Giving shared history a future

Collaborative efforts

The partnership is rooted in a common history. China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan jointly nominated the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.

"The joint nomination was significant in its own right," said Aizhan Samybekova, a chief specialist of historical and cultural heritage in Kyrgyzstan.

The nomination recognized the Silk Road as a shared, cross-border heritage rather than the exclusive legacy of any one country, she said.

This shared history provides a foundation for cooperation in archaeology, conservation, museum exchanges, and professional training.

Kyrgyzstan needs more specialists in restoration, archaeology, museum work, digital documentation, and World Heritage management, she said, fields in which China has accumulated considerable experience.

For Guo Qinglin, director of the Dunhuang Academy, such cooperation extends the Silk Road's long history of interaction.

"Protecting and researching the cultural heritage of the Silk Road is a shared responsibility," Guo said.

"Only through deeper cross-border, cross-institutional and interdisciplinary cooperation can we continue to improve both the understanding and practice of heritage conservation."

The partnership is already at work at heritage sites in Kyrgyzstan, including Suyab, also known as Ak-Beshim, an ancient Silk Road city whose earthen remains face wind erosion, rainfall, freeze-thaw cycles, salt migration, and damage from vegetation.

Chinese and Kyrgyz researchers have jointly assessed the site's heritage value, preservation condition, architectural forms, materials, and deterioration mechanisms. Their findings are helping establish a scientific basis for future conservation while informing approaches suited to local conditions.

For Zhang Bo, an associate research curator at the Dunhuang Academy's Conservation Institute, China's most valuable contribution is not a single technology.

Over decades of work, the academy has developed an integrated approach encompassing heritage-value research, archaeological and condition surveys, material and environmental studies, deterioration analysis, technology development, conservation projects, monitoring and evaluation, and digital documentation and presentation.

But methods developed in Dunhuang cannot simply be transplanted to Central Asia.

"Our approach is to first investigate and assess, then conduct laboratory experiments and small-scale field trials," Zhang said.

The guiding principle is to work with "local materials, local environments, local testing, and joint evaluation", he said.

Rather than simply applying established solutions, researchers from both sides investigate problems together, test materials, and assess whether conservation measures are compatible with the heritage fabric and local environment.

To support this work, the joint laboratory platform in Bishkek was upgraded in 2026.

Its initial capabilities include rapid diagnosis and mapping, physical-property analysis, material-performance testing, and remote monitoring. The facilities enable basic research and routine diagnosis to take place closer to heritage sites, strengthening Kyrgyzstan's capacity for scientific conservation.