In the summer of 2018, Professor Hang Kan of the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University and Professor Zhang Chaozhi of the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University jointly launched the Joint Workshop on Heritage Tourism, marking the beginning of interdisciplinary academic and pedagogical exploration.
In July 2019, the Joint Workshop was officially approved under the “Peking University Graduate Innovation Program” and expanded its interdisciplinary scope, forming a comprehensive teaching team integrating cultural heritage conservation, archaeology, architecture, tourism, sociology, urban planning, landscape architecture, digital imaging, and art design. Sixty members from 27 institutions across the country spent nine days conducting field research in the villages of Dong and Xi Geshan in Dongquan Town, Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, carrying out interdisciplinary research experiments on cultural heritage.
In May 2018, the Pingyao County People’s Government established the “Pingyao International Workshop on Urban and Rural Cultural Heritage Protection and Development,” aimed at protecting heritage, promoting culture, improving people’s livelihoods, and fostering development. Over the course of a year, ten teams from China and abroad conducted research and assessments of cultural heritage across various neighborhoods of Pingyao Ancient City and select rural areas. Drawing on diverse professional perspectives and disciplinary strengths, they proposed new ideas and measures for preservation and development. The teams’ findings were showcased and shared during the “First Pingyao International Cultural Heritage Exchange Week,” held from September 2 to 8, 2019.
As one of the key participating teams, the joint team organized by Peking University presented the research findings and related artistic works from its “2019 Joint Workshop on Cultural Heritage Conservation: Peking University Summer Course” in the form of a thematic exhibition and forum during the “First Pingyao International Cultural Heritage Exchange Week.” Centered on the theme “Survey and Guidelines for the Conservation and Development of Dong and Xige Villages in Pingyao,” the Peking University joint team’s findings presented and analyzed the historical evolution and current status of the villages, while exploring practical issues affecting their development. This initiative represents an exploration grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration between cultural heritage education and research, as well as a cross-artistic creative experiment triggered by rural cultural heritage conservation. It culminated in an exhibition that evolved from analysis to integration, attempting to conduct interdisciplinary and cross-artistic experimental research and interpretation of rural cultural heritage.
