Dali is one of the regions in China where historical culture and the built environment are best preserved. Its unique natural and cultural resources have made Dali a world-renowned tourist destination and leisure resort. Dali is also one of the major cradles of Yunnan’s history and culture, having served as the political, cultural, and economic center of the ancient Nanzhao Kingdom.
The Nanzhao-Dali period marked the historical peak of urban development in Dali and even Yunnan as a whole. However, current research and practice regarding the conservation and utilization of the Nanzhao-Dali capital in the Erhai Basin area remain limited, with the focus primarily on the conservation and utilization of the Ming and Qing Dynasty Old Town of Dali. Furthermore, due to the overdevelopment of the Old Town of Dali, the cultural heritage value and unique characteristics of the Dali region cannot be fully reflected. Dali is a region where a typical historic city (Dali Ancient City) and an urban archaeological site (the Nanzhao-Dali City Site) overlap. Properly managing the relationship between these two and strengthening the connections among relevant cultural relics and historical sites within the region will help enhance the overall value of Dali’s cultural heritage.
The Taihe City Site, located in Taihe Village, Taihe Subdistrict, Dali City, was the first capital established after the founding of the Nanzhao Kingdom. It served as the capital for over 500 years, from the Nanzhao-Dali period through the transition from the Yuan to the Ming dynasties. The Taihe City Site is among the first batch of national cultural heritage protection units and is currently the best-preserved site among all Nanzhao capitals. In recent years, archaeological work at the Taihe City Site has yielded significant discoveries.
Today, cultural heritage conservation has evolved into an interdisciplinary field of study in many respects. Regarding the presentation and interpretation of archaeological sites, a wealth of case studies has been accumulated both internationally and domestically. Areas for further development include: the interpretation and visual presentation of basic archaeological materials; regional coordination between heritage presentation and architectural/planning levels; symbiosis between heritage presentation and ecological/landscape levels; more compatible and creative content and form design from the perspectives of museology and art design; and multidisciplinary collaboration addressing issues such as the integration and promotion of local communities from the perspectives of sociology and tourism studies.
With the goal of fostering multidisciplinary collaboration in cultural heritage, in the summer of 2018, Professor Hang Kan from the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University and Professor Zhang Chaozhi from the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University jointly launched the Heritage Tourism Joint Workshop, initiating interdisciplinary dialogue and pedagogical exploration. In 2019, Peking University successfully held heritage workshops on corresponding themes in Donggeshan and Xigeshan villages in Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, and in 2020 at Huangguoshu in Anshun City, Guizhou Province.
In 2021, we will continue to host the Joint Cultural Heritage Workshop, inviting experts from relevant fields to engage in interdisciplinary discussions. Using the Taihe City Site as a case study, we will conduct exploratory research on the overall value and interconnections of the Nanzhao-Dali historical sites, as well as explore exhibition design concepts.
This course is jointly organized by the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, the UNESCO World Heritage Training and Research Centre for the Asia-Pacific Region (WHITR-AP Beijing), and the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. It is funded by the “Graduate Education Innovation Program” of the Peking University Graduate School and the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, and will primarily consist of intensive online instruction. Depending on the pandemic situation, some participants will also visit heritage sites in person. They will form an interdisciplinary team integrating cultural heritage, archaeology, museology, architecture, tourism, sociology, anthropology, planning, landscape architecture, and ecology. Divided into groups, they will conduct field surveys, combining theory with practice to experience the charm of multidisciplinary integration within the context of cultural heritage conservation, and jointly contribute to the protection of cultural heritage.
