The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities meets with the Deputy Chairman of the People’s Government District of Fuling District, Chongqing Municipality
During his current official visit to the Chinese capital, Beijing, Sherif Fathi, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, met with “Jing Kaiyuan”, Vice President of the People’s Government District of Fuling District in the municipality of Chongqing, and his accompanying delegation, in order to discuss the proposal for the joint international nomination file between Egypt and China, to register a scale. The Nile on Rawda Island in Cairo, and the Baiheliang inscriptions on the Pangsti River in China, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The meeting was attended by Ambassador Assem Hanafi, Egypt’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Amr El-Kady, CEO of the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Promotion, and Ambassador Khaled Tharwat, Advisor to the Minister for International Relations and General Supervisor of the General Administration of International Relations and Agreements at the Ministry.
During the meeting, Mr. Sherif Fathi expressed his happiness with this joint work with China in the field of world heritage preservation, because of its great experience in the field of preparing files for the nomination and registration of cross-border World Heritage sites, stressing his full support for this file and overcoming any obstacles that may face the joint registration process. , especially in light of the great historical and scientific importance of the Nilometer and the Chinese Baiheliang inscriptions alike.
They are considered among the most important monuments and water architecture in the world, and their registration on the UNESCO World Heritage List will contribute to the protection and management of ancient water documents and data in Egypt and China, which works to spread the culture and approach of agricultural civilization and technology of hydraulic water heritage in the continents of Asia and Africa. They have also been included on the UNESCO Tentative List of World Cultural Heritage.
The Minister stressed that this cooperation will contribute greatly to benefiting from international expertise in the field of preserving, recording and protecting heritage. It will also work to support the bonds of cooperation and friendship between the two countries and enhance the depth of Egyptian-Chinese strategic relations in general, especially in the field of archaeological work.
Mrs. Jing Kaiyuan also reviewed the beginning of the idea of the joint international nomination file project and its objectives. She also highlighted the importance of the Rawda Nilometer and the Baiheliang inscriptions, the rare hydrological data for them, and the close relationship between the two different agricultural civilizations in Asia and Africa and river water resources, as well as methods and technologies. To serve traditional agricultural production by measuring water levels, pointing out that the Baiheliang inscriptions and the Nilometer are the only well-preserved hydrological heritages in the world, which supports their registration file to protect, manage and disseminate the value of these precious ancient hydrological data through the joint application for World Heritage .
It is worth noting that the current visit of Mr. Sherif Fathi, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, to the People’s Republic of China came based on an invitation addressed to him by the Chinese Minister of Tourism and Culture, and also to participate in the international tourism exhibition COTTIM It was held in the Chinese capital, Beijing, during the period from 16 to 18 October, and a number of official and professional meetings were held with tour operators and airline companies, and some media and press meetings with various Chinese and international media..
During this visit, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities held a number of official meetings, which began with a meeting with the Vice President of the Chinese General Architectural Corporation (CSCEC) It is one of the largest investment and construction groups in China. He also visited the National Museum of Arts and Crafts of China and met with the Chinese Minister of Tourism and Culture. He also toured the National Museum of Arts and Crafts of China in Beijing and met the director of the museum.
The Nilometer in Rawda:
It was built in 861 AD, by order of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil on God, on Al-Rawda Island, and it was used to measure the level of the flood so that the amount of water contained in the flood could be known, which in turn affected the agricultural process, which resulted in determining the rate of taxes, and this was the primary purpose of its construction. As the high flood waters caused the destruction of the lands and then receded at the end of the year, which disrupted the agricultural process and the agricultural lands became drought-stricken and lacked the sediments that would increase their fertility, then agriculture became impossible..
The scale is an octagonal marble column with a length of 19 cubits. It bears the measurement marks that were used to determine the height of the flood. Its top is rectangular and its base is round. It is located in the middle of a well lined with stone, and a spiral staircase runs around the well that reaches the bottom. The walls of the scale are decorated with Qur’anic verses related to water and plants. and prosperity, and it was included in the Tentative World Heritage List in 2003.
Beiheliang Inscriptions, China:
It is a series of natural stones with a length of 1,600 meters and an average width of 15 meters in the Yangtze River, north of Fuling District. On the stone chain are 165 inscriptions dating back to 764 AD, presenting hydrological records of 72 years of drought over 1,200 years in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The Baiheliang inscriptions are considered the "oldest hydrological station in the world" It was included in the Tentative World Heritage List in 2008..
