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GHF Lijiang Conservation Trust Completes Forty Ancient Restorations of Authentic Naxi Heritage Residents and Achieves Government Approvals for New Master Conservation Plan

January 01, 2004

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GHF Lijiang Conservation Trust Completes Forty Ancient Restorations of Authentic Naxi Heritage Residents and Achieves Government Approvals for New Master Conservation Plan

An innovative Private-Community-Government Partnership with Lijiang Ancient Town Management Committee, UNESCO World Heritage Centre Asia Pacific, and Shanghai TongJi Urban Planning and Design Institute January 28th, 2004. Lijiang, China.

January 28, 2004, Lijiang, China - Global Heritage Fund completed authentic restorations of the first forty (40) ancient Naxi residences, the majority designated under official heritage protection, a successful beginning to completion of two hundred of the most endangered historic buildings in Lijiang Ancient Town. By providing historic restoration subsidies in partnership with the Chinese government, GHF has reversed the exodus of low-income and poverty-level families from the 1,000-year old ancient town, and begun a new chapter in renewal through historic preservation throughout Lijiang, severely impacted by the effects of mass tourism and unplanned construction and urbanization which threatens to wipe out the last remaining living Ancient Town in Asia.

GHF began its conservation effort with Mr. Nian Ji Wei, the newly appointed Director of the Ancient Town Management Committee, to develop Lijiang’s first world-class Master Conservation Plan (MCP), completed with the support of Shanghai Tongji University in 2003. Based on this approved master plan by UNESCO and the Chinese Government, GHF began an accelerated effort to reverse the destruction of Lijiang through:

  1. Authentic restoration of over 200 ancient Naxi residences in partnership with each local community committee

  2. Implementation of the master plan to eliminate over 400 newly constructed modern buildings within the Core and Protected Areas, create three new ‘Gateways’ for tourism into the Ancient Town and enforce building regulations in the Core and throughout the Buffer Areas

  3. Providing subsidies for education and community development of the traditional culture, language, art and music of the Naxi people.

About Global Heritage Fund

The Global Heritage Fund’s mission is to enable successful long-term preservation of humankind’s most important archaeological sites and ancient townscapes, creating new engines for economic growth in developing countries. GHF works to develop comprehensive Master Conservation Plans, provides early matching grants and training, builds local institutions and promotes sustainable tourism development to ensure permanent protection for global cultural treasures. The Global Heritage Fund is a registered non-profit conservancy based in Palo Alto, California.

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