An 85-year-old primary school constructed in 1935 in Shanghai has been lifted off the ground completely and relocated using new technology called the “walking machine”. The project marks the first time this “walking machine” method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historic building.

Urbanization (都市化) has continued to significantly threaten architectural heritage. In the capital Beijing, for instance, more than 1,000 acres of its historic hutongs and traditional courtyard homes were destroyed between 1990 and 2010.

In the early 2000s, due to the critics’ protest against the loss of old neighborhoods, cities including Nanjing and Beijing drew up long-term plans to preserve what was left of their historic sites, with protections introduced to safeguard buildings and set limits to developers. These protection efforts have taken different forms. In Beijing, a near-ruined building was transformed into a restaurant and gallery, while in Nanjing, a cinema from the 1930s was restored to its original form, with some parts of it changed for modern use. In 2019, Shanghai welcomed Tank Shanghai, an arts center built in renovated (重修) oil tanks.

“Relocation is not the first choice, but better than destroying them,” said Lan, the Shanghai primary school’s project supervisor. He also added, “Building relocation is a workable option. The central government is putting more emphasis on the protection of historic buildings. I’m happy to see that progress in recent years.”

Shanghai has been generally acknowledged as China’s most active city when it comes to heritage preservation. The survival of a number of 1930s buildings and 19th-century stone gatehouses has offered distinct examples of how to give old buildings new life.

“We have to preserve the historic building no matter what,” Lan said. “The relocation has challenges, but in general, it is cheaper than destroying and then rebuilding something in a new location.”

The 24 solar terms (节气) are part of the traditional Chinese calendar. The Chinese people divided a year into 24 segments (片段) based on the sun’s position in the zodiac (黄道十二宫). 【小题1】 They reflect the changes of the seasons, climate and phenology (生物气候学). The Yellow River Basin in northern China is believed to be the cradle (摇篮) of the solar terms system.

【小题2】 They mark things like seasons, temperature, precipitation (降水), growth of the crops and weather conditions. Many farmers still rely on the solar terms to work in the fields.

Most of the solar terms bear with them rich social and cultural meanings. 【小题3】 The “Pure Brightness” is also referred to as Tomb-Sweeping Day, when people pay respect to those they have lost.

The ancient calendar remains relevant to this day. 【小题4】 The cultural legacy reflects the Chinese people’s respect for nature and tradition, their unique understanding of the universe, their wisdom to live in harmony with nature and the world’s cultural diversity, said Zhang Ling, an official with the Ministry of Culture in 2017.

It is the youth of China who can best help carry on this significant part of our culture. 【小题5】 Many young people have already been contributing their energy and strength to this feat. In fact, they have been living up to this challenge through rather artistic means. Many photos, essays and paintings have centered around the theme of the 24 solar terms and expressed the vitality and rich tradition of Chinese history.

Friday and Saturday were full of surprises for Chinese, as two places in China were listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The first, a World Natural Heritage, is composed of a series of migratory bird sanctuaries (候鸟保护地) along the coast of the Yellow Sea in Yancheng, East China’s Jiangsu Province. The second, the Liangzhu Archaeological Site in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site.

China began the application process for the bird sanctuaries in 2017. It only took two years to successfully complete the process. The migratory bird sanctuaries are the central node of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and many endangered species, especially threatened migratory birds including red-crowned cranes and flamingos, go there to hunt for food during the migration season. The birds usually take a month to finish their migration. At about 10 days into their migration, they must stop and find food in order to have the energy to continue their journey.

Compared to the short turnaround for the World Natural Heritage’s application, the Liangzhu application was far more complicated. The application team spent six years making their dream a reality. The site in Liangzhu is evidence of the existence of an early regional state in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the late Neolithic period in China, which helps fill in the gaps in the history of the rice-cultivating civilizations of China and East Asia more than 5000 years ago. The site was one of the 20th century’s most important archaeological discoveries in China.

With these two new additions, China now has 55 World Heritage sites, the highest number in the world. The successful application means greater responsibility and obligations (义务). Protecting these places is much more important and is our future work.