On September 8, Wang Yanjun, Member of Luoyang Municipal Standing Committee and Deputy Mayor of Luoyang, shared Luoyang’s experience in the conservation and utilization of canal cultural heritage during the Mayor’s Dialogue Session at the World Canal Cities Forum.

Deputy Mayor Wang said that Luoyang is a famous ancient capital as well as a historic and cultural city. This is evident from three aspects:

Firstly, as the center of the Grand Canal during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Luoyang represents the beginning and the hub of the canal and it preserves the precious historic and cultural heritage of the Grand Canal. Three of the invaluable historic and cultural relics are:

(i)                 historic site of the river area: The Grand Canal stretches over 70 km through Luoyang city

(ii)               historic sites of the ancient warehouses: Including the ruins of large warehouses from the Sui and Tang dynasties such as Jiacang, Huiluocang and Ziluocang. At present, the Jiacang Conservation Project is opened to the public

(iii)             historic site of the ancient Luoyang City during the Sui and Tang dynasties: The ancient city is 47.5 km in length. After nearly a decade of efforts, "Tiantang" (Heaven) and Mingtang are now opened to the public and the Sui Tang Luoyang National Heritage Park project has begun to take shape. The convergence of the Silk Road and Sui Tang Canal cultures here allows Luoyang to be one of the cities that best reflects the historic value of the Grand Canal.

Secondly, in terms of the conservation and utilization of the canal, Luoyang has focused on three areas:

(i)                 It has strengthened investigations and studies, drawn meticulous plans of the historical canal, discovered shipwrecks and remains of wharfs and ancient canals. These efforts gave the city the necessary first-hand information and a new understanding of the canal during Luoyang's history of development.

(ii)               It has protected innovative models and maximized the conservation and exhibition of the rich heritage of the canal. China's efforts in conservation and exhibition of the Sui and Tang canals cultural heritage had led to the extraction of historical records from the underground to be put on display, transformed the intangible into tangible, and fully demonstrated the rich and colorful canal culture.

(iii)             It has paid attention to ecological construction and highlighted the beautiful scenery and humanities. In recent years, Luoyang has built a park covering more than 30 km and a total area of ​​12 million sqm in the urban area, creating a green corridor, historic and cultural squares as well as other cultural and natural landscapes on both sides of the Luo River.

Thirdly, with regards to the future plans for the conservation and utilization of the canal, Luoyang strives to perform the following five tasks:

(i) To integrate the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt with the entire city and create a Grand Canal Cultural Belt that highlights the elements of Luoyang. In addition to the cultural heritage conservation projects related to the Grand Canal that have already been implemented, Luoyang will also promote the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt and integrate it into the planned construction of the Sui Tang City National Historic and Cultural Park. This will establish a close connection between the Grand Canal and the Silk Road, which are both world cultural heritage sites, thus creating a new cultural project of significance.

(ii) To combine the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt with a comprehensive management of the water system. We shall rely on a wealth of water resources to transform and enhance the landscape of the water system and improve the infrastructure for residents and visitors to enjoy a better experience of the canal.

(iii) To combine the cultural development of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt with the development of the city's soft power. We shall accelerate the development of cultural and creative industries, plan a creative center, conserve intangible cultural heritage throughout the park, as well as invite domestic and foreign high-end cultural and creative enterprises to participate in our development. Using the economies of scale, we shall gather entrepreneurs here and promote the development of cultural industries.

(iv) To combine the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt with major infrastructure construction.

(v) To combine the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt with the improvement of people’s livelihood. By improving the infrastructure along the canal, while conserving and utilizing the canal, we shall enhance the residents’ respect for the Grand Canal heritage and raise their awareness of conscious conservation.

In his conclusion, Deputy Mayor Wang said that with the concerted efforts of the state and the cities along the Grand Canal, Luoyang shall actively participate in the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt while protecting, passing on and developing the image of Grand Canal cities. Luoyang shall strive to recreate the unique charm of the ancient Grand Canal.