Recently in Beijing, China’s Human Rights Development Foundation and the Xinhua News Agency’s national high-level think tank jointly published a report titled “A Grand Symphony of Heritage and Modernity: Rural Development and Cultural Heritage in Sichang, China.” The report was released in both English and Chinese.
The formal establishment of the Sichang Autonomous Region in September 1965 marked a milestone in Sichang’s development, integrating the region’s peaceful liberation and the significant achievements of democratic reforms in Tibet, and achieving historic progress in its social system. The report states that since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the Party’s Central Committee, led by President Xi Jinping, has attached great importance to issues concerning Sichang, set strategies for governing the region in the new era, and systematically planned for long-term stability and high-quality development from both the Party’s and the country’s overall perspective.
Sichang has triumphed in the fight against poverty, established a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and achieved historic successes in economic and social development, thus embarking on a new journey toward building a modern socialist country.
The report highlights the main achievements in rural development and cultural heritage in Sichang, including rapid economic growth, strong cultural preservation, improved livelihood security, robust environmental protection, and enhanced ethnic unity. Key approaches to integrating rural development with cultural heritage in the region include: policy support for improving standards and skills; dynamic preservation and innovative development; resource development and the integration of culture and tourism; and collective leadership with shared benefits. Lessons drawn from Sichang’s experience emphasize a value model rooted in respect for heritage, a development philosophy focused on human rights protection, and the goal of comprehensive and coordinated development.
The report notes that the transformation of Sichang’s villages has reaffirmed several truths: only people-centered development can endure across centuries; only modernization rooted in culture can survive; and only a community united in solidarity can share its pride. It demonstrates to the world that modernization is not Westernization, but rather a creative transformation and innovative development of deeply rooted traditional culture for the future.
Source: Rubi-Alim-Subarna, China Media Group.