Since the concept of the ecomuseum was introduced in the 1970s it has become an important part of the museum scene in many countries. The 30 years of ecomuseum experience has provided many examples of how the principal ideas of the ecomuseum have been adapted to practical situations, and how the ecomuseums have been organized in a variety of ways in practice. After an eight-year fruitful cooperation between Chinese and Norwegian museum professionals, state authorities on various levels and the people of local ethnic minorities in Guizhou, the project 'Ecomuseums in Guizhou Province' formalized in 1995 is going to be completed in 2005. During the project period, the protection of the totality of the natural and cultural heritage in Soga, Zhenshan, Longli and Tang'an representing the Qing Miao, the Buyi, the Han and the Dong nationalities are experienced in the form of ecomuseums.

　　In every country and in every museum project the ecomuseum idea is realized differently – based upon the specific cultural situation and personnel and economic resources. In this connection, the completion of Guizhou project can also provide international ecomuseum professionals with study cases for raising and discussing some common and specific issues in relation to the ecomuseum concept and practice in different political, economic and cultural situations in order to evaluate the current development and future prospects for ecomuseums in China and in other parts of the world. That is why “communication and exploration” is selected as the theme of the Forum by the organizers. Some monographic topics such as “ecomuseum and protection and sustainable development of heritage”, “general principles and diversified practice of ecomuseums” and “ecomuseums and conventional museums” are also suggested.

　　The 2005 Guizhou International Forum of Ecomuseums will be facilitated and organized as an integral part of a series of events celebrating the completion of China-Norway cooperation project “Ecomuseums in Guizhou Province”, which has been scheduled from 1 - 7 June 2005. For this purposes, the participants will also be invited to join in some social and cultural activities related to the project in a particular cultural heritage context.

　　GUIZHOU PROVINCE AND ITS ECOMUSEUMS

　　Guizhou is a Chinese province with 37 million people, of whom about 62.1% are Han and the rest 37.9% a mixture of ethnic minorities. Mountains and plateaus make up 87% of Guizhou’s topography, which has an average altitude of 1000m above sea level. It is one of the richest provinces in terms of unique minority cultures, and one of poorest provinces in its economy. Statistics show that in 1997, the total provincial income was only about 1/10 of that in Shanghai, China’s biggest industrial city. The protection of a minority cultural heritage faces serious challenges in the eager desire for economic development and the urgent needs to improve people’s living conditions.

　　Soga Ecomuseum, which is the first ecomuseum in China, represents a unique ethnic group of the Miao nationality. Deep in the mountains in the central part of Guizhou, is Soga community, in the Liuzhi District (a small part of it belongs administratively to the Zhijin district), here lives the rarest and the smallest branch of the Miao with a specific cultural identity all their own. In 1996, this ethnic group had 4,069 people and 996 families distributed in 12 villages. Living in the remote high mountains from 1,400 to 2,000 meters above sea level all the year round, the people here have had no continuous contact with
he outside world until late in the 1980s when a new country road was built. The community has an old and unique Miao culture, symbolized by a head ornament made of long ox horns. The ecomuseum was opened on October 31st, 1998. This was a result of four years of co-operation between Chinese and Norwegian museum professionals, state authorities on various levels and the people of a local ethnic minority.

　　Zhenshan Ecomuseum. As a Buyi minority village of the Huaxi district of Guiyang city, Zhenshan is situated on the Flower Lake and is surrounded by water on three sides. Among 130 families, 103 are of the Buyi nationality. The history of the village dated from 1600 when General Li Renyu was sent here on a mission by the Emperor. He married a Buyi girl with the family name of Ban. Their two sons, given the family names of Ban and Li, are the ancestors of the whole village population, which today represents the 17th generation since the general. In 1995 the village became the first listed monument of its type at provincial level. Zhenshan Ecomusum was opened to the public in July 2001.

　　Longli Ecomuseum. Longli of the Jiping County is an old Han Chinese town, with a structure unchanged since 1386, when Longli was founded as a military village. Because of its surroundings and very limited means of transportation, the town has been rather closed to the outside. In Jinping county about 70% of the 200,000 inhabitants belong to different minority nationalities. This actually makes the Han population in Longli old town a minority. This situation has caused the Han population to be very concerned about maintaining their traditional culture. The town is surrounded by ancient walls, with a drum tower in each corner. Preparations are being made to have this town listed as an historical town, representing a typical town structure from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Together with all the old dwellings, this represents a lot of future challenges in making the town population understand and manage the preservation work needed. Longli Ecomuseum was opened in October 2003.

　　Tang’an Ecomuseum. Tang’an is situated in Liping County, 934 meters above sea level. It is inhabited by 152 families of the Dong nationality, a total of 718 people. According to oral history, the oldest families came to the village because of wars during the period 1662-1723. The village suffered from two big fires in 1950 and 1960. However, the houses were rebuilt in the traditional Dong style. An ecomuseum of the Dong people in this area would be a good instrument both in safeguarding the specific features of Dong culture, and as a way of presenting it to others. Tang’an Ecomuseum was opened to the public in 2004.

　　ORGANIZATION OF THE FORUM

　　The 2005 Guizhou International Forum of Ecomuseums: Communication and Exploration is jointly organized by the Chinese Society of Museums (CSM) and the Culture Department of Guizhou Province with great supports from the National Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, the People’s Government of Guizhou Province and Royal Norwegian Embassy to China.

　　The Forum will be co-chaired by Mr. Zhang Wenbin, the Director the Chinese Society of Museum, Mr. Shi Xiushi, the Governor of Guizhou Province and Mr. Tor Christian Hildan, the Norwegian Ambassador to China.

　　The Organizing Committee of Forum is composed of 8 people from the Chinese Society of Museums and the Culture Department of Guizhou Province: Prof. Li Wenru, Executive Director of Chinese Society of Museums (Chairperson), Mr. Zhang Jizeng, Director General of Culture Department of Guizhou Province (Co-chairperson), Prof. Su Donghai, Project Leader of Ecomuseums in Guizhou Province and honorary board member of CSM (Co-chairperson) and
Mr. Ma Zishu, Deputy Director of CSM, Mr. Li Jiaqi, Vice Head of Project Ecomuseums in Guizhou, Mr. Hou Tianyou, Director of Administrative Bureau of Cultural Heritage of Guizhou Province, Ms. Zhang Shilian, Deputy Director of Administrative Bureau of Cultural Heritage of Guizhou Province, Prof. An Laishun, Ex-Project Coordinator of Ecomuseums in Guizhou and Deputy Secretary General of CSM, and Mr. Zhang Jinping, Project Coordinator of Ecomuseums in Guizhou.

　　The Organizing Committee also invites three international advisers in helping the committee with the external affairs: Mr. Dag Myklebust, Scientific Adviser of Project Ecomuseums in Guizhou and Senior Adviser of the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Ms. Inger Johanne Wiese, Environmental Counsellor the Norwegian Embassy and Ms. Monika P. Thowsen, 1st Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy.

　　DRAFT G PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

　　Tuesday, 31 May (Guiyang)
　　●Arrival of the participants and registration

　　Wednesday, 1 June (Guiyang)
　　●Opening of the Forum
　　●Plenary Session 1, Keynote speeches and discussions
　　●Plenary Session 2, Keynote speeches and discussions
　　●Evening: Reception dinner hosted by the People’s Government Guizhou Province

　　Thursday, 2 June (Liuzhi)
　　●Departure from Guiyang for Soga, Liuzhi, Liupanshui
　　●Field research at Soga ecomuseum, Liuzhi, Liupanshui

　　Friday, 3 June (Anshun and Guiyang)
　　●Visit of Huang Guo Shu waterfalls
　　●Field research at Zhenshan Ecomuseum
　　●Return to Guiyang

　　Saturday, 4 June (Guiyang)
　　●Panel meetings
　　●Conclusion of the Forum
　　●The concert (cooperation of Norwegian and Chinese musicians)

　　Sunday, 5 June
　　●Departure for Field study to Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (reservation needed)
　　●Departure for Field study to Guangxi Autonomous Region (reservation needed)
　　●Departure for celebration activities of completion of Project Ecomuseums in Guizhou, Tang’an Ecomuseum, Liping County (invitation only)

　　Monday 6 June
　　●Celebration activities in Tang’an Ecomuseum, Liping County (invitation only)

　　OPTIONAL FIELD STUDIES TO GUANGXI AND INNER MONGOLIA AFTER THE FORUM

　　Apart from the official programs of the Forum, the representatives of two other ecomuseum projects from Guangxi Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are also ready for receiving the participants to make field studies in their regions if they want to do so right after the Forum.
　　Option 1: Field study to Damao Banner Ecomuseum, Damao Banner, Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 5 to 8 June.
　　Option 2: Field study to Nandan Ecomuseum, Nandan County, Guangxi Autonomous Region from 5 to 7 June.
　　The proposed programs and budget estimations will be will be available soon.

　　GENERAL INFORMATION

　　Dates and Venues of the Forum
　　2005 Guizhou International Forum of Ecomuseums: Communication and Exploration will take place in Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou Province, China and in Liuzhi District, Liupanshui, Guizhou Province, China where the first Chinese ecomuseum - Soga Ecomuseum- is situated from June 1st to 6th 2005.

　　The Office of Organizing Committee
　　The Office of the Organizing Committee is staffed by the staff from the Foreign Affairs Office of the Culture Department of Guizhou Province. 　　This office is able to assist the participants with the queries that they may have regarding the participation in the Forum.
　　The contact information is as follows:
　　Ms. Wang Juan
　　Foreign Affairs Office, Department of Culture of Guizhou Province
　　No. 54 Zhunyi Road, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550002
　　China
　　Tel: 86-851-5578613
　　Fax: 86-851-5578613; 86-851-5570316
　　Email: [log in to unmask]
　　Website: www.gzww.cn

　　Travel to Guiyang
　　In general, the foreign guests can book their air tickets directly to Guiyang either via Beijing or Shanghai. But the organizing committee will still attach its staff in Beijing helping the foreign guests with their flight connections to Guiyang or a short stay in Beijing before or/and after the Forum. The foreign guests are kindly requested to inform the Organizing Committee Office of the details of their travel arrangements.

　　Accommodation
　　The Organizing Committee is going to reserve a number of rooms in hotels of two or three categories in Guiyang for participants in the Forum.
　　But the first recommendation will be Guizhou Park Hotel located in the heart of the city. It has different categories of rooms: standard rooms, executive rooms and executive suites. The rates are from 400 yuans to1800 yuans (the exchange rate between US dollar and Chinese yuans is 1: 8.2) including buffet breakfasts. The discount rates are still under negotiation between the Organizing Committee and the hotel. The detailed information about Guizhou Park Hotel will be available soon.

　　Working languages
　　The working languages of the Forum will be Chinese and English. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided between the two languages for the plenary sessions.

　　Registration fee
　　The ordinary registration fee for the delegate attending the Forum is US$120. It includes: all sessions of the Forum, working documents and publications of the Forum, welcome reception, opening event, field trips to Soga Ecomuseum and Zhenshan Ecomuseum, the concert and the excursion to Huangguoshu waterfalls. An extra sum may be requested for the late registrations.

2005 GUIZHOU INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF ECOMUSEUMS
“COMMUNICATION AND EXPLORATION”

JUNE 1-6, 2005, GUIZHOU, CHINA

Beijing, 31 December 2004

　　Invitation to the 2005 Guizhou International Forum of Ecomuseums

　　Dear colleagues,

　　It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 2005 Guizhou International Forum of Ecomusuems: Communication and Exploration, to be held in Guiyang and Liuzhi, Guizhou Province, China from June 1st to 6th 2005. The Forum is jointly organized by the Chinese Society of Museums (CSM) and the Culture Department of Guizhou Province with great supports from the National Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, the People's Government of Guizhou Province and Royal Norwegian Embassy to China.

　　Since the concept of the ecomuseum was introduced in the 1970s it has become an important part of the museum scene in many countries. The 30 years of ecomuseum experience has provided many examples of how the principal ideas of the ecomuseum have been adapted to practical situations, and how the ecomuseums have been organized in a variety of ways in practice. After an eight-year fruitful cooperation between Chinese and Norwegian museum professionals, state authorities on various levels and the people of local ethnic minorities in Guizhou, the project 'Ecomuseums in Guizhou Province' formalized in 1995 is going to be completed in 2005. During the project period, the protection of the totality of the natural and cultural heritage in Soga, Zhenshan, Longli and Tang'an representing the Qing Miao, the Buyi, the Han and the Dong, nationalities are experienced in the form of ecomuseums.

　　In every country and in every museum project the ecomuseum idae is realized differently – based upon the specific cultural situation and personnel and economic resources. In this connection, the completion of Guizhou project can also provide international ecomuseum professionals with study cases for raising and discussing some common and specific issues in relation to the ecomuseum concept and practice in different political, economic and cultural situations in order to evaluate the current development and future prospects for ecomuseums in China and in other parts of the world. That is why “communication and exploration” is selected as the theme of the Forum by the organizers. Some monographic topics such as “ecomuseum and protection and sustainable development of heritage”, “general principles and diversified pratice of ecomuseums” and “ecomuseums and conventional musuems” are also suggested.

　　About 120 ecomuseum people, heritage experts and governmental officials from China and foreign countries are expected to be gathering in Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou Province for two days symposium composed of keynote speeches and discussions, and for two days field researches at Soga, Liuzhi where the first China’s ecomuseum is located and Zhenshan Ecomuseum situated in suburb of Guiyang city. Our Guizhou colleagues would also like to invite the participants to make a half-day excursion to some beautiful landscapes near by Guiyang including Huangguoshu, the well-known waterfalls. Apart from the official programs of the Forum, the representatives of two other ecomuseum projects from Guangxi Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are also ready to receive the participants to make field studies in their regions right after the Forum.

　　Your will find some more detailed information about this Forum attached to this letter. We would greatly appreciate if you could respond to us with your Intention Note by March 1st, 2005. The contact information is as follows:

　　Ms. Wang Juan
　　Foreign Affairs Office, Department of Culture of Guizhou Province
　　No.103 Zhunyi Road, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550002
　　China
　　Tel: 86-851-5578613
　　Fax: 86-851-5578613; 86-851-5570316
　　Email: [log in to unmask]

　　We are looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

　　Sincerely,

　　Prof. Li Wenru Prof. Su Donghai
　　Executive Director Project Leader
　　Chinese Society of Museums Ecomuseums in Guizhou

2005 GUIZHOU INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF ECOMUSEUMS
“COMMUNICATION AND EXPLORATION”

June 1-6 2005, Guizhou, China

INTENTION NOTE

　　This Note should be returned by March 1st, 2005 to Ms. Wang Juan, Foreign Affairs Office, Department of Culture of Guizhou Province by Fax (86-851-5578613; 86-851-5570316)
or by Email: [log in to unmask]

　　Please advise the Organizing Committee if you intend to participate in the 2005 Guizhou International Forum of Ecomuseums to be held in Guizhou from 1 to 6 June 2005.

　　Yes No

　　If you intend to attend the Forum, please provide the Organizing Committee with the following information:

　　Delegate information

　　Mr. Mrs. Dr. Prof. Other

　　Family name

　　Given name/s Position

　　Institution/museum

　　Address:

　　City State

　　Postcode Country

　　Telephone Facsimile

　　E-mail

　　Accompanying person's information

　　Mr. Mrs. Dr. Prof. Other

　　Family name

　　Given name/s

　　Address:

　　City State

　　Postcode Country

　　Telephone Facsimile

　　E-mail

　　Travel information

　　I am going to travel to Guiyang directly

　　I am going to travel to Guiyang via Beijing without overnight stop

　　I am going to travel to Guiyang via Beijing with an overnight/s stop

　　I am going to return to my country via Beijing without overnight stop

　　I am going to return to my country from Guiyang via Beijing with an overnight/s stop

　　Participation in the official programs

　　Opening of the Forum

　　Plenary Session1, Keynote speeches and discussions

　　Plenary Session 2, Keynote speeches and discussions

　　Reception dinner hosted by the People's Government of Guizhou Province

　　Field research at Soga ecomuseum, Liupanshui

　　The concert (cooperation of Norwegian and Chinese musicians)

　　Excursion to Huanggushu waterfalls

　　Field research at Zhenshan Ecomuseum

　　Panel meetings

　　Participation in optional field studies after the Forum

　　I am going to participate in the following program and hope the organizing committee to provide me with some more detailed information

　　Option 1: Field study to Damao Banner Ecomuseum, Damao Banner, Baotou , Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 5 to 8 June on my own expenses

　　Option 2: Field study to Nandan Ecomuseum, Nandan County , Guangxi Autonomous Region from 5 to 7 June on my own expenses.

　　Accommodations

　　I hope the Organizing Committee to reserve my hotel accommodations during my stay in China and provide me with more detailed information about the hotels.

　　Accommodations in Beijing prior to the Forum

　　Accommodations in Guiyang during the Forum

　　Accommodations in Beijing after the Forum