International Heritage News
01
Europe Announces the Seven Most Endangered Heritage Sites of 2023
The seven most endangered heritage sites in Europe for 2023 were recently announced. Nominated projects including railway stations, cemeteries, fortresses, parks, and cultural landscapes from Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Serbia, Georgia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were selected.
Guy Clausse, Executive Vice President of Europa Nostra, one of the organizers of the selection program, stated that inclusion on the list expresses hope and support for local communities. He said that Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute will provide technical expertise and financial support for efforts to protect cultural and natural heritage, helping European cultural heritage become a symbol of peace, social integration, and sustainable development.
Both tangible and intangible heritage sites across Europe are eligible for nomination, regardless of whether the owners are governments or private individuals. Selected projects will receive €10,000 in funding for conservation work, helping mobilize governmental and social support, raise public awareness of heritage, and strengthen European cultural identity and belonging.
Text and image source: www.flickr.com/photos/europanostra/52802715450/in/album-72177720307091065/
02
United Kingdom Adds York and Other Sites to New World Heritage Tentative List
On April 10, the UK government announced that the historic city of York and Birkenhead Park had been added to a new batch of World Heritage Tentative List projects.
York is an outstanding example of a city that has continuously developed since Roman times over the past two thousand years. Today, it remains a vibrant and creative city and was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts in 2014.
Birkenhead Park, opened in 1847, was a pioneering project that introduced green spaces into urban environments and influenced the planning of parks worldwide, including New York’s Central Park.
The UK updates its World Heritage Tentative List every ten years. Regarding this update, Laura Davies, the UK Permanent Representative to UNESCO, emphasized that the UK’s efforts to make World Heritage more representative are commendable. The newly proposed projects reflect the diversity and beauty of the natural and cultural heritage of the UK and its overseas territories.
Text and image source: www.gov.uk
03
Türkiye’s Gaziantep to Build Earthquake Museum
After suffering severe damage from the earthquake that struck southeastern Türkiye in February this year, the city of Gaziantep plans to build a new Earthquake Museum.
The new museum will cover approximately 10,000 square meters and will serve as a memorial documenting all aspects of the disaster, preserving the memories of affected residents, and providing earthquake safety simulation education to raise public awareness of disaster prevention.
Text and image source: International Heritage Observation
04
Arab Youth Heritage Initiative: “My Heritage” Short Film Competition Invitation
The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), together with the Heritage Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, jointly launched the second “My Heritage” short film competition as part of the “Arab Youth Heritage” initiative.
Winners of the competition will have the opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia and attend the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will be held in Riyadh in September 2023. Winning films will also be screened during side events at the conference.
The competition runs from March 26 to April 26, 2023.
Registration and more information: https://www.arcwh.org/news/my-heritage-2023
Text and image source: icom-cc2023.org
05
Italy Officially Submits Italian Cuisine Heritage Nomination to UNESCO
Last month, Italy’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Agriculture officially submitted a joint application to UNESCO for the intangible cultural heritage project “Italian Cuisine: Sustainability and Biocultural Diversity.”
The nomination emphasizes that Italian cuisine includes a range of social customs and traditional rituals reflecting Italy’s cultural and biological diversity. The application aims to further strengthen the close relationship between culture and gastronomy and highlight cuisine as a cultural phenomenon, lifestyle, and form of identity.
The nomination is scheduled for review in December 2025.
Text and image source: International Heritage Observation
Domestic Heritage News
01
Preview of China’s 2023 International Day for Monuments and Sites Activities
To continue the spirit of openness, innovation, interdisciplinarity, and intergenerational dialogue, and to discuss the dramatic transformations affecting the world we live in, the theme for this year’s April 18 International Day for Monuments and Sites was set as “Heritage Changes.”
ICOMOS China previously called on member institutions and heritage sites to actively participate by organizing a series of rich and diverse themed activities. Based on currently collected information, the association announced 13 planned activities listed in chronological order:
1.Hangzhou — 2023 International Day for Monuments and Sites Forum: “Creating and Sharing the Future of the Past: Protection and Utilization of Archaeological Heritage in Transformation”
2.Xi’an — “Silk Road Winds” Series Activities for the International Day for Monuments and Sites
3.Beijing — “Ci Bird” Youth Museum Volunteer Activities for the International Day for Monuments and Sites
4.Beijing — “Central Axis Youth Drawing” — Beijing Central Axis 2023 Youth Heritage Monitoring Camp
5.Kuqa — “Save Old Houses, Participate Together” Demonstration Mobilization Activity for the International Day for Monuments and Sites
6.Hangzhou — “Monuments and Sites Day · Heritage in Transformation” West Lake Cultural Ambassador Grand Canal Walk (Jane’s Walk Edition)
7.Nanjing — “Heritage in Transformation” Theme Activities for the April 18 International Day for Monuments and Sites
8.Anyang — “Great Expectations as Heavy as Mountains, Yin Ruins Striving Forward — Special Publicity Activities Celebrating the April 18 International Day for Monuments and Sites”
9.Qufu — Shandong Province 2023 Main City Event for the April 18 International Day for Monuments and Sites
10.Wuhan — Boundary-Free Reading Club (Special Edition for International Day for Monuments and Sites and World Book Day)
11.Tianjin — Slowly Unfolding Modern Tianjin in Transformation — 2023 April 18 International Day for Monuments and Sites Theme Activity
12.Shanghai — World Heritage Dialogue: World Heritage, Climate Change, and Resilience — Heritage Disaster Response and Risk Under Climate Change Threats
13.Beijing — Lecture: “The Digital Growth of a ‘Line’ — Digital Technology Assisting Protection of the Beijing Central Axis”
Text and image source: ICOMOS China
02
First Chu Culture Festival Opens in Jingzhou, Hubei
On the evening of April 8, the first Chu Culture Festival opened in Jingzhou, Hubei, known as the “Ancient Capital of the Chu State.”
The festival, themed “Passing On and Innovating Chu Culture in Jingzhou,” aims to showcase the beauty of Jingchu culture, inherit the spirit of Yangtze River civilization, and promote Chu culture so it can “come alive” and “go global.”
Jingzhou is the birthplace of Chu culture. Since the Chu State established its capital at Jinan City in 689 BCE, twenty generations of Chu kings ruled there for 411 years, creating a culture that complemented the Central Plains culture of the Yellow River Basin and rivaled the culture of ancient Athens during the same period.
Achievements in bronze casting, lacquerware production, silk weaving and embroidery, jade carving, Daoist philosophy, literature, calligraphy and painting, music, and dance are especially well represented in Jingzhou.
Jingzhou plans to implement ten major projects involving cultural relic protection and technological innovation, Jingchu culture research and interpretation, large heritage site preservation and development, protection and utilization of Jingzhou Ancient City, and integration across the entire cultural industry chain, aiming to establish a demonstration zone for Jingchu cultural heritage preservation and transmission.
Text and image source: culture.gmw.cn
03
Tianjin Ancient City East Wall Site: Archaeological Discoveries and Heritage Protection
(Tianjin Ancient City East Wall Site — partial remains of the early Ming Dynasty city wall foundation)
On April 6, the Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center announced that archaeological work at the East Wall Site of Tianjin Ancient City had been completed with major discoveries.
The excavation area uncovered numerous remains from the Ming and Qing dynasties through the Republican era, including city wall foundations, roads, ash ditches, and rail tracks. More than 2,000 cultural relics and specimens dating from the Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republican periods were unearthed, yielding significant archaeological achievements.
Due to the importance of the discoveries, the Tianjin Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau organized three on-site expert consultation meetings beginning in 2018, inviting well-known domestic experts in archaeology, history, heritage planning, and cultural relic protection to guide excavations, assess site value, and propose conservation recommendations.
To ensure protection and utilization of the city wall site, Tianjin plans to create a cultural relic exhibition hall at the Southeast Corner Station of Metro Line 4 South Section. The ancient Tianjin city wall will be preserved in situ, organically integrating the metro station with the heritage site so that the ancient wall can continue to shine through preservation and transmission.
Text and image source: www.thepaper.cn
04
Jiangxi Wuyishan National Nature Reserve Wins “2022 Green Asia-Pacific Environmental Achievement Award”
(Wuyishan Nature Reserve)
Recently, the award ceremony for the “2022 Green Asia-Pacific Environmental Achievement Award,” jointly organized by the United Nations Environment Programme Foundation, China Environmental Protection Association, Hong Kong Environmental Protection Association, and Macau Green Environment Protection Association, was held in Shenzhen.
Fifteen awards were presented at the event. The award has been held for five consecutive years and is considered an important environmental award in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Jiangxi Wuyishan National Nature Reserve Administration received the “Outstanding Nature Reserve Award,” becoming the first nature reserve in Jiangxi Province to receive this honor.
On October 12, 2021, Wuyishan National Park (Jiangxi Section) was officially established. It is currently China’s only national park located within both a World Natural Heritage site and a World Cultural Heritage site.
The Jiangxi section covers a total area of 279 square kilometers. Based mainly on the original Jiangxi Wuyishan National Nature Reserve, it also incorporates ecologically valuable areas surrounding the canyon region.
Its rich biodiversity has earned it titles such as “Treasure House of Plants,” “Paradise for Birds,” “World of Insects,” and “Haven for Animals.”
Text and image source: National Forestry and Grassland Administration
