BEIJING, July 15, 2024 — The Ming Culture Forum 2024, themed “The Splendid Age of the Colorful Ming,” recently commenced in Beijing’s Changping district. This year-long event encompasses forums, an international academic seminar, cultural relics exhibitions, and cultural activities, totaling over 30. More than 100 national treasures were showcased at the opening ceremony, marking a new peak in scale, embracing a broader cultural perspective, amassing a wealth of Ming Dynasty cultural relics, and featuring a plethora of captivating activities. This forum aims to leverage Changping’s rich Ming cultural resources, ensure the preservation and inheritance of the Ming Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and bolster Beijing’s status as a renowned historical and cultural city.

According to the Organizing Committee, the event brought together over 600 Chinese and foreign experts and scholars to share their insights on Ming culture. During the main forum’s international dialogue session held on July 13, Lyu Zhou, professor and doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University and director of Tsinghua’s National Heritage Center, and Marie-Noël Tournoux (French), project director of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO, exchanged ideas on the theme of “Inheritance and Mutual Learning: The Contemporary Value of Ming Culture,” and shared their perspectives on Ming culture. This dialogue laid a solid foundation for cooperation between the two sides, fostered bilateral friendly exchanges, and facilitated the exploration of new avenues for Ming culture’s development.

During the main forum, the “Magnificent Ming Dynasty Treasures” exhibition dedicated to Ming Dynasty cultural relics displayed over 100 national treasures, including Emperor Wanli’s golden mesh crown, the empress’ phoenix coronet, authentic calligraphy works by Dong Qichang, a gold box from the Royal Archives Center, and a copy of the Jiajing era’s Yongle Encyclopedia. All these artifacts are national treasures rarely seen by the general public.

The main forum also unveiled a series of significant plans, including the comprehensive opening plan for the Ming Tombs, the call for designs for a culture-museum-tourism complex featuring Ming culture, and the study tour routes within the Ming Tombs Scenic Area, with the objective of driving tourism development through cultural research and development.

The Ming Tombs Scenic Area will progressively open more tombs to visitors, with a full opening scheduled for 2030. This process will be implemented in three phases from 2024 to 2030. The first phase, spanning 2024 to 2025, will involve opening Siling (Tomb of Emperor Sizong) and Yongling (Emperor Shizong); the second phase, from 2026 to 2028, will open Maoling (Emperor Xianzong), Tailing (Emperor Xiaozong), Deling (Emperor Xizong) and the ruins of the New Imperial Residence; the third phase, from 2029 to 2030, will open Xianling (Emperor Renzong), Yuling (Emperor Yinzong), and Qingling (Emperor Guangzong). Upon the full opening of all tombs, physical cultural relics will be displayed in situ with signs and explanations. This includes not only ancient buildings, tombs, and the Sacred Way, but also cultural heritage elements such as former architectural sites and the Sacred Way, providing a comprehensive representation of the entire construction process of the Ming Tombs, their architectural features, and construction techniques.

In addition, the Forum issued a call for designs of a culture-museum-tourism complex featuring Ming culture. This complex will be located in Changping’s Shisanling Town, a region brimming with cultural and tourism resources, business services, and scientific research industries, including the Ming Tombs, Juyongguan Great Wall, Baifuquan Site, and Badaling Outlet. Upon completion, it will evolve into a globally renowned international exchange hub dedicated to Ming culture, China’s most influential exhibition area showcasing Ming culture, and a cultural, museum, and tourism business zone anchored in the World Cultural Heritage site in the capital’s northwest.

At the main forum, two study tour routes highlighting the ruins and relics of the Ming Dynasty were announced: one route extends from the Park of the Ruins of the Grand Canal Source to Changling (Tomb of Emperor Yongle), Dingling, and then the Visitor Center of the Ming Toombs Scenic Area, while the other route starts from the Juyongguan Great Wall and leads to Yongling or Siling, as well as other mausoleums not yet open to the public. Completing both routes requires two days, allowing visitors to spend the night at nearby hotels or camp at Juyongguan to enjoy the starry night and immerse themselves in the splendor of Ming culture.

On the opening day of the main forum, the imperial guard-of-honor welcome ceremony and the grand archery ritual, hallmarks of the Ming Dynasty, were held at the Ming Culture International Exchange Center. The performers donned exquisite official uniforms, holding huban (representing government officials of Ming Dynasty), Xiuchun Dao (a single-edged sword representing the Imperial Guard of Ming Dynasty), flags featuring the patterns of dragon, tiger, bird, and tortoise respectively, and qilin-pattern flags, among other ceremonial utensils. These ceremonial demonstrations, soundtrack performances, costume displays, and competitive performances vividly conveyed the solemnity and grandeur of the Ming Dynasty’s grand archery ritual.

Meanwhile, Changping has planned four modules of activities: “Ming Gift,” “Ming Joy,” “Ming Color” and “Ming Rhyme,” and will progressively launch over 30 cultural activities, including music concerts, air tours, the parade in ancient ceremonial dress, Li Shizhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Cultural Festival, and Ming-style fashion, to attract more tourists and enhance the popularity and influence of Ming culture.

Source: The Organizing Committee of The Ming Culture Forum 2024

CONTACT: Contact person: Ms. Zhu, Tel: 86-10-63074558