Weatherproofing the past protects legacy

Monitoring system

Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of relics in extreme weather. Every year before flood season, the National Cultural Heritage Administration issues notices on strengthening the safety of cultural heritage, and then provinces, cities and lower administrative units react, forming a comprehensive system to prepare for natural challenges, says Yan.

In 2012, the China World Cultural Heritage Monitoring Center was established. Affiliated to the China Academy of Cultural Heritage, it is responsible for monitoring World Cultural Heritage sites in China. The indexes related to the natural environment and climate change are key factors in monitoring.

"China's heritage monitoring not only systematically categorizes types of disasters but also, based on data, summarizes the timing of extreme weather events and potential disaster occurrences each year, providing a basis for heritage managers to prepare for and prevent disasters," says Yan.

Foreign experts spoke highly of China's efforts. Andrew Potts, a specialist in this area from the United States, told Yan he hopes Chinese experts can take part in more discussions and contribute to a charter that will be issued during the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) in Brazil next year.

Yan says China has rich experience in this area with many cases.

"We can attend more conferences of this type to spread our experience and enhance communication with our foreign counterparts," says Yan.