On April 20, 2024, the themed salon on Urban Heritage Conservation and Public Participation was held at the October Literary Academy in Dongcheng District, Beijing. The salon was organized by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Center (Beijing) (hereinafter referred to as WHITRAP-Beijing). Dr. Shikha Jain, Vice Chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS); Zhang Jianwei, tenured Associate Professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, and Executive Deputy Director of WHITRAP-Beijing; and Song Feng, Associate Professor at the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, and Deputy Director of WHITRAP-Beijing, delivered speeches and shared case studies on urban heritage conservation. The salon was moderated by Dr. Li Guanghan, Assistant Director of WHITRAP-Beijing. Relevant personnel from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau and WHITRAP-Beijing attended and participated in the discussions.
Photo: Group photo of participants
Associate Professor Song Feng from the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, first shared how to interpret urban and rural heritage using the morphological approach. Song introduced the disciplinary history of urban morphology, highlighting Mr. Zhao Zhengzhi's use of urban morphology in the restoration study of Yuan Dynasty Dadu (Beijing) and its significance. He pointed out three main applications of urban morphology in the heritage field: using morphological tools to help identify urban and rural fabrics, helping study the formation and evolution of settlements and cities, and using morphology to delineate protection zones and buffer zones. Professor Song then presented several successful domestic applications of urban morphology in heritage, such as in the Baiwanzhuang community in Beijing, Guling Town on Lushan Mountain, Nanluoguxiang in Beijing, and areas around West Lake.
Dr. Shikha Jain shared conservation efforts for the World Heritage site of Jaipur City, India. Jaipur City is an 18th-century plain city in northwestern India whose urban planning reflects a combination of ancient Hindu and Western cultural ideas. As a historic commercial center, the city preserves 36 traditional handicrafts and folk art crafts. Dr. Jain introduced various conservation projects in Jaipur, including the inner and outer cities, the central monument Jantar Mantar, the Ghat Ki Guni area, and the Chowkri Modikhana heritage trail. She also shared the current state of preservation of traditional handicrafts and folk crafts in the city, as well as Jaipur's arts and crafts promotion activities under the framework of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
Associate Professor Zhang Jianwei, Vice Dean of the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, gave a talk titled "Public Participation Pathways in Heritage Monitoring," sharing the public monitoring volunteer activities for the Grand Canal (Beijing section) organized by WHITRAP-Beijing. Zhang introduced the work content of this public heritage activity and the monitoring data obtained so far, noting that volunteer-led monitoring can greatly assist and complement existing monitoring systems based on national and local platforms, as well as the significance of such public participation activities in heritage promotion and science communication. Zhang also detailed the composition of the volunteer team, division of labor, program development, public outreach, and shared the Beijing Cultural Mapping crowdsourcing project based on this activity, as well as public monitoring of other heritage sites in Beijing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the keynote speeches, the audience and experts engaged in discussions on topics such as integrating heritage conservation with overall urban planning, protecting traditional handicrafts in heritage sites, and monitoring technologies for complex and serial heritage sites. Dr. Li Guanghan, Assistant Director of WHITRAP-Beijing, delivered the concluding remarks.
Editors: Cai Shiyu, Li Ziyi, Piao Lina
Reviewers: Li Guanghan, Wang Siyu
Final Review: Shen Ruiwen, Zhang Jianwei
