To BMW Brilliance President and CEO Olaf Kastner, China's traditional culture is not only rich in history, it shines with modernity.

"That's what I have learned from my four years of participation in the BMW China Culture Journey," said Kastner. "Combining our efforts in the protection of traditional culture with the teamwork spirit of all participants is an extraordinary experience for me."

Following four days of in-depth explorations, the southern and northern fleets of the 2013 BMW China Culture Journey met in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province, on Sept 15 to conclude the 1,300-km cultural odyssey. At the celebration ceremony, BMW also announced donations to five intangible cultural heritage items in urgent need of protection, bringing the total to 1 million yuan for 11 intangible cultural heritage items in Jiangxi.

Jiangxi is place of prosperous culture. Numerous masters have left splendid writing and craftwork in the area.

Kastner and his northern fleet visited a porcelain museum in Jingdezhen city where great porcelain works have been created and traditional techniques for the art have passed on generation after generation.

"Porcelain is described as China's gift to the world. Long before the industrial revolution, this great art of fire and earth illustrated the state of development in China," said Kastner. Jingdezhen's porcelain production requires 72 procedures. "These remarkable techniques represent not only great craftsmanship, but also the nation's pursuit of high quality, aesthetic taste and artistic life," he said.

His opinion was echoed by Qiu Chunlin, a researcher at the China Art Research Institute.

"Porcelain is China's contribution to the world. We should protect the old handicraft, which embodies the in-depth meaning of the culture," he said.

Since its launch in 2007, the BMW culture journey has explored cultural heritage sites throughout the nation and made donations to projects in need.

For six years, the campaign has been listed as one of the events for China Cultural Heritage Day as it covered 15,000 km in 20 provinces and regions.

The fleets have visited six major cultural and ecological protection zones and more than 170 cultural heritage sites. Their donations totaling 7 million yuan have been used in 69 heritage items and research projects.

"Over the past six years, we have covered the Silk Road, the Grand Canal, the earthquake-hit areas in Sichuan, the coastal regions and the Central Plains," said Kastner.

"Our aim is to build deep cultural roots in this ancient land, acknowledging our appreciation of China's traditional culture and also raising people's awareness of heritage protection," he added.

lifangfang@chinadaily.com.cn