China’s Only Princess Tomb to be Unveiled During National Day (People’s Daily Online)
The only princess tomb that has been discovered in China so far is finally about to be unveiled after being covered with dust for 400 years, according to a report from the China News Web site on July 13.
The tomb is being repaired with the strong support of the provincial and municipal cultural relics units in China and is expected to be opened to domestic and overseas tourists during the National Day Holiday, according to the Xinxiang municipal government in Henan province.
The total area of the princess tomb is 35,000 square meters. The tomb houses Princess Zhao, the second princess of Zhu Yiliu, and Prince Lu, the brother of Zhu Yijun, the Shenzong Emperor during the Ming Dynasty. [continue reading]
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Virtual Tours Bring China’s Ancient Relics Alive (The Independent)
For tourists heading to the Chinese capital of Beijing, it is a must-see attraction. But the Palace Museum – set inside the sprawling surrounds of Beijing’s Forbidden City – is so vast that many visitors simply scout around sights such as the Emperor’s Bedroom and then head off to another destination.
The museum has proved itself wise to the ways of the modern world too, however, by setting itself up online and joining a growing global trend that has seen the world’s major museums go ‘virtual.’ [continue reading]
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Focused ‘China’ Exhibition has Expansive Scope (Daily Yomiuri)
The project to bring a major exhibition to Japan on the subject of the birth of Chinese civilization began four years ago. Such an ambitious project could only begin by setting limits. Where was the birthplace of the cultural entity we call China today and what would be a reasonable time span for exploring its birth and the ensuing development that defined it as the first “civilization” in East Asia?
“We decided to focus exclusively on Henan Province as the heartland of ancient Chinese civilization and the region where the oldest dynasty referred to in ancient writings, the Xia, was located,” said Nobuhiko Matsumoto, director of curatorial planning at the Tokyo National Museum, says about its latest exhibition, The Birth of Chinese Civilization. “Another thing we did was to focus on relatively recent archaeological finds from Henan with the help of the Henan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage. So, most of the pieces visitors will see in this exhibition are being shown in Japan for the first time,” Matsumoto adds in an interview for The Daily Yomiuri. [continue reading]
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Restored Works Should not Cover over History at Palace (Xinhua)
Repair work done to damaged porcelain at Yuanmingyuan Park should not tarnish their historical appeal, scholars said, after the park started exhibiting 20 repaired items last month.
“Protecting cultural relics does not mean dressing them up and there should be no push to make them appear flawless either,” said Wang Danhua, an expert at the China State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
The park, also known as the Old Summer Palace, has been exhibiting 20 repaired items since June 18, including plates, vases and bowls of various sizes, which were restored from around 30,000 pieces unearthed at the park in recent years. Three methods have been adopted for the restoration of the items, according to Yu Yang, one of the chief experts from China Cultural Relics Protection Foundation (CCRPF), which is in charge of the project. [continue reading]
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No More Trashy Theme Parks; Ministry of Culture Cracks Down on Garish Tourism Promotion (Xinhua)
The dogfight for the honor of being the hometown of the Monkey King is set to die. And there will be no new theme parks feting lustful characters from classic Chinese fiction.
In its latest move to cool the competitive — and sometimes vulgar — tourism promotion market, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage Monday banned tourism promotion using historical characters of dubious character.
“It is strictly prohibited to build theme parks or convene cultural activities based on negative historical figures or literary works,” the notice said. [continue reading]
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Gallery to Grace New Seoul City Hall (Korea Herald)
The new Seoul City Hall will feature a gallery telling tales of Korean history and culture through relics and archaeological findings.
Seoul City early this week said the new City Hall will feature the Seoul City Gallery to not only strengthen public pride in the nation’s capital but also serve as a venue for people to experience the city’s culture.
“This gallery will have the newly excavated archaeological findings from here on the site as well as a wide range of other cultural relics and artifacts,” Choi Hyung-soo, a researcher of Seoul city’s cultural foundation, told The Korea Herald. “The gallery is intended to be comprehensive.” [continue reading]
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Cultural Assets go High-Tech (JoongAng Daily)
Visiting the Seokguram Grotto, a Unesco World Heritage site in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, is no easy task. You have to climb up a number of stairs and when you arrive, the structure, which houses some of the best examples of Buddhist sculpture in the world, can only be seen through a glass wall.
Early last year, however, the historic site was brought to life in the middle of Seoul as a 3-D model. There were no stairs to climb, and curious visitors could explore the grotto from a variety of angles.
The model, organized by the National Museum of Korea, is part of an ongoing movement to preserve Korean cultural assets through digitization. [continue reading]
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Old China is Not as Old as it Seems (The National)
Few would deny the walls and gates surrounding this city near China’s east coast have a certain magnificence.
Towering above the streets below, metres wide and in parts painted in bright colours, they recall the city’s heritage as a 14th century garrison town.
While the walls and gates echo the past, most of what tourists flock to see has been rebuilt from ruins, bringing into focus concerns among some Chinese that overly fastidious restorations actually detract from, rather than enhance, the Chinese heritage they aim to celebrate. [continue reading]
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