Two prior events
Back in June, two international events focusing on ancient architectural assets were held in Shanxi. They functioned as the preludes to the International Cultural Heritage Protection Week in July.
In mid-June, Xifang Temple — a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) building complex in Xiqiang village of Pingyao — hosted a team of cultural heritage protection volunteers who came to restore historical structures.
The group of 20-plus members was there to take part in a Gen Z construction workshop for architectural heritage protection. Gen Z refers to people born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s. The volunteers were from China, France and Spain.
The 10-day event starting from June 14 was organized by the Shanxi International Communication Center, the Shanghai Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation, the French voluntary organization REMPART and the government of Pingyao.
The Gen Z workshop is a long-term cultural exchange program between Pingyao and the rest of the world.
In 2011, the Shanghai Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation began to cooperate with REMPART, introducing the international workshop for heritage protection to the Shanxi county of Pingyao.
Over the past 15 years, more than 200 overseas volunteers have participated in this program. They have taken part in some major heritage protection projects, including the renovation of the ancient city walls of Pingyao and a number of ancient building repair projects in the county's rural areas.
The program was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Initiative in 2025.
On June 16, a group of 23 Hungarian artists arrived in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, beginning a 13-day journey to sketch ancient buildings in Shanxi.
The event covered seven Shanxi cities: Taiyuan, Xinzhou, Shuozhou, Datong, Jinzhong, Linfen and Lyuliang.
The tour members visited a dozen ancient architectural and heritage sites — including Jinci Temple and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda — in these cities.
At the end of the tour, the artists left some of their works in Shanxi for exhibition, especially at the China (Shanxi)-Hungary Exchange Center for Arts. The center, located at the Taiyuan-based Shanxi University School of Fine Arts, was first opened during the trip.
The artists' trip went viral on several short video platforms in partnership with the Shanxi International Communication Center, one of the organizers of the event, garnering interest from people in both China and Hungary.
Media coverage
The International Cultural Heritage Protection Week, as well as its related events, has proven to be one of the most influential international cultural communication events for Shanxi.
According to the organizers, the events were covered by a dozen national news groups including People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily and China National Radio, as well as the country's major news portals including Sina, Tencent News and Toutiao.com.
