Experts from China and France visit Jinci Temple to learn about heritage preservation results. [Photo/Shanxi International Communication Center]

On March 18, a Sino-French cultural heritage and urban study exchange symposium was held at Jinci Temple Museum in Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi province, where Jinci Temple Museum representatives, the School of Architecture at Tianjin University, and French experts gathered to discuss cultural heritage conservation and urban studies.

Guo Baoping, director of Jinci Temple Museum, presented an overview of the museum's cultural heritage conservation and management efforts. As a national pilot unit for preventive conservation of cultural relics, the temple has been at the forefront of such efforts nationwide.

Francoise Ged, director of the Observatory of the Architecture of Contemporary China at the Cite de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, praised the traditional architecture and landscaping of Jinci Temple. She also commended the museum's efforts in restoring the flow of its historic springs and shared France's cutting-edge ideas and technologies in heritage conservation.

Experts delved into specific challenges faced by Jinci Temple, such as balancing the preservation of ancient buildings and trees, managing tourist numbers, and addressing the relationship between ancient architecture and the water level of the Jinshui Spring. These discussions highlighted the complexities of heritage conservation in a living, breathing cultural site.