The Study Of Management And Operation Of The Great Heritage Sites In China’s Urban Areas

The appearance of the term Great Heritage Site and the practice of great heritage site preservation and utilization mark the leap frog development of China’s cultural heritage site preservation. The management and operation of the great heritage sites in China’s urban areas have become a public social affair involving several functional bureaus, a practical topic of multi-discipline and close related to all circles of society.In recent years, international societies, as well as experts and scholars from both home and abroad have contributed proactively in theoretical research. Related charters issued by international organizations like the UNESCO and ICOMOS are themselves theoretical summery of heritage sites preservation in developed countries. These international documents also function as models and regulations for heritage site preservation of the whole world. Studies on heritage site area by scholars from both home and abroad have studied and made valuable achievements on topics as regulations on the development and utilization of heritage site area, law-making, land, regional economy, social participation, and so on. However, there is obvious insufficiency in the aspects including the reference of multi-disciplinary theoretical achievements, research on operational sustainability, and so on.Due to the complexity and systematicness of the operation and management of great heritage sites, studies on the management and operation of China’s urban great heritage sites makes references of and applies with theoretic achievement of different fields. Public management theory will become the theoretical support for citizen’s participation in form of voluntary service in the preservation, management and operation in great heritage sites. The management and operation of heritage site area are closed related to the balanced development theory, imbalanced development theory, growth pole theory, cumulative causation model, center-periphery theory, theory of development advantage and theory of industrial structure and so on, which all belong to the regional economic development theory. When the aspect of regulation on heritage site preservation is considered, more theoretical interpretation angles will be provided with by the analysis of the external influence on the heritage site, studies on the characteristics of public goods and public resource of heritage sites, analysis of the natural monopoly characteristics of heritage site resources, analysis of the principle-agent issue. In addition, game theory and urbanization-related theories are also supporting theories of the studies on the management and operation of heritage sites.Empirical analysis is one of the main methods of the studies on urban great heritage site management and operation.taking Liangchu Heritage Site in Zhengjiang, Hongshan Heritage Site in Wuxi, Yuanmingyuan Heritage Site, Jinsha Heritage Site in Chengdu, Heritage Site of Luoyang City of Sui and Tang Dynasties, Tang Darning Palace Heritage Site and Heritage Site of Han Chang’an City as examples, the article analyzes the basic conditions and weaknesses of the management and operation of China’s urban great heritage sites. With rich first-hand genuine data, the article made empirical analysis of the management and operation of Darning Palace heritage site area. As a Chinese saying goes, Stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade of this one. With strong economic foundation, proper supporting policies, higher quality of the people, orderly social management, complete law system and fully developed voluntary service organizations and so on, the practice of management and operation of great heritage site in developed western countries provides China with rich experiences.On the basis of the analyses of experiences and lessons of urban heritage site management and operation both home and abroad, this article summaries ten principles that must adhere to, while carrying out practical research on the ideal model of China’s urban great heritage sites management and operation. The article also highlights the following two viewpoints. Firstly, in the process of great heritage site management, the heritage site management agency should be granted relatively full power with the reduction of unnecessary impediment under the principles of delegation power to the lower levels, centralization of power. Secondly, in the operational process, the enthusiasm of all parties should be mobilized under the guidelines of internal tightening, external liberalization, and on the basis of the integration of the principles of profitable and unprofitable, so that the goal of sustainable operation while properly preserving heritage sites could be achieved. Guided with above research achievements of ideal management and operation modes, and taking Zhou Fenghao Heritage Site, Qin Erpang Heritage Site, Han Chang’an Heritage Site and Tang Daming Palace Heritage Site as examples, the article proposes the assumption of setting up a special great heritage site region administrative committee. The article also makes specific interpretation for the several important issues concerning the preservation, management and operation of heritage sites.Since the management and operation of urban heritage sites is a dynamic developing process, there is no invariable or universally applicable model. To some extent, it depends on people’s understanding and attitude of great heritage site in different stages of social development, the result of discussion on the relationship between cultural tradition and traditional culture, definition of heritage site property rights at the primary stage of socialism and so on.