Nanjing showcases community-led heritage conservation in Busan

Nanjing used a World Heritage Committee side event in Busan to spotlight how its Ming City Wall conservation combines resident participation, digital interpretation and neighborhood renewal. The presentation also helped launch a new five-year Heritage Hub initiative focused on linking heritage protection with sustainable development.

Why it matters: - Nanjing is presenting a model for heritage conservation that connects preservation with daily urban life, not just monument protection. - The approach links community participation, digital tools and neighborhood improvement, which could inform other historic cities facing similar conservation and governance pressures. - The city’s wall conservation was described as a useful reference for comparable heritage sites worldwide.

What happened: - Nanjing presented its participatory heritage conservation approach during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea. - The Nanjing-initiated event, “Shared Heritage, Shared Future,” combined a case presentation and the digital exhibition “Our Wallscapes.” - The program focused on the Ming City Wall and nearby historic neighborhoods. - The presentation was part of a side event on heritage action for sustainable development. - The event was co-organized by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under UNESCO, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UN-Habitat and ICOMOS Korea. - The Nanjing International Communication Center contributed content to the program. - The institute, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and UN-Habitat launched the five-year Heritage Hub initiative for 2026-30 during the meeting.

The details: - The Heritage Hub initiative is meant to support collaboration on heritage conservation and development in urban and rural settings. - Shao Yong, secretary-general of the institute and director of its Shanghai center, said Nanjing has extensive and creative experience linking cultural heritage conservation with sustainable urban development. - Shao said she hoped Nanjing would become an important partner in the five-year initiative. - This year marks 660 years since construction of the Nanjing Ming City Wall began. - Wang Teng, an associate researcher at the Nanjing City Wall Museum, outlined two projects tied to the “Shared Heritage, Shared Future” global co-creation initiative. - The “Bring Every Brick Home Project” began in 2016. - Residents, community workers and volunteers identify, verify and recover inscribed Ming-era bricks scattered across the city. - By the end of 2025, the program had visited more than 500 recovery sites and retrieved nearly 600,000 bricks, according to project organizers. - The “Digital Heritage Global Innovator Contest” uses digital design to interpret the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, a landmark at the Great Bao'en Temple that no longer survives. - Two editions of the museum-based maker program involved more than 1,000 young participants from 19 countries. - Participants produced augmented reality works, immersive audio and digital installations for museum display. - Wang said the brick recovery project repairs memory by looking to the past, while the digital heritage contest builds imagination for the future. - The “Our Wallscapes” exhibition featured four short films. - One film documents the city brick recovery program. - A second film follows a 12-year lantern tradition in the Laomendong historic district. - A third film explores international and interdisciplinary reinterpretations of the Porcelain Tower. - A fourth film examines the incremental renewal of Xiaoxihu. - Xiaoxihu’s renewal brings together residents, government officials, designers, business owners and project implementers to preserve historic lanes and courtyards while improving living conditions. - Doo-Won Cho, an executive committee member of ICOMOS, said Nanjing’s city wall conservation offers a useful reference for other heritage sites. - Jae-Heon Choi, president of ICOMOS Korea, said Nanjing’s Ming City Wall and Korea’s Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon face related conservation and governance challenges. - Choi said he was willing to explore multilevel conservation and management approaches with Nanjing. - Construction of the Nanjing City Wall began in 1366 as part of a four-section defensive system. - About 25.1 kilometers, or 15.6 miles, of the capital city wall remain. - The wall now serves as both historic infrastructure and public space for residents and visitors.

Between the lines: - Nanjing is framing heritage as a living system that can support tourism, community identity and urban renewal at the same time. - The emphasis on bricks, lantern traditions, digital reconstruction and neighborhood upgrades suggests a strategy that mixes physical conservation with cultural storytelling. - The international response signals interest in whether Nanjing’s model can be adapted to other heritage cities with similar pressures.

What's next: - The five-year Heritage Hub initiative now provides a broader platform for Nanjing and other partners to share methods and expand cooperation. - The brick recovery, digital heritage and neighborhood renewal projects are positioned to continue as part of Nanjing’s conservation strategy. - Nanjing and ICOMOS Korea signaled interest in further discussion on conservation and management approaches for urban heritage sites.