Xinhua published a profile, later carried on the State Council website, on Saturday tracing President Xi Jinping's focus on cultural heritage protection, covering his early administrative work in the 1980s through recent diplomatic visits where foreign leaders toured Chinese historical sites.
The article, published by Xinhua and carried on the State Council website, coincided with China's annual Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. It covers Xi's focus on heritage protection across multiple stages of his political career, alongside China's broader effort to promote and preserve its cultural sites.
According to the report, while serving as a county official in Zhengding, Hebei Province, during the early 1980s, Xi worked to secure restoration funding for Longxing Temple, a Buddhist complex dating back to the Sui Dynasty. Years later, as Communist Party secretary of Zhejiang Province in 2003, he ordered mining operations halted near the Liangzhu archaeological ruins — a Neolithic settlement now inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The account also describes Xi's use of heritage sites for diplomatic purposes. During Trump's May 2026 visit to China, Xi accompanied him to the Temple of Heaven. A previous Trump visit in 2017 included a tour of the Forbidden City. The Xinhua profile also cited visits by foreign leaders to Chinese heritage sites, including examples involving European leaders.
Beyond domestic sites, the article highlights Chinese involvement in international heritage projects. China led a restoration initiative for the ancient Silk Road city of Khiva in Uzbekistan, beginning in 2013 and completing the work in 2019. Xinhua also cited the 2019 return of 796 Chinese cultural relics from Italy.
China has secured UNESCO World Heritage inscriptions for multiple sites during Xi's tenure, including Liangzhu, the West Lake, the Grand Canal, and the Beijing Central Axis. The Spring Festival was added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2024, becoming the 44th Chinese cultural element recognized by the organization.
Xi's administration launched the Global Civilization Initiative in 2023, which calls for increased dialogue and exchange among different cultural traditions. Some observers view cultural diplomacy as part of Beijing's wider soft-power strategy.
The profile draws on Xi's published writings and public remarks, including a 2024 article in Qiushi Journal in which he described cultural relics as "nonrenewable and irreplaceable" cultural resources. During a 2022 visit to the Yin Ruins in Henan Province — an archaeological site with oracle bone inscriptions dating back more than 3,000 years — Xi said he aimed to "gain a deeper understanding of Chinese civilization" and draw inspiration for "better building modern Chinese civilization."
China's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, observed annually on the second Saturday of June, was established to promote public awareness of heritage conservation. This year's observance fell on June 13.
Sources: Xinhua, gov.cn, China Daily
