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Since the end of the Second World War international organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, such as UNESCO the Council of Europe or ICOMOS, have an important impact on how to deal with heritage. The standards and approaches developed by these institutions have been accepted and applied worldwide. However, despite the many positive outcomes, there is a need for further reflection about the intellectual backgrounds of these standards as well as their application in different cultural contexts.
When we look at Chinese history and at how China deals with its heritage there are many indications that the past plays a different role in its contemporary society. While in Europe the past, so to speak, is in the present, in China the past is part of the present. This difference is also reflected in the way both Europe and China deal with archaeology, monuments and sites differently.
Though we have stumbled upon this different approach as a result of the project, it is clear that it needs to be further developed by both Europeans and Chinese. Because this is not a straightforward exercise, a long term Sino-European dialogue on this topic is urgently needed.
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