首届长城文化和旅游融合发展大会对话世界遗产主题交流会| Tom M.Wolters发表主题演讲

发言内容如下：

The speech was as follows:

I have worked in China for a long time. I often wonder what topics I can propose at such a conference when my work currently focuses more on China than on other countries. Therefore, in my opinion, as a foreigner, it may be more meaningful to share my views on China's world heritage sites, as it can provide a "Chinese perspective through the eyes of a foreigner."

我在中国工作过很长的时间。我时常思考，在这样的会议上，当我的工作领域目前更多聚焦于中国而非其他国家时，我能向会议提出怎样的议题？因此，在我看来，作为一名外国人，分享我对中国世界遗产地的观点或许更具意义，因为这能提供一种“外国人眼中的中国视角”。

In 1991, I first came to China as a member of a UNESCO delegation. At that time, the director of the environmental bureau, who was also responsible for climate action, asked UNESCO if it could send a team of foreign experts to examine the problems faced by Huangshan and explore solutions from an international perspective. Garbage management was an important issue that urgently needed to be addressed, followed by tourism management problems.

1991年，作为联合国教科文组织代表团的一员，我首次来到中国。因为当时的环境局局长，同时负责气候行动相关工作，曾询问联合国教科文组织，能否派遣外国专家团队考察黄山面临的问题，并从国际视角探讨解决方案。当时，垃圾管理是亟待解决的重要议题，其次是旅游管理问题。

As we all know, Huangshan already faced the challenge of a sharp increase in the number of tourists in the 1990s, and the managers were overwhelmed by how to deal with the situation. As foreign technical experts, we shared the experiences of New Zealand and the Netherlands in garbage management and put forward suggestions. However, at the same time, I discovered that in China, especially at World Heritage Sites like Huangshan, their significance extended far beyond the technical level.

众所周知，黄山早已在20世纪90年代就面临游客数量激增的挑战，管理者们对如何应对这一局面已感到力不从心。作为外国技术专家，我们分享了新西兰和荷兰在垃圾管理方面的经验并提出建议。但与此同时，我发现在中国，尤其是像黄山这样的世界遗产地，其意义远不止于技术层面。

As a cultural carrier, Huangshan contains rich symbolic meanings. For example, the well-known Guest-Greeting Pine grows there, and its image can be seen everywhere. There is a mural of the Guest-Greeting Pine created by a famous artist in the Great Hall of the People, symbolizing the welcome to guests. Even a single pine tree has such profound symbolism, not to mention the peculiarly shaped peaks and trees. When visiting this area, you will find that many aspects of the park are endowed with symbolic connotations.

黄山作为文化载体，蕴含着丰富的象征意义——例如生长在那里著名的迎客松，其形象无处不在人民大会堂里就有一幅著名艺术家创作的迎客松壁画，象征着对宾客的欢迎。就连一棵松树都有如此深刻的象征意义，更不用说那些形态奇特的山峰和树木了。游览这片区域时，你会发现公园的许多方面都被赋予了象征内涵。

Another point that impressed me was the sea of clouds in the mountains. When the clouds and mist shroud the rocks and the peaks emerge faintly from the sea of clouds, as a foreigner, my first reaction was "what a pity" because the clouds blocked the view, preventing me from seeing the entire panorama of the mountains. But the Chinese people think, "No, this is the charm of the sea of clouds, which gives Huangshan a mysterious artistic conception." This reflects the difference in perception between foreign technical experts and the Chinese people regarding heritage sites: the former focus on the technical aspects, while the latter endow them with cultural connotations.

另一个令我印象深刻的点是山中的云海。当云雾缭绕于岩石之间，山峰从云海中若隐若现时，作为外国人，我的第一反应是“可惜”——因为云雾遮挡了视线，无法完整观赏山峦全貌。但中国人却认为：“不，这正是云海的魅力所在，它赋予了黄山神秘的意境。”这体现了外国技术专家与中国本土对遗产地的认知差异：前者关注技术层面，而后者则赋予其文化内涵。

Looking back 30 years, the arrival of foreign experts was of great significance because China was just beginning to explore the management model of such parks in the early 1990s. Later, I also participated in the training of park managers. During this process, the collision between traditional management wisdom and modern management methods was refreshing. The current park management model has undergone tremendous changes compared to what it was 20 or 30 years ago.

回首这三十年，外国专家的到来具有重要意义，因为当时中国正处于20世纪90年代初，刚刚开始探索这类公园管理模式。后来我还参与了公园管理者的培训工作，在这个过程中，许多传统管理智慧与现代管理方法的碰撞令人耳目一新。如今的公园管理模式与二三十年相比已发生了翻天覆地的变化。

My connection with China began from then on, and later I participated in the Beijing Central Axis project. Thirty years ago, China had almost no modern technology, but the process of applying for the Central Axis to become a World Heritage Site was completely different.

我与中国的渊源由此开始，后来我又参与了北京中轴线项目。30年前，中国在现代技术领域几乎一片空白，而如今中轴线的申遗过程则完全不同。

The Chinese audience here should be very familiar with the symbolic meanings of the Central Axis (imperial power, harmonious unity, and planning concepts). This approximately 7.8-kilometer-long axis, which was initially constructed in the 3rd century, embodies the little-known 3,000-year-old planning and architectural wisdom. Many people only know about the existence of the Central Axis but are unaware that it is based on Chinese planning philosophy that took shape 3,000 years ago, and this philosophy still plays a role in urban planning today. Its functional concepts continue to be applied in modern urban development.

在座的中国听众应该对中轴线的象征意义（皇权、和谐统一与规划理念）非常熟悉。这条全长约7.8公里、始建于3世纪的轴线，背后蕴含着鲜为人知的3000年规划与建筑智慧。而许多人只知道中轴线的存在，却不了解它基于3000年前就已形成的中国规划哲学，而这种哲学至今仍在城市规划中发挥作用，其功能性理念依然应用于现代城市发展中。

The importance of the Central Axis also stems from its spiritual connotations. It always pursues balance and harmony, just like the concept of "the unity of man and nature", which holds that only with order can all things thrive. This gives the Central Axis strong symbolic significance. Tourists are familiar with the iconic buildings along the Central Axis: the Drum Tower in the north, Wanning Bridge, the area where the Tonghui River flows into Qianhai, Jingshan Gate behind the Forbidden City, and the Tiananmen Square extending southward (which used to be a hutong area), Zhengyangmen, Temple of Heaven, Yongdingmen... The northern end of the Central Axis is closed (ending with a city wall as there is no city gate), while the southern end opens to other parts of China through city gates. These magnificent buildings lined up along the axis are well known. However, as a World Heritage Site, we need to delve into the planning logic behind it: the layout of the entire old city and the southern part of the city is closely related to the Central Axis, and the setting of special places such as altars, temples, and government offices all follow an order corresponding to the Central Axis.

中轴线的重要性还源于其精神内涵。它始终追求平衡与和谐，正如 “天人合一” 的理念，认为唯有秩序井然，万物方能繁荣。这使得中轴线具有极强的象征意义。游客们熟知中轴线上的标志性建筑：北侧的鼓楼、万宁桥、通惠河汇入前海的区域、故宫后方的景山门，以及向南延伸的天安门广场（过去这里曾是胡同区）、正阳门、天坛、永定门……中轴线的北端封闭（因没有城门，以城墙收尾），而南端则通过城门向中国其他地区敞开。这些沿轴线排列的宏伟建筑早已为人熟知，但作为世界遗产，我们需要深入探究其背后的规划逻辑：整个老城和城南区域的布局，都与中轴线紧密相关，包括坛庙、官署等特殊场所的设置，均遵循着与中轴线对应的秩序。

It is worth mentioning that later urban planning, such as the location of the Olympic Park, also echoes the extended section of the Central Axis, reflecting the continuity of the Central Axis in modern urban planning. Looking north from Jingshan to the Bell Tower and then to the distant Olympic venues, this scene vividly demonstrates the central position of the Central Axis in urban development.

值得一提的是，后来的城市规划，如奥林匹克公园的选址，也与中轴线的延伸段形成了呼应，这体现了中轴线在现代城市规划中的延续性。从景山向北眺望钟楼，再到远处的奥运场馆，这幅图景生动展现了中轴线在城市发展中的核心地位。

I didn't initially participate in the Central Axis project as an expert but because I once lived in a hutong near the Central Axis - the area at the foot of the imperial city, around the Forbidden City. As one of the few foreigners living there, I developed a keen interest in the living experience of this area, and these experiences led me to participate in the promotion of the Central Axis, such as shooting documentaries. These experiences eventually enabled me to participate in the communication work related to the application for the Central Axis to become a World Heritage Site between 2023 and 2024.

我最初并非以专家身份参与中轴线项目，而是因为曾居住在靠近中轴线的胡同里——那片位于皇城根下、故宫周边的区域。作为少数居住在那里的外国人，我对这片区域的生活体验产生了浓厚兴趣，而这种经历也让我参与到中轴线的宣传工作中，比如拍摄纪录片等。正是这些经历，最终使我在2023-2024年间参与到中轴线申遗的沟通工作中。

The application process lasted for ten years, and the core difficulty was that World Heritage evaluations often focus more on physical structures, while the value of the Central Axis extends far beyond its visible physical form. This difference in perception was particularly evident in the discussions between Chinese experts and experts from the UNESCO Committee. UNESCO experts paid more attention to technical evaluation criteria, while Chinese experts emphasized the cultural philosophy embodied in the Central Axis - it carries the Chinese way of life and thinking over hundreds of years. In addition, it was also challenging to prove the planning connection between the Central Axis and surrounding buildings because this connection is more reflected in the conceptual level rather than the intuitive physical structure.

申遗过程持续了十年之久，核心难点在于：世界遗产的评定往往更关注物质结构，而中轴线的价值远不止于可见的物理形态。在中方专家与联合国教科文组织委员会专家的讨论中，这种认知差异尤为明显。教科文组织专家更关注技术层面的评估标准，而中方专家则强调中轴线蕴含的文化哲学——它承载着中国数百年的生活方式与思维观念。此外，证明中轴线与周边建筑的规划关联性也颇具挑战，因为这种联系更多体现在理念层面，而非直观的物理结构。

When the communication reached an impasse, I, as a foreigner, played the role of a bridge: I understood the evaluation logic of foreign experts and was able to explain the cultural connotations from the Chinese perspective to them. This made me deeply realize that both Huangshan and the Beijing Central Axis are carriers of "living culture". Nowadays, when people visit Huangshan, they not only come to admire the natural scenery but also with an understanding of its cultural significance. The urban development of Beijing also continues the traditional planning concepts, and the Central Axis remains the core of urban planning.

在沟通陷入僵局时，我以“外国人”的身份扮演了桥梁角色：既理解外国专家的评估逻辑，又能向他们阐释中国视角下的文化内涵。这让我深刻体会到：无论是黄山还是北京中轴线，它们都是“活态文化”的载体。如今人们游览黄山，不仅是为了欣赏自然景观，更带着对其文化意义的认知；北京的城市发展也延续着传统规划理念，中轴线至今仍是城市规划的核心。

Looking back on these two experiences, I think the key is that when talking about World Heritage or historical buildings, we should not only focus on their physical forms or aesthetic values but also deeply understand their connection with culture. In international exchanges, it is especially necessary to clarify the differences in cultural cognition for example, the Chinese people's aesthetic appreciation of the sea of clouds and their philosophical interpretation of the Central Axis, which mean much more to the local people than their physical existence.

回顾这两段经历，我认为在谈论世界遗产或历史建筑时，关键在于：不仅仅关注其物质形态或美学价值，更应深入理解其与文化的关联。在国际交流中，尤其需要明确文化认知的差异——比如中国人对云海的审美、对中轴线的哲学诠释，这些对当地民众的意义远超其物理存在。

This reminds me of the Great Wall. People often say that it is the only one made structure visible from the moon, but what is more important is to explore its original purpose of construction, the historical stories behind it, and its impact on people's lives. Just like the Chinese folk song "Meng Jiangnu Weeps Over the Great Wall", which tells the story of the sacrifices and contributions of ordinary people in the construction of the Great Wall, these historical memories closely related to people's lives are the true essence of the Great Wall. Even if some sections were demolished for historical reasons (such as villagers using the city bricks to build houses), these stories still make the significance of the Great Wall transcend its physical form.

这让我联想到长城：人们常说它是从月球上唯一可见的人类建筑，但更重要的是探究其建造初衷、背后的历史故事以及对民众生活的影响。就像中国民间歌谣中的“孟姜女哭长城”，讲述了普通人在长城建造中的牺牲与贡献，这种与民众生活紧密相连的历史记忆，才是长城真正的灵魂所在。d即便有些段落因历史原因被拆毁（如村民用城砖建房），这些故事依然让长城的意义超越了物理形态。

Therefore, my core point is that when we face historical relics, we should not merely stop at appreciating their appearance but understand the unique status of these heritages in the local culture through communication with the local people. This is the key to cross-cultural understanding - just as when visiting a church in Europe, the spiritual experience of believers is very different from the sightseeing perspective of tourists. Only by delving into the cultural context can we truly understand the value of heritage.

因此，我的核心观点是：当我们面对历史遗迹时，不应仅停留在外观的欣赏，而应通过与当地民众的交流，理解这些遗产在他们文化中的独特地位。这才是跨文化理解的关键——正如在欧洲参观教堂时，信徒的精神体验与游客的观光视角截然不同。唯有深入文化语境，才能真正理解遗产的价值。

转发请注明来源：中国旅游协会长城分会