On September 1st, 2018, the grand opening ceremony of the Fourth Biennial Conference of ACHS (The Association of Critical Heritage Studies) was held in Zhejiang University. The theme of the conference is “Heritage Across Borders”, which exhibits that the global heritage research craze triggers a series of cross-border integration, including different heritage forms, cultures, languages, regions, industries, etc. There are over 400 participants from more than 40 countries attending the conference, making it by far the largest international academic event in the area of international heritage.

He Lianzhen, vice president of Zhejiang University, delivered the first speech, praising the ACHS conference as equivalent to the Olympic Games in the field of heritage. She expressed her beliefs that the heritage represented the cultural tradition for a country, the historical spirit for a city and led its own humanistic exploration for a university.

Lucie Morisset, Chairman of ACHS, brought the basic introduction of ACHS. There are 85 member countries and over 3000 members in ACHS from all over the world after six years’ development. The conference will help international community to transcend existing discussions and their respective cultures, and to strengthen ties and broaden new horizon.

The conference provided the excellent chance for international experts and scholars to explore the amalgamation, protection and utilization of Chinese heritage and modernity through visiting the Liangzhu Museum and the International Symposium in Liangzhu Ancient City.

At the end, Michael Rowlands, an honorary professor of material culture at University College London, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Heritage Justice”, with the initiative of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in order to promote citizens’ enthusiasm for heritage protection.

This conference aims to promote the transformation and innovation of cultural heritage research and practice, so that heritage is not only a resource of the cultural industry, but also a carrier for promoting social development and cross-cultural communication.After the opening ceremony, 560 speeches divided into 84 thematic sessions will be held in Zhejiang University, covering multiple topics, such as heritage, social governance, ethics, historical cognition, urban-rural integration, intellectual property rights, etc.