Ecomuseums and Living Heritage in China

Ecomuseums, founded on the radical principle of community-led heritage, have transformed preservation practices across the globe. But what happens when this bottom-up model encounters a millennia-old, top-down social system? Ecomuseums and Living Heritage in China moves beyond theoretical debate to present a groundbreaking, empirical study of this very clash.

This book narrates the compelling story of Malanyu, a community descended from the caretakers of the Qing Imperial Tombs. For centuries, these guardians preserved a sacred landscape through ritual and stewardship; today, their descendants are reclaiming that legacy by building their own ecomuseum. Through rich oral histories and participatory action research, the authors document this community’s journey to navigate state authority, revitalize collective memory, and assert its identity. The book offers a critical lens on heritage management in the Global South. It challenges the dominance of state-led, material-focused preservation by demonstrating how living heritage practices can foster sustainable and inclusive development. By bridging historical vernacular traditions with contemporary urbanist concerns, the book provides a new practical framework for community participation, specifically designed for the Chinese context but with profound implications for similar settings worldwide.

Essential reading for scholars and practitioners in architecture and heritage studies, this work shows that heritage is not a relic to be preserved, but a dynamic process to be lived, a powerful negotiation of memory, identity, and place.

Meng Li is a Research Fellow in the Architecture and Urbanism Research Group at the University of Leeds, an Associate Fellow of the AdvanceHE (AFHEA), and a Recognised Associate Research Supervisor (RARS) whose interdisciplinary scholarship operates at the intersection of Architecture, Critical Heritage Studies, and New Museology. Holding a PhD in Heritage Conservation, her doctoral research pioneered a practical framework for Chinese ecomuseums, specifically examining the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage among the descendants of Imperial Qing Tomb caretakers. Dr Li has developed a robust academic portfolio through longitudinal research into spatial belonging and AHRC-funded youth-led creative economies. Her achievements include high-impact publications in the International Journal of Heritage Studies, Heritage and Archnet-IJAR. With nearly a decade of research and education experience in Higher Education in both China and the UK, her work continues to advance innovative, user-centred methodologies for sustaining collective memory within complex social contexts.

Gehan Selim is the Hoffman Wood Chair in Architecture at the University of Leeds. She is the Deputy Director at Leeds Institute for Societal Futures and was a Fellow of The Senator George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice (2017/18). She is leading the Architecture and Urbanism Research Group at the University of Leeds, with her research covering interdisciplinary methods bridging between Architecture, Memory and Digital Heritage. She has developed a track record of publications and has led and coordinated over 20 research projects, working with multi-international teams in the global south, including Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and India. Her research received multiple national/international awards, including the Routledge Area Studies Impact Award (2023) and the Newton Fund Prize for Outstanding Impact (2020). She is the author of ‘Unfinished Places’ (Routledge, 2017), ‘Architecture, Space and Memory of Resurrection in Northern Ireland’ (Routledge, 2019), and 'The Perpetuation of Collective Memory in the Built Environment’ (Routledge, forthcoming).