The Great Wall of China Photos: IC

The first multilateral conference for the protection of Asian cultural heritage, the Asian Dialogue for Cultural Heritage Conservation, has come to an end on Thursday in Beijing.

At the closing ceremony, the Recommendations on the Asian Initiative for Cultural Heritage Conservation were announced. 

According to the recommendations, Asian countries will work together to implement the Asian Initiative for Cultural Heritage Conservation, including jointly building a cooperation platform, safeguarding the accomplishments of civilizations, improving protection measures, promoting sustainable development and developing the youth sector. 

Digital exhibitions were also launched at the closing ceremony, including the Asian Cultural Heritage Digital Exhibition and the Beijing Central Axis Digital Exhibition.

The Dialogue brought together experts and scholars from 18 Asian countries who gave 26 presentations on diverse themes, including "cultural heritage as a driver to promote sustainable development in Asia," "cultural heritage as a facilitator to deepen exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations," and "cultural heritage as a solution to address Asia's future challenges."

China is home to 56 sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List. These include 38 cultural sites, 14 natural and four mixed properties. The list also includes one transnational property which is located along the magnificent Silk Road in the Routes Network of the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, a section spanning 5,000 km shared with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Since 1997, China has conducted more than 20 joint archaeological projects and the restoration of cultural relics with 15 Asian countries, including Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Kenya, Mongolia and Serbia. After more than 20 years of work, China has achieved meaningful results and invaluable experience and has gradually become an important platform for international cooperation and exchanges in protection of cultural relics and archaeology.

Moin ul Haque, Pakistani Ambassador to China, sent his congratulations for the success of the event on Thursday. "China's sincere efforts to protect the ancient relics of past and building consensus for conservation of global cultural symbols have been acknowledged by the international community," he said.

The ambassador also pointed out that the new alliance will transcend political differences and disputes and unite all Asian countries to protect important cultural heritage.

Global Times