Custodians of Cultural Heritage

By+Tang+Yuankai

Huang Yuqings home décor is unusual， to say the least. The 54-year-olds residence is packed with thousands of old newspapers， magazines and books—publications he started collecting from 1997.

Many of them were published in Beijing. Huang， a Beijing resident who is fascinated by the history and culture of the city， is a heritage protection volunteer.

The system of recruiting these volunteers was established by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and Beijing Charity Volunteer Association（BCVA） three years ago.

“I love the city，” he said， talking about Beijing， a place with more than 3，000 years of history， including over 860 years as the national capital， and blessed with a rich cultural heritage.

His passion for Beijing has motivated him to work to protect its cultural heritage. For his dedication to this， Huang has been honored as one of the citys Top 10 Charity Workers.

Huang is saddened by the loss of some cultural heritage sites over the course of time. “Beijing has changed dramatically，” he said. “Many of the places I remember having seen as a child， adolescent and even in my middle age can no longer be found.”

Perils of progress

Huang grew up near the Shefan Temple in Xicheng District， nestled in the Minfeng Hutong， a neighborhood of traditional houses with spacious courtyards. He remembers the temple providing free meals to poor residents on the first and 15th day of every lunar month. But now， both the temple and hutongs are gone.

“Every Beijing resident has the responsibility to protect cultural heritage， using cultural heritage resources rationally， and passing them down to the next genera- tion，” he said.

In 2005， the Beijing Municipal Government issued an ordinance to protect Beijings historical and cultural sites in its social and economic development plan.

The recruitment of volunteers is a step in that direction. The volunteers are trained to monitor cultural relics in their work areas and report any activity likely to endanger their safety. Cultural heritage protection law enforcers then swing into action.

Last year， Huang inspected more than 200 cultural relic sites， submitting reports on the condition of 115.

One such site was a section of the ancient walls of Dadu， capital of the Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368） founded by Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. Located at the heart of todays Beijing， Dadu was constructed between 1267 and 1276. Conservation efforts for the 9-km ancient site spanning Beijings Chaoyang and Haidian districts began in 1957. During his inspections， Huang found some steles had been covered with graffiti. A childrens park had also been built on the heritage site.

When he reported the problems to the relevant government departments， they took action， and when Huang revisited the site， he found the childrens park closed.

“I have witnessed progress in promoting cultural heritage protection，” Huang said， mentioning other instances when the authorities had been quick to respond to alerts.

According to Beijings Vice Mayor Wang Ning， the capital has 3，840 listed immovable cultural relics， 40 historical and cultural protection sites， and 56 underground cultural burial sites under protection. Cultural relic protection units have been formed to monitor sites， while commercial development has been restricted in their neighborhood.

Wang said that over 880 organizations that were housed in historical buildings but that did not take good care of them have been relocated. Nearly 5，000 compounds have been repaired and more than 100 hutongs renovated.

The Shouhuang Hall in Jingshan Park， another major relic site along Beijings central axis apart from the Forbidden City， has received a facelift.

The rescue brigade

The city has seen fast growth in the number of cultural heritage protection volunteers. The heritage protection volunteer program was launched in April 2014， and today Beijing has 1，023 volunteers， according to Zhao Jianming， in charge of heritage-related law enforcement at the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage.

“Heritage protection volunteers are the legs and eyes of law enforcers，” Zhao said at a public event co-hosted by the administration and the BCVA. They help law enforcement officers obtain information in time to prevent damage to cultural relics， he explained.

Last year， the BCVA organized training sessions for volunteers. It also set up a public WeChat account to disseminate information.

Zhao hopes the general public， even if they are not registered volunteers， would work together with the authorities to protect cultural heritage and make up for the shortage of law enforcers.

“There are no more than 100 professional heritage law enforcers at the municipal and district levels in Beijing， which means one enforcer for every 40 heritage sites on average，” Zhao said. “Cultural relics are scattered and vulnerable to a variety of damaging factors such as commercial development and natural disasters. Routine supervision is an onerous task.”

Besides， the volunteers are mostly located in Beijing. Zhao said more volunteers are needed in the citys expansive suburbs.

According to him， the Great Wall is the most difficult relic to protect because it sprawls across a vast area and is on the outskirts. “We plan to send experienced volunteers to towns to mobilize more volunteers，” he said. “We will try to get another 500 volunteers by the end of this year.”