In addition, the relationship between China's cultural heritage and that of
the world should be fully understood. The independent and inclusive nature of
China's social development in the process of economic globalization should also
be thoroughly known.
Also, it should be understood what cultural heritage
means, and why cultural heritage is divided into cultural, natural, oral and
intangible categories.
Here comes another question: Should only ancient items and those representing the progressive side of humanity be counted as cultural heritage? What about modern items and those telling of the tragedy of previous generations?
It is encouraging that Auschwitz is a world heritage site, and that a former concentration camp which was used to jail revolutionaries in Chongqing is on the list of key relics protected by the State.
Finally, the protection of relics and heritage is a public welfare undertaking. But high ticket fees charged by many museums and memorial halls have long been a source of controversy. The introduction of Cultural Heritage Day may help address this situation. It seems that reform of the country's museum system has also become an imperative.
When people in Beijing queued up to see the relics from the collections of the British Museum last month, I didn't expect to see that people were thirsty for a spiritual homeland and were worried that it might be lost. Now we have our own Cultural Heritage Day and an opportunity to watch over the spiritual homeland of the Chinese nation. This is also an enlightening day. Let's hope that our cultural heritage is now taken a bit more seriously.
By Qin Xiaoying, a researcher from the China Foundation for International & Strategic Studies.
Editor: Xu Shenglan