The impact of climate change on the protection of cultural heritage in China and its response

Abstract

In recent years, the exacerbation of climate change poses a significant threat to cultural heritage protection in China. It is of both theoretical and practical significance to study the influencing mechanism and response mechanism of climate change influence on cultural heritage protection. This study analyzes the mechanism and process of mutual interaction of climate factors on cultural heritage, evaluates the influence and trend of future climate change on Chinese cultural heritage, and finally explores the interactive relationship among different stakeholders of Chinese cultural heritage protection. The results show the mechanism and process that the changes of various climate factors acting on cultural heritage are complex and diverse. The change of individual climate factors, the chain reaction triggered by the change of climate factor, and the interaction of different climate factors generally have a direct or indirect impact on cultural heritage. Moreover, solar radiation, temperature, humidity, air pollutants, precipitation and other climatic factors have affected Chinese cultural heritage to a certain extent, admittedly, but it is necessary to dialectically explore the impact of future climate change on Chinese cultural heritage. With the intensification of global warming and the appearance of extreme weather, the destruction of cultural heritage caused by the difference in temperature and freezing will be reduced, but the cultural heritage represented by ancient wooden buildings and grottoes will still face severe threats. Finally, the establishment of a network of stakeholders is beneficial to administrative departments, local governments, local communities, enterprises, tourists, researchers, and external pressure groups to play respective roles to jointly protect cultural heritage. Under the dual backgrounds of the intensification of climate change and the strategy of "cultural power", this paper is helpful to deepen the understanding of all circles on cultural heritage protection, and enrich the theoretical discussion about protection and utilization of cultural heritage.