The conservation of the Great Wall, one of China's most representative historic structures and most welcomed tourist spots, requires both governmental and public efforts to enhance utilization and protection of the cultural heritage site, said an expert.
As China's best preserved and earliest repaired section of the Great Wall, the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing has been open to the public since 1958. Since then, it has welcomed over 210 million tourists and inspired more with its rich cultural heritage and history.
"Climbing the Great Wall again in the golden autumn of October, I not only saw the red leaves all over the mountains and the magnificent scenery, but also deeply felt the spirit of our Chinese nation and the wisdom of our ancestors," said Xu Yaping, a tourist.
With an increasing influx of visitors to the Great Wall and many of its sections in the wild lacking adequate protection, government actions are necessary, but it is also important to raise public awareness, said Dong Yaohui, vice president of the Great Wall Society of China.
"The awareness of protecting the Great Wall needs to be promoted and disseminated. Everyone needs to be aware of the significance of protecting the Great Wall and its historical value. Relevant laws need to be further improved. More severe punishments should be introduced and designed to protect the Great Wall by dissuading bad behavior. This is very important," said Dong.
Addressing concerns about over-utilization, Dong highlighted the success of the Badaling Great Wall conservation efforts.
"Does utilization of the Great Wall mean damaging it? Not necessarily. In fact, proper utilization is conducive to protection. The Badaling Great Wall receives ten million tourists a year. Does it damage the Great Wall? No, it does not. This is the case in many aspects. If you do a good job of utilization, it will actually be beneficial to protection," said Dong.
Dong's views align with the protection efforts of government, which call for more education about the Great Wall and its history, alongside more cultural activities at the site, aiming to better explore the iconic cultural resource and foster collective respect for it.
Expert calls for concerted efforts to protect Great Wall
Artificial intelligence has been in the spotlight at the 2024 World Laureates Forum in Shanghai, where hundreds of top scientists from around the globe exchanging views on its transformative impact and how to harness its benefits while effectively managing the risks.
Under the theme "Excellence in Science," the three-day event opened Friday at its permanent site in Shanghai's Lingang new area, bringing together nearly 300 scientists from around 20 countries and regions. Among the star-studded lineup were 11 Nobel laureates and over 40 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The forum featured over 10 themed sessions covering frontier areas such as advanced materials, quantum science, life science, information technology and intelligent science.
At the keynote session: Developing an AI Governance Framework for Sustainable Human Development, scientists explored the potential of AI to drive profound societal change and reshape scientific research while sharing insights into ethical challenges and regulatory needs arising from this technology. Interdisciplinary applications of AI and the establishment of a global governance framework were hot topics among the guests.
Many scientists believed that we have entered an era of widespread AI application.
"AI has been applied in many companies. It's going to be applied much more. My main research objective when I'm looking at AI is how to make sure that it's applied in a way that benefits everyone employed at work, not only management, not only certain types of workers, but the whole group of workers. And that's what my speech at the World Laureates Forum was about - how to achieve that," said Christopher Pissarides, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences and Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Professor Pissarides noted that many companies lack transparency when employing AI, making employees feel that their work quality is diminished due to automation. He called for comprehensive training in AI-associated skills to address employees' concerns.
"Companies need to spend time in doing the training, preparing their workers through training. Workers need to have some basic knowledge of STEM skills, but focus more on good communication, good exchange of ideas between them, [with a] collaborative [approach] across the company. There should be better communication in formal meetings within the company so that each person knows what they are doing and where they fit in the company, to avoid all these fears that workers have now about AI," said the scientist.
Int'l scientists gather in Shanghai to discuss AI strategies for better future
