User:BJCHPORG

Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP)is an independent Chinese grassroots non-profit organization, supporting local communities across China to protect their cultural heritage throughout China. CHP works with a small professional staff and a large number of volunteers to fight for the protection of China’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage in a time of rapid economic development and social change.

File:CHP MEDIUM print logo color.jpg

The CHP logo derives from a traditional Chinese latticed window, symbolizing CHP as a window of communication for cultural heritage protection dialogue. Within the square window, four connected “文” (culture) characters enclose a circle, recalling the ancient Chinese concept of “Round Heaven, Square Earth”. For CHP, the sturdy square symbolizes cultural heritage protection laws on which CHP’s work is grounded, while the circle symbolizes CHP’s innovative and flexible tactics employed to protect cultural heritage.

Supporting Communities to Protect Their Cultural Heritage

Through capacity building, education, networking, advocacy, publicity, and offering constructive and creative solutions, CHP provides a vehicle for channeling the energies of communities in protecting heritage from rapid economic development and social change. CHP believes that there need be no conflict between development and modernization on the one hand, and heritage protection on the other, and that reconciliation of conflict between these goals lies at the core of CHP’s work.

What We Do

CHP works to raise awareness of cultural conservation in local communities, and involve people directly in the oversight and management of their heritage; to call attention to and campaign against threats to cultural heritage; to press for effective implementation of and adherence at local levels to heritage protection laws and policies; and to raise the visibility of heritage protection in government planning and in media coverage.

Heritage of Cities and Towns

Picture of Old Beijing Hutong.

In the past Chinese cities and towns comprised one of the world’s great urban architectural traditions, with temples, gardens, the exquisite homes of the literati, merchant classes, and of working people. In the haste of economic development and infrastructure modernization, this architectural heritage and the attendant traditional ways of life are disappearing. CHP is now broadening its urban programs through a “Cultural Action Network” of strategically placed volunteers to monitor the urban heritage situation in major cities and towns around China, and to coordinate CHP’s heritage protection efforts with local governments, communities, and media.

Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin Residence

In 2009, CHP pleaded for preservation of the historic residence. As a result, in 2010, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage designated Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin’s residence as a protected cultural site.

Drum and Bell Tower Neighborhood

This area was put at risk when the government announced a plan to convert it into a “Beijing Time Cultural City”. CHP opposed the plan and organized a press conference to direct attention to the demolition threat. CHP’s timely efforts resulted in cancellation of the project in late 2010.

North Xisi

Xisibei is a historic hutong area in Beijing dating back to the Qing Dynasty, and is one of the historic conservation districts of the city. Despite the laws protecting it, Xisibei faced demolition. After CHP led discussion on Xisibei and generated media exposure and public opposition to the development plan, the Xisibei development project was canceled by government decision.

Ethnic Minority Cultural Revitalization

Dai Characters for the Menglian Archives.

China is home to 55 ethnic minorities, totaling close to 100 million people. CHP works to restore pride of Chinese ethnic minorities in their ancestral traditions, and to assist them in incorporating cultural heritage revitalization in poverty alleviation and modernization programs.

Mengma Archive (2005-2008/Yunnan Province)

CHP assisted a group of elders of the Dai minority of Meng Ma Village in Yunnan Province to self-document their culture. CHP published the results as Mengma Archive, a bilingual Dai-Chinese book with English introduction and abstract.

Congjiang Archive (2009-2011/Guizhou Province)

Local people of four ethnic groups in a remote district, recorded their own cultural heritage, while producing an inventory of the heritage that needs to be conserved and revitalized in future years.

Qiang Cultural Documentation (2009-2011/Sichuan Province)

Residing in A’er Village, at the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, the Qiang minority’s spirit and culture were severely impacted by the natural disaster. CHP has sent volunteers to revive the fading culture of the Qiang community, whose way of life and extraordinary village architecture date back without interruption to the Han Dynasty.

Menglian Weaving Revival (2010-2011/Yunnan Province)

CHP is coordinating with U.S. and Thai handicraft experts to organize the women of Meng Lian County into a weaving cooperative, producing woven goods using indigenous techniques and motifs, but adapted to meet the demands of the international market.

See Also

1. Information on Beijing's Courtyard Homes
2. Cultural Heritage Law
3. The Global Heritage Fund
4. Memory of China
5. UNESCO

External Links

Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center-- CHP Website