The 2nd General Assembly of the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia (ACHA) opened on Thursday in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Photo: VCG

Featuring cultural heritage experts from more than 20 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, the 2nd General Assembly of the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia (ACHA) opened on Thursday in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. 

One of the key focuses of the 2025's event was the advancement of several joint heritage projects featuring Chinese and international teams. These projects include a China-Italy collaboration on restoring the cliff-side Dazu Rock Carvings Egypt and China's endeavor for a joint UNESCO World Heritage application featuring the Baiheliang Inscriptions and the Rawda Island's Nilometer. 

In addition to heritage protection, joint archaeological projects such as archaeological research on the Vohemar graveyard in Madagascar with contributions from a Chinese team has also been spotlighted. 

Chen Huili, a lead of the cliff-side carvings restoration program, told the Global Times at the event that the two sides have primarily conducted inspection and restoration work on the Shuchengyan cliffside carvings, a set of Taoist rock sculptures within the Dazu Rock Carvings site.

After prolonged exposure to natural weathering and human factors, the carvings are experiencing numerous issues, including "detaching paint, gold leaf lifting off surfaces, and the powdering of stone surfaces," Chen remarked, noting that both China and Italy have contributed their "respective expertise" throughout the project.  

"The Italian team took primary responsibility for the preliminary assessment and diagnostic phase, while Chinese restoration experts integrated traditional sculpture techniques into the conservation work," Chen told the Global Times. 

While the project recently finished its work, it was started long back in 2016. 

"At that time, it was an exemplar case showing China's international spirit in world cultural heritage conservation," Chen remarked. 

Another China-Madagascar project is currently in the preparation phase. Located far in Africa, its Vohemar graveyard has many tombs with similarities to "tombs of Chinese Muslims," Kong Lingyuan, an expert working on the joint project, told the Global Times. 

A prolific number of porcelains and funeral objects from the Yuan (1279-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties were unearthed from the site. 

"These discoveries linked to China are continually redefining our understanding of the ancient Maritime Silk Road's scope," said Kong. 

Stressing the spirit of partnership, a consensus was released during the assembly. It underlined that in the face of severe threats to cultural heritage from "natural disasters" and "armed conflicts," there is a commitment for countries to jointly enhance risk prevention and control capabilities. 

Back in 2017, China joined the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage (ALIPH) as a founding member. Over the years, China has hosted "endangered" relics such as ancient glassware from Lebanon and sculptures from Iraq. Simultaneously, it has utilized advanced technologies to assist other nations in restoring their precious cultural artifacts.

Meanwhile, the shared consensus at the cultural heritage meeting also stressed the need to value science and technology.

The meeting also displayed the Alliance's institutional progress, launched new funding mechanisms, and welcomed additional member states. The countries of Malaysia, Kenya and Cuba are expected to submit formal applications to officially join the Alliance. Meanwhile, the host city of Chongqing will become home to the Secretariat of the new scientific and technological committee of the ACHA. 

Other agendas also include reviewing the ACHA 2025-2027 biennial work plan, and finalizing the host country agreement.The event will also witness the signing of a China-Egypt Joint Statement on Advancing the "Asia Cultural Heritage Protection Initiative." 

"Such an Initiative boosts our confidence to jointly apply for the UNESCO World Heritage title with Egypt," Jiang Rui, the lead of the "Nilometer and Baiheliang" project at the event told the Global Times. He also revealed that the Chinese side "is waiting for the Egypt side to finalize their procedures before singing an MoU. 

In 2023, the ACHA was established with headquarters in Beijing. Prior to its official founding, nine Asian countries, including China, Cambodia, Iran and Pakistan, jointed initiated the Alliance. 

Based on the principles of respecting national sovereignty and promoting equal cooperation, the Asian Fund aims to build international consensus on cultural heritage protection, with key focuses including joint research, restoration projects, collaborative archaeology, transnational heritage nominations, and technology-based conservation.