AlUla Royal Commission Signs Strategic Partnership with China's Henan Province

AlUla Governorate and Henan Province are working towards protecting cultural heritage - SPA
AlUla Governorate and Henan Province are working towards protecting cultural heritage - SPA
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AlUla Royal Commission Signs Strategic Partnership with China's Henan Province

AlUla Governorate and Henan Province are working towards protecting cultural heritage - SPA
AlUla Governorate and Henan Province are working towards protecting cultural heritage - SPA

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) signed a strategic partnership with the Cultural Heritage Administration of Henan Province, aimed at preserving heritage.
The signing comes in line with the RCU's goals to enhance the global partnership network within the framework of the Saudi-Chinese partnership.
The partnership includes enhancing knowledge and shared resources with a focus on archaeology, preserving cultural heritage and museums, research collaboration, talent development, tourism, and other cultural exchanges.
The partnership includes establishing a technology-driven archaeological laboratory, conducting excavation activities, engaging in research, and fostering connections between heritage sites in AlUla and Henan.
Additionally, it involves implementing collaborative exchange programs, participating in exhibitions and events, and utilizing museum technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality.
AlUla has joined as a founding member of the International Tourism Alliance of Silk Road Cities, within the framework of supporting cultural cooperation and connectivity between Saudi Arabia and China.
The alliance aims to lay the foundations for long-term fruitful cooperation and knowledge exchange among cities of significant tourism, historical, and cultural importance within and beyond China.
With its membership among the 58 founding cities from 26 countries across different continents, AlUla will participate in international forums, delegations, and events to enhance tourism and sustainable development in the northwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula and among the alliance's member cities, SPA reported.
AlUla Governorate and Henan Province are working towards protecting cultural heritage, given their rich history as crossroads of civilizations. AlUla has been home to successive civilizations for over 200,000 years, while Henan is the third-largest province in China with a population of 100 million and houses five out of six archaeological projects on the origins of Chinese civilization.
Both AlUla and Henan are home to UNESCO World Heritage sites with a shared history spanning over 1,400 years along the ancient incense and Silk Roads, representing a common heritage as capitals of ancient empires.
The agreement coincides with the exhibition "AlUla, Wonder of Arabia," currently held at the Palace Museum in Beijing, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, until April 11. This exhibition has attracted over 250,000 visitors. It features several sections, exhibits, archaeological pieces, and heritage items from historical sites in AlUla.
The partnership comes along with programs and initiatives aligned with AlUla Vision in harmony with Saudi Vision 2030.



Japan’s Sado Mines Added to World Heritage List

This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)
This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)
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Japan’s Sado Mines Added to World Heritage List

This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)
This photo taken on May 9, 2022 shows a mine on Sado island. (AFP)

A network of mines on a Japanese island infamous for using conscripted wartime labor was added to UNESCO's World Heritage register Saturday after South Korea dropped earlier objections to its listing.

The Sado gold and silver mines, now a popular tourist attraction, are believed to have started operating as early as the 12th century and produced until after World War II.

Japan had put a case for World Heritage listing because of their lengthy history and the artisanal mining techniques used there at a time when European mines had turned to mechanization.

The proposal was opposed by Seoul when it was first put because of the use of involuntary Korean labor during World War II, when Japan occupied the Korean peninsula.

UNESCO confirmed the listing of the mines at its ongoing committee meeting in New Delhi on Saturday after a bid highlighting its archaeological preservation of "mining activities and social and labor organization".

"I would like to wholeheartedly welcome the inscription... and pay sincere tribute to the long-standing efforts of the local people which made this possible," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said in a statement.

The World Heritage effort was years in the making, inspired in part by the successful recognition of a silver mine in western Japan's Shimane region.

South Korea's foreign ministry said it had agreed to the listing "on the condition that Japan faithfully implements the recommendation... to reflect the 'full history' at the Sado Gold Mine site and takes proactive measures to that end."

Historians have argued that recruitment conditions at the mine effectively amounted to forced labor, and that Korean workers faced significantly harsher conditions than their Japanese counterparts.

"Discrimination did exist," Toyomi Asano, a professor of history of Japanese politics at Tokyo's Waseda University, told AFP in 2022.

"Their working conditions were very bad and dangerous. The most dangerous jobs were allocated to them."

Also added to the list on Saturday was the Beijing Central Axis, a collection of former imperial palaces and gardens in the Chinese capital.

The UNESCO committee meeting runs until Wednesday.