The Badaling Great Wall Cultural Forum kicks off in Yanqing, Beijing, June 8, 2024. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
The 2024 Badaling Great Wall Cultural Forum, a part of the 2024 Great Wall Cultural Festival, was held on June 8 in Beijing's northwestern Yanqing district. The forum aimed to explore ways to better protect and utilize the resources of the Great Wall.
Over 150 experts, scholars, and officials from various institutions attended the forum, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China Academy of Cultural Heritage, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, and the Yanqing government. Foreign enthusiasts of the Great Wall, such as William Lindesay, a Great Wall researcher from the United Kingdom, were also present.
William Lindesay (second from left), a Great Wall researcher from the U.K., attends the Badaling Great Wall Cultural Forum in Yanqing, Beijing, June 8, 2024. [Photo by Guo Xiaohong/China.org.cn]
"The Great Wall, a must-see for many world leaders as well as international tourists, has been my dream since I was 11 years old," said Lindesay at the forum. "It changed a lot in the 20th century. I will continue to present and protect the Great Wall, as always, but in new and different ways."
Lindesay, known as the Great Wall Ambassador, has published 11 books on the Great Wall and has been dedicated to exploring, researching, and protecting the mammoth construction. He has received national medals from China and the U.K. for his contributions to preserving the Great Wall and furthering cultural understanding between the two countries.
The protection of the Great Wall involves both physical and digital aspects. “We should explore the art, history and culture of the Great Wall to enhance its protection through digitalization,” said Dang Anrong, a professor at Tsinghua University, at the forum. “Technologies like remote sensing, big data and cloud computing will be utilized to quantify and find solutions to the problems facing its protection.”
A themed exhibition on Great Wall conservation in Yanqing, Beijing, June 8, 2024. [Photo by Guo Xiaohong/China.org.cn]
Alongside the forum, a themed exhibition was held to highlight the conservation of the Great Wall and support from various fields in China and other countries.
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