Conservation of Historical Sites
3 min readBetween 1961 and 2009, the State Council announced seven batches of key spots of cultural relics under state protection including many historical sites in Xinjiang. Because ofthe special geology and climate, Xinjiang is a region very rich in historical sites and can be called a major region of historical sites. By 2011, over 4,000 cultural relics sites had been found in Xinjiang, including 58 key spots of cultural relics under state protection,374 under autonomous region protection and 2,134 under county protection.
The state and the local government have always attached great importance to the conservation and renovation of historical sites in Xin jiang. Under the guiding principle of “giving priority to both conservation and rescue”, in the past few years,a large-scale renovation has been carried out to the region’s key cultural relics sites, including the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves, Simsim Thousand Buddha Caves, Bezkilik Thousand Buddha Caves, Tuyugou Grottoes, Gaochang Ancient City Ruins, Hami King’s Tomb, Former Residence of Yili General, etc.A number of important historical architectures of the Uyghur, Mongolian, Hui, Xibe and other peoples have been properly renovated and preserved, including the Tomb of Afak Hoja, Tomb of Tughluk Tumur in Huocheng, Zhaosu Lamasery, Former Residence of a Mongolian Prince in He jing, and Chimtoghrak Manor.
China officially established the project of conserving Kashi as a historical and cultural city in 2009. Three billion yuan will be spent on the renovation work which will be done in line with the national conservation standards for historical and cultural cities. In the past, most houses in the old urban areas of Kashi were 100-year-old buildings, infrastructure was backward, living conditions were bad, and collapses occurred often. Renovation and reconstruction was followed the principle of voluntariness, and a plan was designed for each household. After the completion of the renovation project, the quake-resistance of houses was greatly enhanced, the living environment was greatly improved, and the original architectural characteristics of the old areas of Kashi and the traditional lifestyles of residents were preserved to the maximum extent. Therefore, it was not only approved by residents of various ethnic groups, but also confirmed by UNESCO’s cultural heritage protection experts.
In 2009, the Key Cultural Relics Rescue and Conservation Program for the Silk Road (Xinjiang Section) was launched in the autonomous region. Extensive financial and humar resources have been mobilized for the comprehensive rescue and preservation of large historical sites and key cultural heritages along the main route of the ancient Silk Road in Xin jiang. In 2010, the protective facility construction project for world cultural heritage site application for the Silk Road(Xin jiang Section) was officially launched. According to the plan,190 million yuan will be invested to carry out protective facility construction for heritage sites including the 14 heritage sites included in the transnational world cultural heritage application project for the Silk Road: the Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins, GaochangAncient City Ruins, Ancient Tombs at Astana, Taizang Pagoda, Ruins of the Subashi Temple, Ancient City of Loulan, Ruins of Niya, Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves, Simsim Thousand Buddha Caves, Bezkilik Thousand Buddha Caves, Tuyugou Grottoes, Tomb of Mehmud Qeshqeri, etc.
The karez, an underground water conservancy project particular to Xinjiang, was included in China’s World Heritage Tentative List together with the “Silk Road”. In 2009, the karez renovation work was officially launched; in 2010,31 karezes were renovated and consolidated during the first phase of the project; in 2011, the state further spent 12 million yuan and launched the second phase of the project to renovate and consolidate 23 karezes.
