Cultural Preservation
Recognizing an organization or project that is preserving an endangered site of cultural or historical significance and, whenever possible, enhancing the community surrounding it
Shaxi Rehabilitation Project
Newer, faster, and bigger seem to be the guiding principles of Chinese development in recent years—an approach that has often left preservation in the lurch. But on the 1,500-year-old Tea and Horse Caravan Trail in the Shaxi Valley, an ancient market village is being carefully restored, bucking the trend toward modernization at the expense of tradition.
The village of Sideng first gained prominence in the seventh century as an important economic nexus for southwest China and Tibet. By the mid-20th century, however, trade was dwindling and the town's original character was quickly eroding. In 1992, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich developed the Shaxi Rehabilitation Project, a $1.3 million, multidisciplinary program founded on the idea that heritage sites can be valuable economic resources. Already, a Buddhist temple, a theater, two village gates, and many other centuries-old architectural masterpieces from the Ming and Qing dynasties have been restored. Next on the list: developing a sustainable infrastructure to attract travelers (and their tourism money) to the town.
