On October 20, 2024, the International Academic Symposium on Earthquake Resistance Technology for Cultural Relics opened in Chengdu, Sichuan, running for three days. Nearly 150 experts from both China and abroad gathered to discuss strategies for better protecting our “historical memory” against seismic threats.
The National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) places significant emphasis on technological innovation in earthquake resistance for cultural relics. They’re establishing key research bases focused on this issue and implementing a range of national key research and development projects, including research on integrated earthquake resistance for museum collections.
During the event, Luo Jing, Director of the Science and Education Department at the NCHA, highlighted the importance of academic exchanges. She called for the establishment of joint research projects, enhanced sharing of research findings, and the development of an international standard system for earthquake resistance in cultural heritage, with the aim of strengthening global capabilities to respond to earthquake risks.
The symposium’s location in Sichuan is particularly relevant, as it’s one of China’s most seismically active regions, underscoring the urgency of preventive protection for cultural relics. According to Pu Xin, Deputy Director of the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage, regional institutions have been actively exploring protective measures in recent years.
For instance, the establishment of the Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum includes research labs focused on the preservation of earthquake relics and seismic resistance in architecture. There are also ongoing monitoring and early warning projects for earthquake sites in Beichuan’s old county town. Additionally, a project led by the Sichuan Museum analyzing the damage to relics during the “5.12” Wenchuan Earthquake is creating comprehensive archives of damaged items and systematically assessing the reasons for this damage while proposing solutions.
The event, sponsored by the China Cultural Heritage Protection Technology Association and the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, features the unveiling of research stations at both the Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Chengdu Museum.
