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- ID: 8366116
- Dateline: Recent
- Location: China;
- Duration: 2’33
- Source: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
- Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland
- Published: 2024-03-03 23:29
- Last Modified: 2024-03-03 23:33
Shotlist
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Storyline
Zhengding County in north China’s Hebei Province has a history going back more than 1,600 years, where Yu Pinglan, a local legislative liaison officer, has spent three decades working on the conservation of its rich cultural heritage.
As a noted historical and cultural city, Zhengding boasts a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) city wall and buildings dating from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) Dynasties.
Yu is responsible for soliciting public opinion on the protection of the city’s cultural heritage. Based on what she hears, she draws up recommendations for submission to the National People’s Congress.
“It’s set out in the national legislation. We must safeguard our cultural relics. But if a law is detached from grassroots concerns, it’s like a castle in the air. Legislation can only be effective and targeted when grassroots voices are listened to attentively,” she said.
One of her duties is the daily inspection of the city’s ancient murals, looking for signs of damage.
As the local legislative liaison officer, she is also contributing to the draft of a revised Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics by soliciting the opinions of her colleagues and the general public.
Yu called a meeting of her fellow cultural heritage protection workers.
“We’ve got no authority to enforce protection on site. It’s hard to convince people,” said one of the meeting attendee.
“Although we’ve got the funding, what about the day-to-day maintenance?” said another.
Yu wrote down all the suggestions.
Next, Yu headed to Longxing Temple, a famous local landmark, to hear what the tourists have to say.
“The mural we just saw is stunning. But the colors haven’t been enhanced. Couldn’t you display a restored image next to it?” said a tourist.
“There need to be measures to stop people touching the relics,” said another tourist.
“It needs to be better advertised. If we hadn’t read about it, we might not have known Longxing Temple existed,” suggested another tourist.
Yu took all the suggestions down as well.
Over the course of 30 years dedicated to cultural relics protection, Yu has built up an intimate knowledge of the city’s artifacts.
“I examine the murals every day for signs of peeling, cracking, weathering and damp. These treasures have been bequeathed to us by our ancestors. We want to protect them and pass them intact to the next generation. This is our duty and our passion,” she said.
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Prior to this year’s “two sessions,” a key event on China’s political calendar referring to the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s national legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body, the China Global Television Network (CGTN) released a documentary devoted to China’s whole-process people’s democracy.
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