International delegates gather in Shanxi to explore landmark treasures, digital conservation and enduring traditions
The International Cultural Heritage Protection Week will open in the central Shanxi city of Jinzhong on Wednesday.
With activities to be held in various locations across the North China province during a period spanning July 15-21, this event will showcase the achievements Shanxi has made in protecting and reviving its cultural assets over recent years.
The event is jointly organized by Shanxi Daily, the Center for the Americas of China International Communications Group – or CICG Americas, and the Shanxi International Communication Center, and supported by several organizations in the province and the country.
At a news conference held earlier this month, Song Jianping, editor-in-chief of Shanxi Daily, introduced the major activities of this event, which include the opening ceremony and a roundtable conference to be held in Jinzhong, an international media tour of Shanxi, seminars, and experts’ research tours of Shanxi’s ancient buildings, a Gen Z workshop for the repair of ancient buildings, themed exhibitions, study tours for local students and the production of documentaries.
Song said the international media tour of Shanxi will be a highlight of the event.
“Building on the success of the 2025 international media tour of Shanxi, the 2026 international media tour will bring overseas guests, including journalists, photographers and painters to ancient architecture sites in cities like Jinzhong, Taiyuan, Xinzhou and Datong,” Song said.”This activity is meant to show the integrity and uniqueness of Shanxi’s ancient buildings and the province’s lasting efforts in the protection of these cultural assets.”
At the news conference, Liu Yunyun, deputy editor-in-chief of CICG Americas, highlighted the international influence of this event.
She said about 30 foreign diplomats and their attaches, dozens of overseas experts and journalists will attend the event. These overseas professionals will hod dialogues with Chinese experts in cultural heritage protection to share experiences in preserving cultural relics.
“Based on on-site research, Chinese and foreign experts will share their wisdom at three roundtable conferences,” Liu said.”Among the activities, a roundtable conference for the younger-generation – or Gen Z – researchers is set to attract special attention in this era of digitalization, as they will highlight how to use the latest technologies to protect the cultural assets in Shanxi and promote them to the world.”
Zhang Peng, executive vice-mayor of Jinzhong, said that the people of Jinzhong are proud that the city is the major venue of the International Cultural Heritage Protection Week, adding that hosting the event is a recognition of Jinzhong’s unique cultural rese assets
He said Jinzhong boasts one World Cultural Heritage Site, two nationally famous historical and cultural cities, 63 tourist destinations ranked at the national A class or better, 1,127 intangible cultural heritage items and 5,539 unmovable cultural heritage items.
The Pingyao Ancient City, for instance, is a World Cultural Heritage Site. As the hub of the historical Shanxi merchants – or Jinshang, Pingyao retains its well-protected city walls and a number of old streets, where the premises of old Jinshang firms are kept intact, telling the story of these merchants who pioneered China’s foreign trade and reached their peak of prosperity during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
The official also mentioned the Old City of Yuci. “This is the urban area in Jinzhong with a history of more than 1,400 years, with a large number of ancient buildings kept intact,” Zhang said.
The great number of well-protected ancient buildings in Jinzhong is just one pearl on the cultural crown of Shanxi.
As one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, Shanxi is often known as “the museum of ancient Chinese architecture” throughout the world.
Shanxi is home to 28,027 ancient buildings, accounting for about 10 percent of China’s total. It is worth mentioning that it boasts more than 500 ancient buildings constructed in and before the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), ranking first nationwide.
Inside these ancient buildings, there are more than 12,000 colored statues and over 50,000 square meters of wall paintings kept intact, both ranking first nationwide. Today, China has only three wooden-structure buildings constructed in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and all of them are in Shanxi.
As overseas researchers, journalists and visitors extend their journeys in Shanxi during the event, they are set to discover even more amazing locations.
In Shuozhou’s Yingxian county, they will encounter the Sakyamuni Pagoda in Fogong Temple, which is also known as the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda.
First built in 1056, during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), it is the world’s tallest and oldest surviving all-wood, multistoried structure. It is hailed as one of the “three great towers of the world”, along with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The pagoda stands 67.31 meters tall, with a total weight of about 7,400 metric tons. The material used for its main structure is North China larch timber, while the dougong brackets – a kind of interlocking wooden bracket – are made of elm wood. The pagoda used more than 10,000 cubic meters of timber in total.
Researchers said the pagoda is a classic example of wooden architecture throughout the world, a valuable landmark in the development of Chinese construction, and a “historical classic” for studying the economic and cultural development of its era.
In September 2016, it was certified by Guinness World Records as the “World’s Tallest Wooden Pagoda”.
The visitors’ itinerary will include Jinci Temple in Taiyuan – the earliest royal family temple in China; the Stork Tower, or Guanque Tower, in Yongji – one of the four famed ancient towers in the country; and the wall paintings in Yongle Palace in Yuncheng, which represent the highest level of Chinese mural art.
The event’s participants will have the chance to visit all the World Cultural Heritage Sites in Shanxi.
Pingyao Ancient City in Jinzhong, for example, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.
The city has a history of more than 2,800 years. In an area of 2.25 square kilometers surrounded by 6.2 km of city walls, there are nearly 4,000 ancient residences and business premises, making it one of the four best-preserved ancient cities in China.
Enjoying the same reputation is Mount Wutai in Xinzhou city. It was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2009.
Mount Wutai is home to one of China’s oldest Buddhist temple sites, which dates back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220).
The area’s architecture draws from different dynasties, all of which incorporated sculptures, stone inscriptions, frescoes and calligraphy. At the height of the Tang Dynasty, Mount Wutai held more than 300 temples and monasteries. It is now home to about 40 such establishments.
Among the temples in the Wutai area, the two temples of Foguang and Nanchan are of the greatest research value. They contain two of the best-preserved Tang Dynasty wooden structures in China.
Foguang Temple, for instance, is famed for its Grand Eastern Hall, which is the second-oldest preserved wooden structure in China.
The historical value of this temple was discovered by architectural researchers Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin.
Before the 1930s, many researchers believed that there were no preserved wooden structures from the Tang Dynasty, or earlier, in China.
When examining the photos of murals in Gansu province’s Mogao Grottoes, the two researchers found there was a set of maps of temples in the Mount Wutai region and Foguang was one of them.
In early 1937, they launched a search for the temple and it was quickly found in June. Their research proved the Grand Eastern Hall is the largest among the few preserved Tang Dynasty structures in China.
According to inscriptions found in the temple, the Grand Eastern Hall was built in 857 and has been preserved to this date.
Several decades later, researchers discovered another structure older than the Foguang Temple hall in the Wutai Area – the main hall of Nanchan Temple, built in 782.
Another landmark attraction that is set to welcome the event’s participants is the site of Yungang Grottoes in Datong. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 2001.
The Yungang Grottoes site is one of the three top cave clusters in China, alongside Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, and Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province.
Cut along the Wuzhou Mountain, the grottoes stretch for 1 km from the east to the west. Comprising 252 caves and 51,000 statues within a carved area of 18,000 sq m, the Yungang Grottoes represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China during the 5th and 6th centuries.
The Yungang Grottoes have absorbed and blended the cultures of India, Central Asia and West Asia, with influences of Greek and Roman art elements. Among all grottoes, the five caves created by Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) monk Tan Yao, with their strict unity of layout and design, constitute classical masterpieces of the first peak of Chinese Buddhist art.
Shanxi will also use the International Cultural Heritage Protection Week to showcase its efforts in cultural assets protection and share its best-practice cases with the world.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), Shanxi’s cultural authorities intensified their efforts in heritage protection, with a special caring mechanism tailored to the 39 heritage sites on the nation’s key protection list. Assisted by digital technologies, about 93 percent of the wooden structures built in or before the Yuan Dynasty were covered by various rescue and repair projects.
Various social stakeholders have also contributed to protecting the heritage, with 379 ancient architectural sites taken care of with the patronage of businesses and residents. Special programs have also been launched for the repair of lesser-known old buildings scattered across villages.
In recent years, digitalization has opened up a new era for heritage protection in Shanxi. Empowered by digital technologies, Shanxi has established a comprehensive database for its major relics sites.
The digitalized protection of Yungang Grottoes is a shining example of Shanxi’s innovative preservation of cultural assets.
Last year, for instance, local heritage protection workers used hyperspectral technology for the digitalized protection of the seventh and eighth caves for the first time, allowing holographic recording and analysis of every detail of the caves – from geometric forms to the composition of substances.
According to the Yungang Research Institute, an institution engaged in the protection of and research on the heritage site, digitalized protection has covered more than 80 percent of the caves.
Hang Kan, director of the institute, said the digitalization initiative can create an innovative model for the exhibition of cultural assets and alle
He said that in 2025, Yungang Grottoes saw a record-breaking 5.28 million visits, a year-on-year increase of 18.87 percent. However, the surge in tourist visits has brought dual pressures on the preservation of the grottoes’ artifacts.
“To tackle preservation challenges, local authorities are advancing the Digital Yungang project, using technologies such as 3D laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging to solve the challenges of data collection for high-relief sculpture,” said Hang.
“Through 3D-printing technology, an exact replica of Cave 12 has been created and exhibited in different regions in the country, allowing the public to gain a preliminary understanding of the ancient heritage without even visiting the site,” Hang said.
He added that high-precision 3D-printed displays make it possible for visitors to experience texture and detail, overcoming the traditional barriers that prevent direct interaction with physical relics.
He noted that the Yungang Grottoes site uses a modular assembly method to create life-size 3D replicas. These can be taken apart and moved easily, helping Yungang share its art with people around the world. Digital technology goes beyond making physical copies. By using new digital tools like virtual reality, the Yungang Grottoes are making it easier for people to experience relics online.
Over recent years, Shanxi cultural assets have been better known to the world thanks to innovative promotions.
In August 2024, for instance, the release of hit Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong sparked a tourism boom in Shanxi province, as players flocked to real-world locations featured in the game.
Black Myth: Wukong is a role-playing game inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West and follows the adventures of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.
The game depicts 36 locations across China, with 27 of them based on real places in Shanxi.
Four days after its release on Aug 20,2024, the game recorded more than 10 million plays across various platforms, garnering great interest from both Chinese and overseas players. This has drawn the world’s attention to Shanxi, especially its ancient buildings, statues and murals featured in the game.
The Shanxi Department of Culture and Tourism launched a “Traveling with Wukong in Shanxi” campaign on Aug 22,2024 to showcase the province’s historical sites and cultural heritage.
For this campaign, tourist numbers surged across Shanxi. The Xuankong Temple in Datong city, for instance, received about 800 foreign tourists between Aug 20 and Sept 2, with overseas visitor numbers rising sharply after the game’s release.
In the following two years, more tourists have followed Wukong to Shanxi, making some sites household names among game enthusiasts and tourists alike.
Zhang Qi contributed to this story.
