Expert Introductions
(Ordered according to the forum schedule)
Session 5: Protection and Utilization of Historic Built Environments
Moderator: Li Guanghan
Assistant Director of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Centre (Beijing). Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania; PhD from the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University. His research and practice focus on urban and rural heritage conservation and community development. He has published more than ten related papers in domestic and international academic journals and conference proceedings, and has delivered keynote speeches on heritage conservation and community development at global platforms and conferences such as TEDx, Asia Society, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Getty Center. He has participated in and managed multiple international projects in architectural design, heritage conservation, and community development. In China, he has been involved in projects such as the China Principles project (a collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute and the National Cultural Heritage Administration), the Pingyao Ancient City conservation project, and conservation and development projects in ethnic minority villages in Guizhou.
Discussant: Zhou Jian
National Engineering Survey and Design Master; Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University; former President of the Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd.
Recipient of honors including the French Order of Arts and Letters (Knight), National Gold Award for Excellent Engineering Survey and Design, and international awards for cultural heritage conservation, as well as the Shanghai May 1st Labor Medal.
He has long been engaged in urban and rural planning, urban design, cultural heritage conservation, and urban renewal, having led nearly 100 planning and design projects with full-process implementation experience.
He is Vice President of the China Urban Planning Association, Executive Director of the Urban Planning Society of China, and Director and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Center of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Centre.
Speaker: Fauzia Qureshi
Fauzia H. Qureshi is a practicing architect and scholar who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA, with a master’s degree in 1980. She is Director of FHQ & Associates (SMC-PVT) Ltd. She taught at the National College of Arts for 35 years and retired in June 2011 as Professor and Principal. She currently serves as President of ICOMOS Pakistan (2019–2023).
She has been actively involved in NGOs and civil society organizations, particularly those related to cultural heritage, conservation planning, and women’s movements in Pakistan.
As a consultant, she has worked on planning, environmental protection, architectural heritage, and the design of institutional, commercial, and residential buildings. She participated in the preparation of conservation and management plans for three World Heritage sites in Pakistan—Lahore Fort (2003), Shalimar Gardens (2006), and Rohtas Fort (2006).
She authored Multan: A Spiritual Legacy (2013) and contributed to several books, including Pakistan’s Radioactive Decade: An Informal Cultural History of the 1970s (2019, OUP) and Punjab: Building the Land of Five Rivers (2017, Marg Foundation). She has presented numerous papers at national and international conferences, seminars, and courses.
Presentation Title:
Heritage Conservation in Pakistan: Issues, Challenges, and Constraints
Speaker: Shao Yong
Chair Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University; Executive Director of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Centre (Shanghai). Professor Shao has long been engaged in research, teaching, and practice in areas including urban and rural development history, World Cultural Heritage, conservation and development of historic cities, towns, and villages, urban renewal, and rural revitalization.
He serves as Vice Chair of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Vernacular Architecture, Deputy Secretary-General of the Historical and Cultural Cities Planning Branch of the Urban Planning Society of China, member of the Urban Renewal Committee, and editorial board member of Architectural Heritage and Built Heritage. He has led over 100 heritage conservation projects, including guidelines for the restoration of traditional residences in Pingyao Ancient City, authored works such as Architectural, Urban, and Landscape Heritage Conservation and Value Renewal in France and World Heritage in China: Historic Cities, and published over 70 academic papers.
He has led multiple National Natural Science Foundation projects and received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation three times, along with more than 30 national and provincial awards. In 2021, he was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters (Knight).
Presentation Title:
Jiangnan Water Towns and Greater Shanghai: Nature and Cultural Conservation in an International Metropolis
Speaker: Dong Wei
Professor Dong Wei is a member of the Historical and Cultural Protection and Inheritance Committee of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Chair of the Urban Planning History and Theory Branch of the Urban Planning Society of China, member of the Historical and Cultural Cities Branch, and chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Resource Management.
As an expert in urban heritage conservation, he has led four National Natural Science Foundation projects and more than 20 research projects funded by national ministries and local governments, and published over 40 papers in major journals. He has led or participated in more than 60 historic city conservation and rehabilitation projects.
In international collaboration, he and his research team at Southeast University have conducted research on historic city and architectural conservation in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa. His work on the conservation and World Heritage nomination of Mrauk-U in Myanmar has received strong support from the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China, UNESCO, and Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture.
Presentation Title:
Exploring Integrated Paths for the Protection and Development of Natural and Cultural Heritage
Speaker: Dai Jian
Professor and doctoral supervisor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Technology; Director of the Beijing Research Center for Historic Building Conservation Engineering Technology; member of the Architectural Society of China; former Vice President of the Beijing Urban Planning Society; Vice Chairman of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Committee of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics.
His main research areas include conservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and their environments, with extended research in architectural culture and prefabricated construction.
He has led three National Natural Science Foundation projects, one key project under the 12th Five-Year Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology, more than ten ministerial-level projects, and numerous practical projects. He has published five monographs and over 40 academic papers.
Presentation Title:
The “Doctrine of the Mean” of Urban Axes — Also on the Value of Heritage Values
Session 6: Natural Heritage Protection and Community Development
Moderator: Song Feng
Associate Professor at the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University; Deputy Director of WHITRAP Beijing; Deputy Director of the World Heritage Research Center at Peking University.
He has long been engaged in research on World Natural Heritage, mixed heritage, and scenic area conservation and planning, with extensive practical experience. He has deep insight into China’s natural heritage resources, conservation and management conditions, and World Heritage nomination potential. He has participated in World Heritage Committee meetings multiple times and led dozens of national key R&D projects and related initiatives on World Heritage and scenic areas.
Discussant: Zhou Jian
National Engineering Survey and Design Master; Professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University; former President of the Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd.
Speaker: Zhang Chaozhi
Professor at the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University; member of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Tourism Council for UNESCO-listed heritage sites; expert member of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
He serves as Deputy Director of the Ecological Committee of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, expert member of the World Heritage Expert Committee, and Deputy Director of the Tourism Ecology Committee of the Ecological Society of China. He has long conducted research on sustainable tourism in World Heritage sites, serves on editorial boards of several journals, has led six national-level research projects, and published over 100 academic papers.
Presentation Title:
Authenticity in Natural Heritage: Practice and Reflection
Speaker: John Zulu
John Zulu is a cultural anthropologist with over 25 years of experience in heritage conservation and management. He has extensive experience working with UNESCO advisory bodies, conducting heritage impact assessments, reactive monitoring, and technical evaluations across Africa. He has also participated in projects of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and its advisory bodies (ICCROM, IUCN, and ICOMOS).
For 16 years, he managed one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls World Heritage Site. He has published multiple works on contemporary heritage management issues. He joined the World Monuments Fund in January 2023.
Presentation Title:
Natural Heritage Management and Community Development: The Case of Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls), Livingstone, Zambia
Speaker: Zhuang Youbo
Associate Professor at the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University; Deputy Director of the National Park Research Institute at Tsinghua University; Deputy Secretary-General of the World Heritage Expert Committee of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
His research areas include World Heritage conservation and management, national parks and protected area systems, landscape ecology, and ecological restoration. He has led multiple World Heritage-related projects, including UNESCO projects such as the Preliminary Study on Standards for Protection and Management Planning of China’s World Natural Heritage Sites, and national projects such as Research on Revising Management Measures for World Natural Heritage and Third Cycle Periodic Reporting on World Heritage, as well as protection and management planning for Huangshan World Heritage Site.
Presentation Title:
Analysis and Insights on the Conservation Status of World Natural Heritage Sites
Edited by: Lü Jiaxin, Park Lina
Reviewed by: Li Guanghan, Wang Siyu
Final Review: Shen Ruiwen, Zhang Jianwei
