The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) recently highlighted the outcomes of its second Heritage Place Lab (HPL) in a feature article. Beijing Forestry University's School of Landscape Architecture, through the BFU-ICCROM International Joint Laboratory for Heritage and Landscape Conservation, played an integral role in the initiative.

From September 2024 to April 2025, ICCROM's World Heritage Leadership programme convened the second HPL in a hybrid online and in-person format. Five World Heritage sites were selected globally to form interdisciplinary teams tasked with evaluating current management challenges and developing future research agendas.

A multidisciplinary team from the School collaborated with the Huangshan Scenic Area management, marking the first Chinese participation in the HPL. The team conducted a comprehensive evaluation of heritage management practices at Huangshan, focusing on three critical areas: the ecological impacts of tourism, the effects of climate change on natural heritage values, and the incorporation of local knowledge and customary practices into conservation efforts.

Through six months of in-depth international exchange, the team helped advance evaluation and research for Huangshan, a iconic mixed natural and cultural World Heritage site. Their work improved global understanding of Huangshan's values, gained international recognition for its conservation approaches, and stimulated discussion around its challenges, thereby sharing valuable Chinese expertise with the global heritage community.

It is reported that the Joint Laboratory partnered with ICCROM to host the only fully in-person session of the HPL in Beijing last year. The event was held in conjunction with the "Linking Culture and Nature: ICCROM-BFU 2024 Conference" and included study visits to the Summer Palace and Beijing's Central Axis gardens. It provided a platform for exchanges among five international site teams and helped establish a transnational cooperation framework for heritage practice and research.

Written by Cao Xin, Liu Wei
Translated and edited by Song He
Reviewed by Yu Yangyang