China’s vanishing cultural heritage

A survey of China’s cultural heritage has revealed some rather shocking results – around 44,000 ancient sites have vanished, and around a quarter of the 700,000 remaining are in a poor state of repair.  The results have been out for a short while in China, but the BBC has just picked up on them here.

Although the figures are undeniably awful, and will no doubt be used by those who wish to bash China, I’d like to offer the following thoughts, which both applaud and condemn China’s cultural heritage management as I see it from afar (though I stress that I don’t claim to be an expert, more an interested observer):

1) The survey was carried out by the Chinese authorities, not an overseas organisation which is undoubtedly a positive first step in ensuring that the problems of the past are corrected.  This was the first such survey in 20 years, so the rate of deterioration cannot be determined.  It will only be through future surveys that more detailed data can be obtained.  A little birdy with some insider knowledge of how things work told me recently that a national database to keep track of heritage sites is currently being developed.

2) It is an obvious point, but China is huge.  The carrying out of such a survey is a mammoth task, and many heritage sites are in mountainous and desert areas which are very remote and difficult to reach.  Even recording the existence of the surviving heritage sites in such areas is an achievement in itself.

3) China is not devoid of law (despite what some seem to claim), and it has heritage legislation.  The problem here is not a lack of law, but a lack of understanding and education coupled with the lack of a solid, independent judicial system to punish those who break the laws.  Sadly, too many officials are able to put economic interests above other issues, and even if locals are proud of their heritage they are unable to voice their opposition to its destruction.  Roads, railways, mines and quarries are a national priority, and heritage usually comes last in the priority list.  That has to change if such shocking statistics are to be eradicated in future.

4) There is a problem in China with ‘fake heritage’.  Huge amounts of money have been spent creating heritage theme parks which distract people’s attention away from the needs and importance of the real heritage.  People are used to seeing shiny, restored heritage sites and massive reconstruction.  Heritage sites are of course not always like this (nor should we desire them to be), but the public perception can lead to them devaluing what we might term the ‘non-shiny’ heritage.  Which leads us on to...

5) China places too much emphasis on its major sites – the Forbidden Palaces, Great Walls, Terracotta Warriors and the like.  These are so closely associated with national prestige and cultural identity that they have become almost religious in their nature, and take focus away from other heritage sites.  Any heritage site not deemed worthy of making the highest grade (such as achieving the hallowed World Heritage Status) invariably falls by the wayside.  Of course, many such heritage sites are of immense local importance, but this is often not recognised.

In short, as with so many areas, China has a long way to go in cultural heritage management, but there are some signs that things are changing.  The hope is that in 20 years time a similar survey won’t have cause to make such shocking headlines.

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Mes Aynak – Ancient monastery vs Copper mine

It seems that the clash between making money and preserving the past is ever present at the moment.  No sooner had we seen an English Council leader threaten to remove archaeological considerations from the planning process (see my blog post here), then I come across a news story from a lot further away, but no less disturbing.

The rich cultural heritage of Afghanistan has recently been brought to life in a fantastic British Museum exhibition, yet it is once again under threat.  Not from war, but from international commercial mining.

Mes Aynak is an important ancient Buddhist monastery, founded in the first Century AD and located high in the mountains of western Afghanistan, on the profitable silk road.  The site covers a huge area, with impressive standing remains, yet it has been little studied.  The site was used by Al Qaeda as a training camp, and suffered looting first by the Taliban and then by others after they had left.  Despite this terrible recent history, the site now faces its biggest threat – that of total destruction by open-cast copper mining.

Statues whose heads have previously been looted

The name ‘Mes Aynak’ actually means ‘little copper well’, and the presence of the metal has long been known.  It was a major reason for the location of the monastery.  But the metal that once made the site rich now threatens its destruction.  The desire to re-ignite Afghanistan’s economy has led to a Chinese mining company being granted permission to turn the entire huge site into a mine, forever destroying the remains.  Archaeologists have been granted three years to investigate the site – a permission which has led to the largest archaeological project on the planet, as almost 1,000 archaeologists and workers attempt to salvage what information they can about the site.

Yet their efforts may only scratch the surface.  It was estimated that ten years of excavations were required, and the current efforts are little more than a rescue attempt – to take as much away as they can before it is gone forever.  Sadly, this is hardly the textbook approach to investigating such an important site.  The opening of a museum nearby, promised by the government, will sadly seem more of a memorial to the site than a celebration.

The Chinese Metallurgical Group were granted permission to open the mine in 2007, and will be allowed to operate it for 30 years.  The $3 billion dollar deal is the largest in Afghan history.  Chinese workers are already at the site in large numbers, preparing for the destruction to begin in 2014.  1,600 Afghan soldiers, a veritable army, guard the site from further looting.  The irony of such resources being used to protect a site that will soon be destroyed is telling.

The balance between restarting the economy and preserving the past is a difficult one, but the speed with which the excavations must be concluded is shocking.  With more time to properly excavate, the loss of the site would still be regrettable, but at least the damage would be better mitigated.  The present situation seems very much like merely paying lip service to the archaeologists, with the ultimate desire to make money the overriding factor in all things.

Perhaps the most scandalous thing about this tale is that the world barely seems to have noticed that it is happening.  One of the most important Buddhist sites in the world will vanish in a matter of years, and yet it seems like hardly anyone will notice.

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World Heritage – not coming to Lincoln anytime soon…

Any faint hopes Lincoln may have entertained of gaining a place on the top table of world heritage were dealt a death blow today when DCMS announced the shortlist of UK sites to go forward to the UNESCO panel – minus our fair city.

In case you missed the earlier story, a long list of 38 sites was produced back in July 2010, each expressing an interest in being granted World Heritage status.  The list was varied and included historic towns, prehistoric caves and industrial heritage.

The applications for each applicant were published online by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.  Lincoln’s application can be viewed here.

I have to confess I felt a vague sense of disappointment when I first read that application.  It just didn't seem to sell the city in particularly glowing terms and failed to present Lincoln as an integrated cultural offer - where was the talk of the Roman monuments, charming cobbled streets, varied museums and important historic buildings?  York’s application in comparison wove a tale of the history of the city – stories of Viking Kings and Roman Emperors being told through dynamic modern partnerships with unity of vision.  We may not have as much of that in Lincoln, but we do have fantastic stories to tell, and the big problem for me was that the application was focused rather superficially on the castle and cathedral, as if they exist in a bubble rather than as part of a fascinating and complex historical palimpsest.

However, as it turns out, York’s brand of lyrical wax was just as unwanted as Lincoln’s, as neither city made it onto the shortlist.  The final list consists of:

Chatham Dockyard and its Defences, Kent, England

Creswell Crags, Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire, England

England’s Lake District, Cumbria

Gorham’s Cave Complex, Gibraltar

The Island of St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean

Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, England

Mousa, Old Scatness & Jarlshof, Shetland, Scotland

Slate Industry of North Wales

The Flow Country, Scotland

The Forth Bridge (Rail), Scotland

Turks & Caicos Islands, West Indies

I find this selection rather surprising, as 'traditional heritage' such as historic towns and cities seem to not be the flavour of the month at all.  I’m sure that every place on the list is important in its own right, but is the Forth Bridge really a more important place in the history of the world than York?

One reason that I find this list strange is with regards to the potential these sites have to attract tourists.  Now, I’m the last person to suggest that tourism should take precedence over criteria such as historic importance, rarity and the like, but in the world we live in it is a reality we have to embrace.  Many international tourists will look at lists such as World Heritage when planning where to travel (I know from personal experience that lots of Chinese tourists do this).  I’m certain that pretty, historic towns like Lincoln and York would attract more tourists than some of the sites on this list (no disrespect to those sites intended).  Be honest, if you were going on a holiday yourself this summer, which of these would you deliberately go to?  The Lake District – very possibly.  Chatham Dockyard – I’m not so sure.

However, it shouldn’t all be doom and gloom, and I don’t want to sound bitter.  We should all remember that we already have one UNESCO listed attraction in Lincoln – Magna Carta, which is on the Memory of the World register

So let’s at least wish the best of luck to the 11 surviving sites with the next stage of their bids, and hope that Lincoln will at some point get the wider recognition that its deep and fascinating history deserves.

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