On September 20 2017, SUSTech’s Social Sciences Center organized a “Heritage Lab expert consultation” in the administrative building’s 201 conference room. Director of the Chinese Academy of Archeology and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Archeology Wang Wei and vice-president of the Chinese Archaeological Society and former head of the Peking University College of Archeology Zhao Hui were two experts among dozens from China and abroad to gather at SUSTech for the event. The goal of the meeting was to gain insights on and jointly discuss the protection of China’s cultural heritage, the latest developments of archaeological science and technology, the construction of museums and other such issues. SUSTech President Chen Shiyi and vice-chairperson of the University Council Li Fengliang attended the meeting, which was presided over by Zhou Yongming, head of the SUSTech Social Sciences Center.

Chen Shiyi welcomed the arrival of the experts and scholars and expressed his gratitude for their presence. He said that he hoped the construction work of the Heritage Lab would be carried out smoothly and successfully.

Li Fengliang also gave a speech at the meeting, in which he underlined the importance of first-class science and technology universities having humanities education. The construction of the Heritage Lab would take advantage of the multi-disciplinary strengths of SUSTech, to promote the combination of social sciences and humanities with technological and scientific characteristics to achieve high quality results.

Professor Tang Jigen, Professor of the Social Science Center of SUSTech briefed the guests on the preparations of the Heritage Lab. Experts and scholars then took up in-depth discussions on current archaeological and cultural heritage areas bringing their expertise to SUSTech in this new field.

During the demonstrations, the experts were able to express their views and suggestions. After a first round of discussion, they argued that it was necessary to establish a high level center to promote and develop the conservation of South China’s heritage, a sector which is currently under-developed.

SUSTech’s campus being located in the Lingnan region is very close to some of the largest pre-Qin period ancient settlements, and many historical ruins have been discovered, creating a unique campus atmosphere in this open-air “museum”. SUSTech has a world-class public analysis and testing center and technical equipment, and there is a strong desire to be more involved in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and related engineering fields. This led to the decision to establish a laboratory specialized in historical studies, which will be able to rely on its own superior academic and technical resources and become a major cross-discipline research platform in the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao region. 

After the discussions the experts visited the campus and the historically rich surroundings of the Lychee Hills residential area.

The Heritage Lab will be a test and analysis center for SUSTech’s Social Science Center, Humanities Center and Higher Education Research Center and will play a crucial role in the region’s rediscovery of historical sites and developments.