“We must protect, preserve, and promote these treasures of Chinese culture”
2026-06-02 14:57:47 Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original title: Close-up Lens · Xi Jinping's Cultural Footprints | “We must protect, preserve, and promote these treasures of Chinese culture”
In May 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Luoyang, Henan Province. In front of the Three Binyang Caves at the Longmen Grottoes, General Secretary Xi recalled that during his time working in Zhengding, Hebei, he saw a Sui Dynasty stele during a survey at Longxing Temple. Because it was very old and had weathered severely, he immediately ordered protective measures, and it was later identified as an important calligraphic cultural relic. The General Secretary emphasized: “We must protect, preserve, and promote these treasures of Chinese culture.”
From protecting a Sui Dynasty stele in Zhengding to caring for the long-term preservation of the Longmen Grottoes, decades have passed like a shuttle, but Xi Jinping’s reverence for cultural heritage has grown ever deeper.
His original aspiration remains as steadfast as a rock; his passion shines like a torch.
From savoring the legacy of the Maritime Silk Road at the Hepu Han Dynasty Cultural Museum in Guangxi, to tracing the origins of oracle bone script at the Yinxu ruins in Henan, to inspecting the “Sacred Tree” at the new Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan, and to examining bamboo slips at the Yunmeng County Museum in Hubei… Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s cultural footprints have spanned countless landmarks of Chinese civilization, reflecting his profound thinking of “being responsible to history and to the people.”
“Protect well” – consolidate the foundation.
Before meeting General Secretary Xi Jinping, Zhang Guofeng, a staff member of the Cultural Relics Preservation, Display and Documentation Center of the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, and his colleagues were conducting digital scanning in the Guyang Cave, using 3D digital technology to make the Longmen Grottoes “eternally youthful.”
“The General Secretary affirmed our work, which is a great encouragement for our commitment to empowering cultural relic protection with technology,” Zhang Guofeng said. From preventive conservation projects akin to “checking pulses and diagnosing” to digital archiving for “prolonging life,” these protection concepts and practices are a concrete implementation of General Secretary Xi’s emphasis on “safeguarding the Chinese cultural lineage.”
“Preserve well” – the key lies in people.
Inside the Cultural Relic Restoration Room of the Cultural Relic Science and Technology Protection Center of the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, post-1995 staff member Rui Zihang was using a laser cleaning machine to carefully clean a Northern Qi dynasty commemorative stele. “Compared with the older generation of Longmen workers, the specific methods of relic examination and restoration have changed, but the protection philosophy and original intention have been passed down in the same vein,” Rui Zihang said.
“Pass down the fine traditional Chinese culture from generation to generation,” the General Secretary’s exhortation constantly inspires workers in the field of cultural heritage protection to shoulder heavy responsibilities and explore new paths for cultural inheritance.
“Promote well” – nourish people’s hearts.
During the inspection, General Secretary Xi had a cordial conversation with tourists from all over the country. Someone said loudly: “We came to see the historical site we learned about in elementary school textbooks.” General Secretary Xi responded: “You all come here because of its fame! Chinese civilization is profound and extensive, worthy of our personal exploration at the sites.”
In 2025, the Longmen Grottoes received a total of 8.51 million domestic and international tourists. “General Secretary Xi pointed out that the integration of culture and tourism has broad prospects, that we must promote the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry, and truly make it a pillar industry, a livelihood industry, and a happiness industry. This inspires us to further build a tourist destination that visitors yearn for, a vivid window of cultural display, and a project that benefits the local people,” said Yu Jie, Party Secretary of the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute.
The Yi River flows onward, never ceasing day or night. The grottoes stand silently, the cultural lineage stretches endlessly.
From General Secretary Xi’s personal practice to the renewed brilliance of Longmen today, protecting, preserving, and promoting the treasures of Chinese culture is a systematic project and a weighty historical responsibility.
“We will bear the General Secretary’s instructions in mind and push the protection and utilization of the Longmen Grottoes, a world cultural heritage, to a new level.” Looking to the future, Yu Jie feels a strong sense of responsibility. “We firmly believe that through the continuous efforts of generations of cultural heritage protectors, the Longmen Grottoes will continue to radiate new charm.”
Planned by: Zhang Xiaosong
Chief editors: Lin Hui, Wu Jingjing
Reporters: Yang Zhanfei, Yuan Yueming, Shi Linjing
Visual/editing: Jin Xiaoqian, Bao Yuhan
Produced by Xinhua Domestic Department
Presented by the First Studio of Xinhua News Agency
Editor in charge: Wang Yiyuan
