New ideas to preserve the past

Lyu has continued tracking World Heritage Committee sessions and examining the development of preservation over the years.

He says China has leapfrogged in many realms, accumulated considerable experience and engaged in international communication.

The way in which social forces have contributed to preservation, in addition to government efforts, have raised new questions, he says. How can stakeholders be mobilized? How can preservation work promote sustainable development and improve quality of life?

Lyu cites the UNESCO site Gulangyu - a historical international settlement in Fujian - as an example of community preservation and effective responses to cultural exchanges.

China needs more time to propose solutions and operational rules for institutionalization, and to align it with social interests, Lyu says.

China is attaching growing importance to expressing cultural-heritage-preservation concepts to the international community.

Lyu is leading the preparations for the application of Beijing's central axis - the roughly 8-km notational line along the city's historical center - to be listed by UNESCO.

The work also includes explorations and discussions with international experts to define heritage's spatial scale in Beijing's historical area.

"The levels, content and ways of communication in international exchanges have been expanded," he says, adding that China is supporting international preservation.

A China-Africa seminar on knowledge sharing and capacity building around world-heritage preservation will be staged in June to promote cooperation, he says.