FUZHOU, June 13, 2026 — In a powerful testament to China's commitment to preserving its cultural heritage, President Xi Jinping's decades-long dedication to historic conservation in Fuzhou's Sanfangqixiang neighborhood continues to yield remarkable results, transforming a once-threatened district into one of the country's most celebrated examples of heritage preservation.
The story began in the late 1980s when property development threatened to demolish a historic compound in Fuzhou's Sanfangqixiang, a neighborhood with over 1,000 years of history. The residence had been home to Lin Juemin, a martyr of the 1911 Revolution, and later served as the childhood home of Bing Xin, one of China's most renowned modern writers. A large Chinese character meaning "demolish" had already been painted on its front wall.
Shortly after taking office as Party Secretary of Fuzhou in 1990, Xi Jinping received urgent appeals from scholars and cultural heritage specialists. Recognizing the neighborhood's irreplaceable cultural value, he immediately ordered the demolition suspended. On March 10, 1991, Xi convened local officials at Lin's former residence with an unequivocal message: "We'll preserve it and restore it."
"We must protect, repair, and make good use of the city's cultural relics in our hands. Not only should we prevent them from being damaged, but also help them flourish and pass them on to future generations," Xi told officials gathered at the historic site. He emphasized a principle that would guide his approach throughout his career: "A key test of whether a political system or social force is truly progressive lies in its attitude toward history and culture."
The restoration of the residence was completed swiftly, reopening later that year as the Museum of the 1911 Revolution in Fuzhou. Xi personally attended the opening ceremony, served as a guide for visitors, and returned three times in the following month to gather feedback and discuss improvements. During his tenure in Fuzhou, he promulgated regulations on cultural relic preservation — among the earliest local ordinances of its kind in China — and established the city's cultural heritage bureau and an archaeological team.
More than three decades later, Sanfangqixiang stands as a shining model of integrating historical heritage protection with cultural tourism development. Over 5 billion yuan (approximately 734 million U.S. dollars) has been invested in conservation and restoration, with more than 300 historic buildings refurbished. Between 2021 and 2025, the area recorded over 104 million visits, and during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday alone, it attracted a record 1.72 million visitors.
"Watching the area change over time has never been tedious, but I never imagined it would become this popular," said Shi Ying, a 57-year-old resident born and raised in the neighborhood. Her family has lived in Sanfangqixiang for three generations, and her grandfather once ran a tailor shop there. "He always told me, 'Being born in Sanfangqixiang is such a blessing,'" she recalled.
The Sanfangqixiang success story is emblematic of President Xi's broader vision for cultural heritage protection across China. Throughout his career in Fujian, Zhejiang, and as China's top leader, he has championed the preservation of historic sites including Mount Wuyi, the Wanshouyan Paleolithic relics, the West Lake in Hangzhou, the ancient Grand Canal, and the Liangzhu archaeological ruins. In 2021, nearly 20 years after leaving his post in Fujian, Xi revisited Sanfangqixiang, reaffirming: "Protecting traditional neighborhoods, historic buildings and cultural relics means preserving a city's history and cultural roots."
The approach reflects a consistent philosophy Xi articulated in a preface to a book on Fuzhou's historic architecture: "Promoting economic development is an important responsibility of government leaders. Equally important is the protection of historic architecture, traditional neighborhoods, cultural heritage and historic cities."
Sources: [gov.cn/SCIO]
