultural relics be protected in the context of rapid economic development？

On September 3， the State Administration of Cultural Heritage released a regulation on the application for UNESCO World Heritage status， stressing protection as the ultimate goal. It also says that application work should be conducted with the aim of revealing and promoting the universal values of cultural heritage sites.

The regulation stipulates that all protective， exhibitive and supervisory efforts for the application should not affect the original state of the said sites.

“Intervention should be kept to a minimum and sites submitting applications should be kept authentic， intact and sustainable for future exhibition and utilization，” it says.

Official efforts

According to the third national cultural heritage survey， China is home to around 770，000 sites of historical significance. The huge number of such sites makes relic protection a challenging task in the country.

On May 3， a total of 1，943 cultural properties were added to the national key heritage list. The national key heritage recognition system was launched by the State Council， China’s cabinet， in 1961 to allow the Central Government to directly manage and protect relics.

According to Li Xiaojie， head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage， publishing this list is one of the most effective ways to protect cultural heritage sites against illegal demolition and damage.

Until 2006， 2，352 cultural heritage sites had been added to the list in six batches. This year’s seventh update has the largest number of new additions since the start of the system， and brings the total number of entries to 4，295. In addition to the increase in the number of protected sites， the new list has also expanded its coverage from ancient buildings， grottoes and temples to include modern sites with social value， such as old bank buildings and hydropower stations.

Lu Zhou， a professor at Beijing-based Tsinghua University， said that this change reflects an advance in China’s understanding of cultural heritage.

After the updated list was released， celebratory coverage was prominently featured in local media outlets around the newly selected sites. To have local relics ranked on the list of national key cultural heritage sites is seen as a great honor in China. More importantly for the relics added to the list， it means more attention and financial support， as well as better legal protection.

“The total number （4，295） seems like a lot， but it’s actually very small， and it only accounts for 0.56 percent of the country’s total of 770，000 historical sites，” Li said. “This is particularly true in contrast to the situation in other countries. For instance， in Egypt， more than 20，000 cultural heritage sites are under the direct management of the central authorities.”

According to official statistics， the state spent 12.7 billion yuan （$2 billion） on cultural heritage protection projects in 2012， a 30-percent increase over the previous year. Though provincial governments also invest in the protection of relics on their own lists， the investment does not meet the needs of some underdeveloped regions.

Some have high hopes for the potential to raise private funds to fund site preservation， but many urge caution， saying that for-profit investment can often lead to unintentional damage to artifacts. Meanwhile， according to the China Cultural Relics Protection Foundation， enterprises looking to get involved in philanthropy find donating to cultural relic preservation to be less attractive than other charity sectors.

“Cultural relic protection in China is dependent on public awareness，” said Zhang Zhiping， a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage. “Protection should not only rely on the government， but also on broader societal support.”

Support from outside

Statistics show that around 40，000 historical sites have disappeared in China due to com- mercial exploitation in the last 30 years.

In 2008， the State Council released regulations on the protection of cities， towns and villages with historical and cultural value， giving legal protection to sites not officially recognized as cultural relics. However， this protection is limited.

This fact has aroused widespread concern across the country. As public awareness has risen， many non-governmental organizations （NGOs） have emerged in big cities like Beijing and Tianjin to combat relic loss.

In addition， there are also a large number of volunteer groups dedicated to the work. Without any membership dues or social sponsorship， these groups cannot be officially registered and they often work as loosely organized online organizations.

“Many historical buildings in Guangzhou receive little attention and suffer severe damage. These buildings are our focus，” said Peng Minming， the owner of an online shop in Guangzhou， capital of south China’s Guangdong Province. Last year， he joined the Guangzhou Society for Cultural Relic Protection， a volunteer organization devoted to the protection of old neighborhoods and buildings in the city， especially those left off of the government protection list.

The organization now has more than 1，000 members. On weekends， they wander through Guangzhou’s streets， taking pictures of buildings with historical and cultural value. If any threat to a building is discovered， they instantly post photos on their website and contact the media to bring about public awareness and create a drive to repair or prevent damage. They also collect information to prove the historical value of buildings， hoping to raise government and public concern in doing so. Since its founding in 2012， the organization has successfully prevented many old buildings from being demolished.

“The words of the lowly carry little weight，” said Peng， who is in charge of the organization’s account on Weibo， China’s Twitter-like micro-blogging service. He admitted that， without government recognition， they often face problems while investigating and collecting information. “On the other hand though， as we have no conflicts of interest， our point is plain and clear. It’s easier to keep a neutral position，” he said.

After years of effort， the role of civic groups in China is coming to be more appreciated by the government. Earlier this year， the State Council declared a new policy， removing capital requirements for registering NGOs.

“This can help us take larger-scale social action to better protect cultural relics in China，” Peng said.