Preventive conservation of architectural heritage: Progress and current status in China.

Preventive conservation, which originated from the field of heritage conservation in Europe, is a concept developed from modern conservation theories and practices. In the field of architectural heritage conservation, it aims to ensure that the value and historical information of architectural heritage are authentically and completely preserved to the maximum extent through minimal intervention. After being introduced into Chinese academia in the early 21st century, preventive conservation as a professional theory has gradually become a research hotspot with extensive discussions. Although preventive conservation is a foreign concept, throughout Chinese architectural heritage conservation history, a fact can be discovered: some practices in China from ancient times to the present have reflected the concept of preventive conservation. In ancient China, cyclical maintenance and regular repairs were important traditions of architectural conservation. The Qing court established the annual repair system, and there were also craftsmen engaged in building maintenance in the folk. In modern times, in response to the needs of protection and management, some protected cultural heritage entities in China carried out various forms of work such as monitoring and periodic inspection to conduct practical explorations of preventive conservation. Moreover, drawing on the international experience of preventive conservation, professionals preliminarily discussed the related issues of architectural heritage conservation in China. Based on years of research and efforts, the concept of heritage conservation in China is changing from "rescue conservation mainly" to "emphasis on both rescue conservation and preventive conservation". This paper gives an overview of preventive conservation of architectural heritage in China, including historical context, theoretical research, policies, and regulations. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the current status of architectural heritage conservation in China in combination with practical projects and conducts in-depth discussions of the existing problems, in order to explore effective methods for preventive conservation of architectural heritage in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]