Tucked away in the rural landscape of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, a delicate Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) treasure house of ancient architectural carving and painting art has become a testament to the deepened cooperation between China and France in cultural heritage protection, as experts from both sides have spent seven years working hand in hand to unlock the secrets of its painted wooden structures and lay a solid foundation for its scientific restoration.

Gongshu Hall is a Ming dynasty building constructed in the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty.

Renowned for its elaborate wooden structures and painted decorations, it is hailed as a treasure house of ancient Chinese architectural carving and painting art.

When the French cultural heritage conservation experts first visited the site, they were deeply impressed by the mortise and tenon joinery techniques of traditional Chinese wooden architecture.

In 2017, the Shaanxi Academy of Cultural Relics Conservation signed a cooperation agreement with the French Foundation for Heritage Science to launch the research and conservation project of painted wooden structures of Gongshu Hall.

Over the past seven years, professional teams from the two sides have collaborated in two phases.

"[Both sides] have mainly carried out cooperation on the investigation of diseases affecting the painted wooden components of Gongshu Hall, analysis of materials and production techniques, and research on conservation methods, so as to provide technical support for the protection and restoration of Gongshu Hall," said Zhang Fang, associate research fellow at the Shaanxi Academy of Cultural Relics Conservation.

Chinese and French heritage experts have exchanged experience and conducted in depth discussions on ancient wooden architecture craftsmanship, traditional lacquer art and mural painting techniques.

They have completed surveys and assessments of the cultural heritage, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent scientific restoration of Gongshu Hall.

In 2020, the project team was invited to Paris to present research findings at a symposium held by the international council on monuments and sites.

Beyond technical research and relic restoration, the cooperation has also fostered a group of young professionals equipped with international vision, solid theoretical knowledge and global perspectives.

"The cooperation between China and France in the field of cultural heritage protection represents not only a sharing of technical approaches but also a fusion of conservation philosophies," Zhang noted.