China and UK discuss heritage in Beijing

Carma Elliot, director of British Council China Minister in Culture and Education, delivers the keynote speech during the forum. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The British Council and Peking University have jointly hosted the China-UK Cultural Heritage High Level Dialogue on 28 Feb 2017 in Beijing.

With the support of the China State Administration of Cultural Heritage and Capital Normal University, cultural heritage experts from both countries were invited to exchange and discuss potential future collaboration.

This dialogue is part of a series of cultural skills dialogues the British Council hosts in China. The British Council has been contributing to the development of UK-China cultural industry by delivering a series of meetings, forums and training in China on museums, theater management, cultural heritage, gaming and fashion. These dialogues receive support from the China Prosperity Fund, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Five experts from five British cultural institutions took part in this dialogue: Historic England, Bath World Heritage Site/World Heritage UK, the Institute of Conservation, Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site, and Oxford Preservation Trust. More than 50 Chinese experts from all over the country were invited. They presented on topics such as cultural heritage preservation and the transformation of buildings and spaces, while also examining case studies like the preservation of the Great Wall in China and the development of ancient villages such as the Dong ethnic group in China's southwestern regions.

The start of a golden era of collaboration and exchange between the UK and China began in 2015 with the UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange. Both the UK and China have splendid and rich cultural heritage. Cultural heritage protection is also one of the priorities for China's 13th Five-Year Plan.