Introduction to the Guangdong Association for Heritage Protection

It is a great honour to introduce our association on such an important occasion.

You have heard from two women from our association, Ms Cao Jin, our Chairwoman, who outlined the value and conservation of the ancient post roads in southern Guangdong, and Ms Zhang Yu, our Deputy Secretary General, who touched on the value and conservation of educational institutions in southern China. Our association works to conserve cultural heritage in Guangdong Province and is led by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province.

Our day-to-day work mainly centres around the evaluation of design plans, the inspection and acceptance of projects related to the protection of cultural heritage in Guangdong Province, the evaluation and acceptance of projects on archaeological sites, and the training of technical personnel in these areas.

Besides our ordinary activities, we are actively involved in activities to promote cultural heritage protection. For example, in 2020, on the International Day of Monuments and Sites, we collaborated with the Three Masters Association to promote a campaign about the revitalisation and utilisation of cultural resources in Guangdong Province. The general public got involved in the form of live broadcasts, open exhibitions, media coverage and other events. In recent years, our association has been involved in research projects on the ancient post roads in southern Guangdong and worked with educational institutions in Yuebei, South China. We have also been contributing to the publication of a book entitled ‘Records of Education and Stories in Guangdong during the War of Resistance’ and the filming of a TV programme for the Chinese Phoenix Television about the war called ‘Fire beacon reversal’.

We are now editing two sets of books, one entitled ‘Beacon Chants: an anthology of historical materials on the relocation of students and the education management in Guangdong during the War of Resistance’ and another called ‘Selected historical materials on schooling during the War of Resistance in the National Archives of Guangzhou’. In addition, the association organised a campaign with the Three Masters Association to promote the major findings of ancient post roads in southern Guangdong. Last month, we hosted the 13th archaeological discovery event in Guangdong Province.

Our association is also involved in research and engineering projects, such as the Mount Danxia Archaeological Survey Project. The mountain is the only natural World Heritage Site in Guangdong Province and has a rich and unique cultural heritage.

Once again, we would like to thank you for listening and for supporting our association. We invite you to join us in our efforts to protect and promote cultural heritage sites.