Recently, a side event held during the 48th Session of the World Heritage Committee officially launched the publication Tangible–Intangible Synergies in East Asia: Case Studies and Emerging Insights for Integrated Heritage Safeguarding. A case study entitled “The Classical Gardens of Suzhou and associated skills and techniques”, submitted by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region—Suzhou Centre (WHITRAP Suzhou), has been selected for inclusion. The volume is now available in the UNESCO Digital Library, with Suzhou’s practice featured first in the collection and prioritized for dissemination by UNESCO.
The publication was developed in response to UNESCO’s call for exemplary practices in the integrated safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in East Asia, with the aim of strengthening synergies between different types of heritage and exploring integrated management models that draw on both local traditions and global best practices. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, embody multiple intangible cultural heritage elements. The gardens’ core value—the concept of “man-made yet seemingly natural”—is not an abstract aesthetic principle but a material reality produced through specific, endangered craft skills such as Su-style penjing cultivation, which was inscribed on China’s national intangible cultural heritage list in 2011.
As stated in this UNESCO publication: “The Classical Gardens of Suzhou (China) illustrate how the conservation of a heritage place depends on the continued practice of traditional craftsmanship.”
