The 2021 Beijing Urban and Architecture Biennale (hereinafter referred to as “the Biennale”), an important part of Beijing Design Week, kicked off on September 23 at the Future Design Zone in Zhangjiawan Design Town in Beijing’s sub-center. The Biennale was intended to show the world the exploration of the future urban transportation, housing, working, and cultural life through the thematic exhibition “Home of the Future”, feature exhibitions, academic forums, and salons.

BUCEA was invited to participate in the feature exhibitions. Two exhibitions, namely “Cultural Protection of the Great Wall” and “ Small Space, Big Life—Action Plan for Renovating Daily Micro Space”, showcased BUCEA’s achievements in serving the cultural protection and utilization of the Great Wall culture and urban microspace transformation in Beijing. SUI Zhenjiang, Vice Mayor of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, visited BUCEA’s exhibition stands and spoke highly of the achievements. JIANG Zeting, Secretary of the CPC Committee of BUCEA, ZHANG Dayu, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of BUCEA and President of BUCEA, LI Junqi, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Committee of BUCEA and Vice President of BUCEA attended the opening ceremony and visited BUCEA’s stands.

The exhibition “Cultural Protection of the Great Wall” mainly presented the research results in the Great Wall resources protection and the protection and development of the Great Wall Cultural Belt in Beijing. The Great Wall culture is an important part of Beijing’s culture. Beijing is at the forefront in the protection, inheritance, and utilization of the Great Wall, and BUCEA has long provided intellectual and technical support in the cause. In 2020, BUCEA pooled relevant research resources within the university and established the Beijing Research Institute for Great Wall Culture with the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage to serve the strategic targets of the Great Wall heritage protection, the Great Wall Cultural Belt, and the Great Wall National Cultural Park. In 2021, the  Protection and Development Plan of the Great Wall National Cultural Park (Beijing Section) compiled by BUCEA was approved by the Beijing Municipal National Cultural Centralized Construction and Promotion Leading Group, which proposed the overall strategy of protecting the Great Wall cultural line, integrating the area, and generating highlights. By defining four main functional areas of control and protection, thematic display, culture and tourism integration, and traditional utilization, the plan has become an important reference for the protection of the Great Wall in Beijing in the coming period. Focused on the Great Wall protection and development, the exhibition has displayed 10 protection projects in the Great Wall including that of Badaling, Jiankou, and Panglong Mountain in Gubeikou with pictures, systematically demonstrating BUCEA’s important practice in providing intellectual and technical support for the protection of the Great Wall in Beijing.

It is reported that the Beijing Urban and Architecture Biennale is the first international urban architecture exhibition in Beijing. Featuring urban innovation empowered by design, the Biennale is organized in four dimensions: city, architecture, art, and technology. The Zhangjiawan Design Town served as the main exhibition venue, and four sub-venues were set up in Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, The New in Xidan, Phoenix Center, and Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, all open to the public until October 7.