China and Kyrgyzstan deepen heritage ties with new conservation lab

China and Kyrgyzstan will jointly formulate regional standards for cultural heritage conservation and carry out three to five demonstration projects in Kyrgyzstan over the next two years under a newly established joint laboratory, according to a meeting held in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on March 21.

The event marked the planning review meeting and the first academic committee session of a China-Kyrgyzstan joint laboratory on cultural heritage conservation under the Belt and Road Initiative, bringing together more than 80 representatives from government departments, research institutes and partner organizations.

The joint laboratory was approved in September 2025 by China's Ministry of Science and Technology. It was jointly established by the Dunhuang Academy and Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy.

As the leading institution, the Dunhuang Academy will take charge of overall coordination, research planning and major project implementation, while the Kyrgyz partner will support fieldwork, resource coordination and demonstration projects.

"The platform, with China and Kyrgyzstan as core countries, will focus on cooperation with the five Central Asian countries while extending collaboration to other countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Hungary and Saudi Arabia," said Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy, when presenting the laboratory's establishment plan. He added that the laboratory would also involve experts from developed countries.

The cooperation builds on longstanding cultural ties between the two countries. One such example is the ancient city of Suyab, now called Ak-Beshim, in Kyrgyzstan — an important Silk Road hub — which stands as a symbol of early exchanges between China and Central Asia. In 2014, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan jointly contributed to the UNESCO listing of the "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor", marking a milestone in cross-border heritage conservation.

According to Su, who was also selected as the Chinese director of the joint laboratory, the platform will prioritize four areas: research on the value and interpretation of Silk Road cultural heritage; development of conservation standards and key technologies for sites such as earthen ruins and grottoes; implementation of demonstration projects at representative sites including Suyab City; and the development of digital technologies and platforms for heritage documentation and display.

He added that the key research targets during the initial two-year period involve establishing a set of conservation standards applicable to Central Asia, alongside building a technical system covering conservation, monitoring and digitalization.

Duishanalieva Aisin, director of the Kyrgyz partner institution, was appointed as the Kyrgyz director of the joint laboratory at the meeting.

Academic committee members reviewed the laboratory's development plan and offered recommendations on research priorities, technical approaches and operational mechanisms, while representatives from participating institutions exchanged views on future collaboration.

"The academic committee will evaluate the laboratory's academic positioning, research priorities and technical road map, ensuring the project is scientifically sound, systematic and feasible, with clear objectives, focused research and outcomes that deliver both academic value and practical impact," said Liu Weimin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the committee.

During the construction period, the joint laboratory will also promote personnel exchanges, including joint research, academic visits and training programs, to strengthen local capacity in cultural heritage conservation across the region.