One in East Asia and one in North Africa.
One is located in the Yangtze River, which records the dry water level data for 72 years in more than 1,200 years; One is located on the Nile River and has been used for thousands of years to measure water levels during flood seasons.
The inscription of Baiheliang and the Egyptian Nile River water ruler (referred to as Nile ruler) are separated by thousands of miles and do not seem to intersect. But today, they have come together – two world-renowned hydrological heritage sites have launched a joint nomination for World Heritage sites.
One idea: from a comparator to a partner
In early winter, walk into the Baiheliang Underwater Museum, take a 91-meter-long elevator to the bottom of the river, and come to the underwater corridor.
White crane beam inscription.
Located in the Yangtze River in the north of Fuling City, Baiheliang is a natural stone beam with a length of 1,600 meters and an average width of about 15 meters. Thousands of years ago, the ancients used a pair of stone fish in the middle of the stone beam as a benchmark to record the changes in the water level of the Yangtze River during the dry season, guide agricultural production, and left ancient folk proverbs such as "stone fish out of the water trillion years".
As far away as North Africa, as one of the world's first river basins to conduct water level observations, Egypt's Nile waters have a history of water level measurement for more than 5,000 years, and more than 1,300 years of data have been recorded. As early as BC, the Egyptians invented a water level measuring scale as a tool for measuring the water level of the Nile River – the Nile ruler.
Why did Bai Heliang and Nile ruler jointly apply for the World Heritage Site?
This starts in 2022.
In the same year, relevant experts pointed out that China and Egypt are the countries in the world that still have physical relics of water level observations, and Baiheliang and Nile rulers will be more competitive if they jointly apply for the World Heritage List.
There are three reasons for the joint inscription
In terms of heritage attributes, Baiheliang and Nile Qi are both hydrological relics facilities located on the world's major rivers, reflecting the close relationship between two different agricultural civilizations in Asia and Africa and river water resources. Both of them are closely related to the politics and agricultural production of the era, and the periodic changes in agricultural production are revealed by hydrological changes, reflecting the ability of human beings to understand nature and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
In terms of the situation of the inscription, the inscription of Bai Heliang has been preparing for the inscription since 2008, but the complexity and rigor of the application procedures and the fierce competition have restricted the application process. In particular, after the tightening of the 2018 inscription policy, each State Party can only nominate one heritage per year, and in the face of fierce competition, cross-border joint nominations continue to heat up.
In terms of the basis of the inscription, Baiheliang and Roda Island Niloch are similar in age, and both have been included in the UNESCO "World Cultural Heritage Tentative List". In addition, both have conservation and management institutions, and the state of preservation is relatively good, attracting tourists from all over the world to come and talk about ancient civilizations.
Nilo ruler of Roda Island, Egypt.
There are many Nile rulers on the Nile. Choosing which Nile ruler and Baiheliang to jointly apply for the World Heritage Site has become a difficult problem for experts.
In order to determine the feasible plan for the joint application for World Heritage Sites, Fuling District and related parties have held a number of academic seminars, inviting international and domestic experts to conduct in-depth research on the significance and value of hydrological sites. Finally, a consensus was reached to refine the scope of the heritage declaration to the Baiheliang inscription and the Nile ruler stone inscription on Roda Island in the center of Cairo, Egypt.
In the process of comparative research on the application of Baiheliang as a World Heritage Site, we have taken the Nile ruler as the object of comparison. And now, we are slowly becoming partners in the same effort. Xing Jun, member of the Party Committee and deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism, said.
An investigation: "two-way running" to promote the application for World Heritage to go deeper and more practical
The joint application for World Heritage has been put into practice from paper to paper.
In February this year, the relevant persons in charge of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism, the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, and the Fuling District Culture and Tourism Commission jointly visited the Egyptian Embassy in China and put forward the intention of jointly applying for the World Heritage Site. In this regard, the Egyptian side expressed interest.
White crane beam inscription.
It is better to meet each other than to communicate online many times.
In May, with the assistance of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Alexandria, Yang Ronghao, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and Director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo, and Yang Yi, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Alexandria, met with the Director of the Alexandria Center for Underwater Archaeology, Islam Selem. In Islam Selenm's bookish office, China and Egypt reached a willingness to cooperate in joint underwater archaeological excavations.
In July, the Chongqing delegation came to the China Cultural Center in Cairo and had an in-depth discussion with experts from the Egyptian Ministry of Underwater Cultural Relics on the joint inscription of Baiheliang and Nile rulers.
The two sides reached a consensus on the joint inscription and established a working relationship and working mechanism. Xingjun said.
In Egypt, the Chongqing joint delegation also visited four Nile sites.
What is a Nile ruler?
Generally speaking, the existing Nile ruler mainly contains vertical columns, river bank steps, culverts and deep wells. The Nile ruler of Rhoda Island, which is jointly inscribed on the World Heritage List this time, belongs to the first type.
The Nile ruler of Rhoda Island is located in a beautifully carved and ornate well. Stepping inside, one sees an octagonal column more than 9 meters high standing in the center of the well, and the scale on the column is clearly visible. This octagonal column is divided into 19 arm feet (1 arm ruler is about half a meter long) and can measure about 95 meters of water level change.
When the Nile is less than 12 feet away, it means that the country will experience severe famine. Exceeding 18 feet indicates that a flood is coming. For thousands of years, the Nile ruler has been used to measure the water level of the Nile during the annual flood season, and to be used for annual harvests, taxes, and food.
Everyone was very excited, we used to look at the materials, and the experience was completely different when we watched it on the spot. Xingjun said that the Nile ruler shocked everyone, and even more felt the greatness of the two civilizations.
Although the white crane beam is inscribed on dry water, it has a similar concept to the Nile ruler. Yang Bangde, director of the Chongqing Baiheliang Underwater Museum, introduced that once the stone fish inscription is exposed to the water, it means that the dry cycle has passed, the harvest year is coming, and the next year will be abundant rain and abundant grains.
This visit has made me more confident in the joint inscription. "It is precisely because we have never done so that we have the courage to explore and try, and we hope to set a precedent for the protection and nomination of cultural heritage around the world." ”
White crane beam inscription.
The joint inscription requires a two-way journey. At the 2023 Baiheliang International Academic Symposium, Ahmad Rehma, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt and Doctor of Archaeology from Alexandria University, and other Egyptian guests were invited to attend and had high hopes for the joint inscription, saying: "In the development of civilization between Egypt and China, great rivers have played an important role. ”
One expectation: to better protect cultural heritage and deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations
What is the purpose of the joint inscription? Is it just a quest to enter the World Heritage Site? Not really.
The Great River Basin carries the genes of human civilization. The Yellow River-Yangtze River basin and the Nile River basin gave birth to Chinese civilization and ancient Egyptian civilization respectively. Both civilizations have their own strengths and have made great contributions to the progress of human civilization.
Looking back at history, more than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road linked the two ancient civilizations of China and Egypt. In 1956, Egypt became the first African and Arab country to recognize the People's Republic of China and establish diplomatic relations with China. Today, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation has injected new impetus into China-Egypt cooperation.
Through the inscription on the World Heritage List, we should show the world a comprehensive and authentic ancient China and modern China, and further deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Xingjun said.
As Xing Jun said, in the protection of the Three Gorges cultural relics, the Baiheliang inscription underwater site protection project is the most difficult, the highest scientific and technological content, and the most investment project. For this reason, it has been demonstrated for 10 years, and a protection plan has been proposed, and the state has invested 2100 million yuan, using the "non-pressure container" scheme, to build an underwater museum on the original site. In 2010, the Baiheliang Underwater Museum was named "the world's first non-diving accessible underwater site museum" by UNESCO.
The results of the protection and utilization of Baiheliang connect ancient China and modern China, showing the world the vigorous development of China and the charm of the integration of ancient and modern.
The purpose of applying for the World Heritage List is to better protect it.
Chongqing Baiheliang Underwater Museum.
At present, the joint application of Baiheliang and Nile Ruler for World Heritage is progressing steadily, and professional institutions are being selected to prepare the text of the joint inscription, and strive to complete the preparation in 2024.
Next, Chongqing will ensure the safety of the underwater cultural relics inscribed in Baiheliang in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and step up the overall improvement project of Baiheliang underwater protection facilities and equipment.
Baiheliang is inscribed on the World Heritage List, and the Fuling District where the site is located is the main body. Fuling District will continue to increase the research on the hydrological relics of China and Egypt, based on the value of Baiheliang and Nile rulers, and entrust the School of Archaeology, Culture and Museums of Peking University and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Center (Beijing) to carry out two research projects: "Feasibility Study on the Joint Application of China and Egypt for World Heritage Status" and "Series of Investigations on World Hydrological Heritage", and further demonstrate the path of the joint application of Baiheliang inscriptions and Nile ruler stone inscriptions.
Fuling District will also use the Baiheliang Underwater Museum as the carrier to further expand the exhibition scope of the Baiheliang site, promote the renovation of the visiting corridor, digital exhibition hall and other projects, so that the cultural relics can be better presented in front of the audience and tell the story of Baiheliang.
The white crane has surrounded the beam for thousands of years, and the hydrology is world-renowned. Mr. Wu Liangyong, a well-known expert in architecture and urban planning, once left such an inscription for the Baiheliang Underwater Museum.
It is expected that Bai Heliang will take advantage of the east wind of the joint application for World Heritage and ascend to the World Heritage Hall as soon as possible.