Opening of the webinar "Patrimoine, mise en valeur et revitalisation des territoires"

Zeng Xianchuan, Director of Professional Volunteer Committee of Planners, Architects and Engineers of Guangdong Province，Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Guangdong Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd

Dear experts and friends,
At present, COVID-19 is raging all over the world and this is the reason why we are gathering online today. Here, on behalf of the organisers, I would like to thank you for supporting the academic exchange event entitled ‘The Value and Conservation of Historical Routes’, which is centred on the ancient post roads in southern Guangdong.
Given their scale and cross-regional nature, heritage routes have garnered widespread attention from the academic community in China and abroad since the concept first emerged. Following the successful inscription of China’s Grand Canal and the Silk Road as a joint effort by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2014, there has been a surge in academic research and exploration of cultural heritage based on a linear perspective.
The ancient post roads in southern Guangdong span 31 counties in 18 cities in Guangdong Province, connecting world-class, national and provincial cultural heritage sites such as Kaiping in Diaolou and Villages, Mount Danxia, and the historical and cultural block of Beijing Road. There are more than 200 historical relics such as ancient wharfs, bridges and post pavilions that have borne witness to history, culture, folk customs and local memories of famous towns and villages along the routes.
Professional volunteers from the Three Masters Association, consisting of planners, architects and engineers, have explored and established a system for monitoring the ancient post roads. This provides a reference point for the protection and utilisation of similar types of linear cultural heritage in China and abroad.
The ancient post roads in southern Guangdong are corridors bearing the hallmarks of ancient civilisation. They offer an environmentally friendly way for people to explore natural wonders, as well as a cost-effective means of facilitating China’s Belt and Road Initiative and revitalising rural areas. Today, experts and scholars from China, France and Italy are gathering online to discuss the value, protection and utilisation of heritage routes. We look forward to hearing about your innovative ideas, scientific investigations and experiences that you could bring to Guangdong. These would allow us to collectively explore ways to expand the project and our ideas to strengthen the sustainable development of the cultural heritage sites.
I am confident that this seminar will be exciting and fruitful and I wish all panellists every success and good health.
Thank you!

 Ruan Yisan, Professor of College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, President of Ruan Yisan Urban Heritage Foundation

Distinguished colleagues,
First of all, on behalf of the conference organisers, I would like to thank Guangdong Province for hosting this event, as well as the Chinese and French experts for their enthusiasm, who made it possible for this large-scale online conference to be held.
The convening of this conference shows that the protection of China’s cultural heritage has entered a new era. The overall protection and utilisation of the ancient roads in southern Guangdong is a typical case of cultural heritage conservation that starts from a specific point, grows and spreads further towards regional cultural routes and common cultural areas.
China has a long history and vast territory, and many ancient post roads still exist to this day. However, the protection of ancient post roads has always been fragmented and oversimplified. As ancient post roads in many places belong to different administrative jurisdictions, it is difficult to manage them as a whole.
Efforts to protect and develop ancient post roads in southern Guangdong are addressing this contradiction. At the level of the Guangdong Province as a whole, we have been very active in resource integration, local cooperation and other aspects, which has set a good example not only for Guangdong Province but for the whole country, creating many valuable opportunities for promotion and learning.
We also invited many French experts to this meeting who have done a lot of research and been very active in protecting and utilising cultural routes, and they will certainly bring us many new ideas.
Since 2011, the Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation has cooperated with REMPART, a French heritage protection volunteer union, to carry out volunteer work camps to renovate buildings across China, in the hope of spreading awareness of heritage sites and patrimony on the basis of public participation.
Should the opportunity arise, we would also be willing to participate in the protection and utilisation of the southern Guangdong Ancient Road.
On a final note, we hope that the conference will be a success!

Wu Jiang, Former Vice President of Tongji University, Professor of College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Academician of the French Academy of Architecture

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Director Zeng Xianchuan, Professor Ruan Yisan, President Catherine Chevillot, Vice President Roger Bataille, President Fabien Sénéchal, and all our online guests.
I am delighted to see you all online today and very pleased that China and France have entered a new chapter in their work together in architecture, planning and heritage conservation.
As we know, heritage routes were included on the World Heritage List in 2003. In Europe, especially in France, Italy, Spain as well as other countries, there are many heritage routes, such as the Routes of Santiago de Compostela and Canal du Midi. They act as a lens through which people understand the development of European culture and identify with European people. In this regard, Europe has a very rich history.
China has also been endeavouring to protect heritage routes for a long time. For example, the Grand Canal and the Silk Road are featured on the World Heritage List and China is currently building national cultural parks for the Grand Canal, the Yellow River, the Great Wall and the Long March. The aim is to promote the rejuvenation of Chinese civilisation and the coordinated development of social, economic and cultural aspects in different regions.
On a local level, the case of Guangdong Province is very noteworthy. In 2016, Guangdong Province started to protect the ancient post roads in southern Guangdong, and carried out a lot of additional works. This is a very meaningful and innovative initiative that closely combines heritage protection with cultural inheritance, rural revitalisation, targeted poverty alleviation and local development. More than five years have passed and, based on the initial experience in planning, design, restoration, tourism, sports and other works around the ancient post roads in southern Guangdong, it is now time to take stock, promote experience and continue to improve. Therefore, today’s online academic exchange event on the conservation and utilisation of heritage routes, organised by the Guangdong Province, Tongji University, the Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific (CHCAP) and many renowned French institutions and experts, is expected to be of great significance for the further enhancement of the work on the ancient post roads of Southern Guangdong, as well as for the international community’s awareness of the value of heritage routes and community. The event will also help to raise the international community’s awareness of the value of heritage routes and community in general.
I hope this online academic exchange will be a great success!