(nst) The "Shaxi Rehabilitation Project“ in the Chinese province of Yunnan, carried out under the mandate of DEZA, the Institute for Spatial and Landscape Planning (IRL) at ETH Zurich has received an UNESCO "Award of Distinction“ (1). This prize is awarded within the framework of the "Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards 2005"; the award of distinction is equivalent to a second prize. In all, 34 projects from 11 countries in the Asian-Pacific region were nominated.

More than a restoration

As UNESCO stated in its announcement last week, the Shaxi Rehabilitation Project, which commenced in 2002, is marked by its innovative and multidisciplinary approach to the goal of safeguarding "the tangible and intangible heritage of multiple ethnic groups" in this province and in its focus on long-term and sustainable development. After 1950, following the advent of motorised transport the legendary “tea and horse caravan trail”–historically one of the most important trading routes through the valley to Tibet–was abandoned. Today, though it lies some way away from the boisterous development of central China, Shaxi produced a new, fragile blossom in the discovery of its rich cultural heritage and a budding rise in tourism.

"What especially pleases me, is that UNESCO not only distinguished our restoration project as such," says Jacques Feiner, head of the Shaxi Rehabilitation project and senior researcher at IRL, "but commended an integrated concept that aims to protect the social and environmental setting while improving the living conditions of the entire population of the Shaxi valley by consistent nurturing and use of local potential, such as the region's rich cultural heritage.“

Not an end in itself, but the beginning of the sustainable improvement of living conditions: the restoration of the market place in the village of Sideng. (Picture: ©Ralph Feiner) large

In addition to the restoration of the culturally and historically important market place and theatre, the project has thus also made it possible to improve the urban infrastructure–the water supply, for example, or the paving stones, street lighting and sewage system.

Setting controlled tourism development in motion

"For us, the UNESCO award represents a confirmation of the quality of our project and will be extremely useful for the continuation of our work," says Feiner. "It improves our chances of finding support for further development. The2001 inclusion of Shaxi on the 'World Monuments Fund' list of the 100 most endangered historical monuments in the world (2) is also a basis for pushing ahead with our project. We are already busy setting up a site management for the Shaxi valley so that we can help to introduce a controlled development of tourism and give the valley a prospect for the future."