Officials, scholars discuss strengthening heritage protection through digital technology

Officials and scholars discussed how to use emerging technologies to help better protect cultural and natural heritage while supporting sustainable development, at a dialogue event held in an east China city on Sunday.

The fifth Huangshan Dialogue on UNESCO-designated Sites and Sustainable Development opened in Huangshan City, Anhui Province on Sunday.

The dialogue has been included as an international conference under the United Nations' International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development framework from 2024 to 2033.

Representatives from UNESCO and local authorities discussed how digital technologies can help better protect cultural and natural heritage.

"We have been advancing AI applications in culture and tourism. Intelligent hiking assistance devices have completed public testing and are moving toward commercial use. Through digital technologies, we are bringing new vitality to precious heritage," He Yi, mayor of Huangshan City, said at the event.

Supported by the International Center on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under UNESCO, Huangshan has kept conducting research in climate change response, endangered species protection, and ecosystem monitoring through remote sensing technologies.

"We should deepen innovation in digital technologies for heritage conservation, strengthen intelligent monitoring and risk prevention, develop specialized technologies and equipment, and work toward international standards," said Guo Huadong, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of UNESCO's world heritage center, also hailed the important role of new technologies in heritage protection.

"These technologies are not only helping us generate new global knowledge to better understand the state, contribution and resilience of UNESCO-designated sites. They are also providing increasingly powerful tools to improve management on the ground," he said during the dialogue via video link.

So far, Huangshan has established a Protection, Management and Command Center for the scenic area, serving as the hub for digital operations and emergency coordination.

Officials, scholars discuss strengthening heritage protection through digital technology

China's manufacturing sector maintained steady growth in the first four months of 2026, with a marked acceleration in its shift towards high-end and intelligent production, according to invoice data from the State Taxation Administration.

The data showed that sales revenue from China's manufacturing sector grew by 6.9 percent year-on-year from January to April. Sub-sectors including computer and communications equipment manufacturing, as well as electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing, all achieved double-digit growth.

The rapid development of AI-related industries and their deep integration with traditional manufacturing has become a powerful accelerator for industrial upgrading.

The embroidery machine manufacturing industry in Zhuji city, east China's Zhejiang Province, a region with long-standing advantages in this field, has emerged as a prime example of how traditional industries are benefiting from the AI-driven transformation.

Local enterprises have been integrating AI visual positioning and graphics computing assistance technologies into their products, launching ultra-high-speed embroidery machines that are more precise and run over 30 percent faster than traditional models. These innovative products have become instant market hits upon launch.

"From January to April this year, our company achieved 538 million yuan (about 79.5 million U.S. dollars) in sales revenue, a year-on-year increase of 46 percent. Meanwhile, we have also successfully tapped into international markets including India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt," said Yuan Huayun, administrative director of Zhejiang Promaker Intelligent Embroidery Equipment Co., Ltd.

Nationwide, sales revenues for high-tech manufactured products grew 14.9 percent year on year in the first four months, and increased their share of the revenue brought in by all manufactured products by 1.3 percent.

Revenues from electronic special materials manufacturing and integrated circuit manufacturing, which are directly related to AI production and application, surged by more than 50 percent, emerging as key drivers of the manufacturing sector's transformation and upgrading.

China accelerates hi-tech transformation of manufacturing sector in 2026