China News Service, Beijing, September 23 (Reporters Zhou Zhaojun, Lu Shaowei) From September 22 to 23, the 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum was held in Beijing. About 600 Chinese and foreign guests conducted diversified exchanges around the systematic protection of cultural heritage, youth inheritance, and the transformation of literary and artistic creation. They regarded cultural heritage protection as a link between different civilizations and explored the path for the revitalization and inheritance of traditional culture in the contemporary era through the collision of ideas.
The famous French documentary director Jacques Malaterre said that it is not enough to just protect cultural heritage. It must be passed on and re-given faces, voices and emotions; people from another culture must also understand the importance of these heritages. It was at this moment that “protection” sublimated into something much grander—a dialogue between civilizations.
On September 23, the Beijing Cultural Forum parallel forum "Cultural Heritage Protection and Inheritance and Youth Participation" was held at the Beijing Hotel. Photo by Yang Yuran
Marie-Cécile Zinsou, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Academy of France in Rome (Villa Medici), pointed out, "Future generations will have their own questions, desires and ways of looking at it. Our duty is not to hand over a world that has been fully explained by us to future generations, but to pass on works, knowledge and places to them so that they can start from these things and continue to create in their own way."
How literature and art complement ancient heritage is also a hot topic this year. Al Lai, vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, said, "I have never been shy about the nourishment of great literary works from ancient and modern times at home and abroad, but I would also like to say that it is the intangible cultural heritage from the folk that makes my works more Chinese, more emotional and spiritual. Furthermore, the folk cultural heritage is also a huge aesthetic heritage. As a cultural worker, I should have a high degree of self-consciousness so that those parts of the intangible heritage that are difficult to present, the parts related to the Chinese spirit and emotions, worldview and aesthetics, are echoed in my works."
On September 23, the 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum "Cultural Heritage and Literary Creation" parallel forum was held in Beijing. Beijing Cultural Heritage "Double Hundred Plan" was released at the forum. Photo by China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming
The power of youth is regarded as a key variable in the continuation of the context. Carlos Vásquez, Peruvian Ambassador to China, took the conservation and development practices of the historical center of Lima, Peru, as an example and talked about the important role played by young people. “Protecting cultural heritage does not just mean protecting what is inherited from the past, but also means allowing new generations to discover it, think about it, and find new sources of knowledge from it.”
This forum has multiple cultural and creative display areas. A batch of cultural and creative products built around Beijing's central axis and traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage techniques were unveiled together with digital interactive devices to intuitively demonstrate the diverse possibilities for cultural heritage to "come alive". At the investor conference, financial institutions, experts, scholars, and cultural enterprise representatives gathered together to explore how capital can empower the transformation of cultural heritage and transform historical resources into high-quality cultural supply.
Many participants said that the Beijing Cultural Forum continues to build a bridge for dialogue among civilizations around the world. This forum takes cultural heritage as the starting point, connects ancient and modern times, and connects China and the world. It not only shows China's practical experience in protecting and inheriting, but also opens its arms to absorb global wisdom. As the results of the forum are gradually implemented, the understanding and connection between different civilizations will be further deepened.
