2017-7-20 www.ndwww.cn

On July 19, China's Fujian and Zhejiang Wooden-arched Corridor Bridge Protection and World Heritage Application Alliance initiated by Shouning County, Pingnan County, Zhouning County, Zhenghe County, Taishun County, Qingyuan County and Jingning She Autonomous County was set up in Shouning. This move aimed to integrate resources and strength of Fujian and Zhejiang and the above seven counties, make exchanges and cooperation and work together to further regulate the protection, exhibition, utilization, monitoring, management, propaganda and other activities of corridor bridge heritage, to speed up the application for the world heritage list for wooden-arched corridor bridges, to make efforts to include it in the World Heritage List within five years and achieve the overall protection and sustainable development of corridor bridge heritage.

Wooden-arched corridor bridge represents a treasure of Chinese culture, and is "unique in China in the history of world bridges" and also reputed as the "living fossil" in the bridge circle. So far, there are only over 100 wooden-arched corridor bridges in China, while Ningde has the best-preserved and most wooden-arched corridor bridges.

Application for the World Heritage List for wooden-arched corridor bridges has always been a shared vision of Fujian and Zhejiang, four cities and seven counties. At The 1^st China Corridor Bridge International Academic Seminar initiated by China Corridor Bridge Society in 2005, five counties of Zhejiang and Fujian signed the Joint Declaration for Protection of Corridor Bridges, marking the formal launch of corridor bridge protection work. At The 2^nd China Corridor Bridge International Academic Seminar held in Shouning in 2007, counties (cities) present at the seminar signed the Shouning County Declaration for Application for the World Heritage List for Corridor Bridges and stated to make strenuous efforts to arouse the public's consciousness and recognition of wooden corridor bridges' important position and multiple values and stimulate all social forces to get involved in the protection and application for the World Heritage List for wooden corridor bridges. In 2009, the traditional carpenter techniques of wooden-arched bridges were included in the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding upon the Proposal of China by the UNESCO. In November 2012, 22 eligible wooden-arched corridor bridges (9 in eastern Fujian) in northeast Fujian and southwest Zhejiang were approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to be enrolled in the World Heritage Tentative List in China, marking another staged achievement by the joint efforts of the governments and public in places of Fujian and Zhejiang where wooden-arched corridor bridges exist.

On the same day, bridge experts and leaders from these seven counties of Fujian and Zhejiang gathered in Shouning set up Fujian and Zhejiang Wooden-arched Corridor Bridge Protection and World Heritage Application Alliance to discuss wooden-arched corridor bridge protection and world heritage application issues and signed the Protocol of Wooden-arched Corridor Bridge Protection and World Heritage Application on the bank of Kuanfeng Bridge in Xiadang Village.

According to information, after the alliance of these seven counties, a joint conference system would be implemented and the conference held twice each year. In addition, unscheduled exchange and communication meeting would be held based on work needs to study and coordinate important cooperation issues related to wooden-arched corridor bridge protection and world heritage application. Each unit of the Alliance set up a cooperative mechanism and adopted various means including mutual invitation, door-to-door visit and information exchanges based on the characteristics of wooden-arched corridor bridges and staged tasks of world heritage application to discuss and solve relevant technical difficulties of wooden-arched corridor bridge protection and world heritage application together, assume responsibilities, make cooperation and take unified actions together to ensure smooth progress of wooden-arched corridor bridge protection and world heritage application.