On November 23, as part of the 2025 (9th) Beijing International Urban Design Forum, the 2025 International Seminar on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Utilization was successfully held at the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall. Focusing on the theme “Design-Driven Urban Resilience: Integrating Green Technology, Digital Innovation, and Cultural Heritage for a Sustainable Future,” the seminar was jointly organized by the Belt and Road Architectural University International Consortium (BRAUIC), the Beijing International Innovation Center for Architectural Heritage Protection and Development in the Belt and Road Region, the International Joint Laboratory of Safety and Energy Conservation for Ancient Buildings of the Ministry of Education, as well as the Department of External Affairs (School of International Education), the School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the School of Geomatics & Urban Spatial Informatics of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (BUCEA). The event also received special support from the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall.

Representatives from 15 domestic and international partner universities and institutions attended the forum, including the Survey Department of Sri Lanka, International Educational Corporation (Kazakhstan), the Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KazGASA), the University of Adelaide (Australia), the University of Florence (Italy), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka), the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), BUCEA, the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, the Key Laboratory of Historic and Cultural Heritage Monitoring, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, China Silk Road Group Co., Ltd. (CSG), and Jingtou Development Co., Ltd. The opening ceremony of the seminar was presided over by BUCEA Vice President CHEN Zhaohui.

 

Vice President CHEN Zhaohui extended a warm welcome and sincere appreciation to all participants in her remarks, and introduced the BUCEA’s latest progress in the field of architectural heritage conservation. She noted that the BUCEA looks forward to further deepening substantive cooperation with partner universities and institutions worldwide in areas such as collaborative research and joint talent development.

At the opening ceremony, the unveiling of the China-Sri Lanka Joint Research Center for Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation was held. Vice President CHEN Zhaohui, Mr. N. K. U. Rohana, Director of the Survey Department of Sri Lanka, Mr. ZHANG Ning, Chief Expert of the Key Laboratory of Historic and Cultural Heritage Monitoring, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Mr. WU Qiang, General Manager of the Digital Business Department of China Silk Road Group Co., Ltd., jointly unveiled the center. ZHAO Xing, Director of the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, and DING Shuai, Director of the Department of External Affairs, witnessed the ceremony.

During the academic session, twelve experts and scholars from China and abroad delivered insightful presentations.

Dr. Ehsan Sharifi, Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide, Australia, delivering a presentation titled “Urban Greenery and Climate Change Adaptation in Cities: Knowledge, Application and Impact in Australia.”

Professor Jagath Munasinghe, Head of the Department of Town & Country Planning, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, delivering a presentation titled “Climate Urbanism – Urban Design Visionary and the Ground Reality.”

Associate Professor Komgrij Thanapet, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, delivering a presentation titled “Tourist Persona, Place Branding, and Urban Design as the Strategy for Tourism Design and Development in Thailand Cultural Towns.”

Lee Beattie, Dean and Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, New Zealand, delivering a presentation titled “Urban Design Review Down Under: Principles and Practices in Perth, Auckland, and Queenstown.”

Associate Professor Manfredo Manfredini, Associate Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, delivering a presentation titled “Disenchanting Disenchanted Waters: Advocating the Right to the Water by Virtual, ‘Transcendental’ Commoning.”

Ms. Mekhirbanu Glaudinova, UNESCO Program Director, Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KazGASA), delivering a presentation titled “On the Protection of Urban Monuments in Kazakhstan: The Koilyk World Heritage Site.”

N.K.U. Rohana, Director of the Survey Department of Sri Lanka, delivering a presentation titled “Empowered by Technology, Nourished by Culture: Sri Lanka’s Geospatial Foundation for Urban Design.”

Associate Professor Ole Risbøl, Department of Archaeology and Cultural History, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, delivering a presentation titled “Cultural Heritage Management and Urban Archaeology in Norway.”

Vice Rector Zhangazy Moldamuratov, Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KazGASA), delivering a presentation titled “Multifactor Study of the Seismic Resistance of Hydraulic Structures in the Foothill Zone of Almaty in the Context of Urban Safety.”

Professor Zhu Lei, School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, BUCEA, delivering a presentation titled “Research on the Safety and Stability of the Terracotta Army.”

Before the seminar, participating guests having a guided tour around the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall