First Changbai Mountain History and Culture Summit Forum opens

To promote the protection, exhibition and use of the ruins of the Jin Dynasty temple on Changbai Mountain, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Jilin Province and the Administrative Committee of Changbai Mountain jointly sponsored the First Changbai Mountain History and Culture Summit Forum at the Chibei district of Changbai Mountain on September 3 to 5.

The event was organized by the Committee for Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the School of Archeology of Jilin University, the Jilin Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute, the Life Channel of the Jilin Radio and TV Station, the Bureau of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Administrative Committee of the Changbai Mountain, and the Changbai Mountain Radio and TV Station.  

Wang Wei, president of the Institute of Archelogy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Liu Shuguang, former deputy head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Wang Ku, director of the Administrative Committee of Changbai Mountain, Chai Xiaoming, president of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, Jin Xudong, deputy director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Jilin and head of the Bureau of Cultural Relics of Jilin, and Yin Tao, deputy head of the Administrative Committee of Changbai Mountain, attended the opening ceremony, together with dozens of experts and scholars from across China as well as officials in charge of cultural heritage across Jilin.

Yin Tao said in his speech that the excavation of the ruins of the Jin Dynasty temple in Changbai mountian is among the top 10 archeological discoveries of China in 2017 and a key project under Jilin province's social sciences fund. The archeology, research, protection and exhibition of the ruins have seen remarkable results. The First Changbai Mountain History and Culture Summit Forum represents one of the efforts of the Administrative Committee of Changbai Mountain to promote the protection and use of Changbai Mountain's historical and cultural resources and to make the Jin Dynasty temple a new cultural calling card for the mountain.

Jin Xudong said that the ruins of the Jin Dynasty temple is of great significance in exploring the cultural diversity and ethnic development of China. The forum is expected to build a platform for academic research, exchanges and interaction on Changbai Mountain's history and culture and facilitate the planning of the protection of the ruins and the building a ruins park.

Wang Wei said that the ruins of the temple revealed a well-planned architectural complex from the Jin Dynasty and many cultural relics have been unearthed. It has been confirmed to be a sacrificial site of Jin Dynasty and is of great academic and practical relevance. The discovery, protection, research and use of the ruins also represent a typical case of Jilin's archeological work.

At the opening ceremony, Yin Tao released a name list of the experts making up an archeological think tank. Liu Shuguang, Chai Xiaoming, Jin Xudong and Yin Tao inaugurated the work station for the ruins of the temple.

The Bureau of Cultural Heritage of the Administrative Committee of the Changbai Mountain signed framework agreements for strategic cooperation with the Jilin Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute and the Border Archeology Research Center of Jilin University respectively.

The Jilin Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute, the Life Channel of the Jilin Radio and TV Station and the Changbai Mountain Tianchi Lake International Travel Service signed a framework agreement for cooperation on archeology research and tour integration.  

Since 2014, the surveys and excavations by the Jilin Province Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute and the School of Archeology of Jilin University have revealed the layout of the architectural complex on the ruins and over 5000 relics have been unearthed.

The temple is the best-preserved and most important Jin Dynasty architectural ruins excavated in China in recent years. The area that has been unveiled so far is also the biggest among Jin dynasty excavations in China. It is a major breakthrough in China's archeological work concerning border areas and ethnic groups living in north China.