Managing Cultural Heritage in China : A View from the Outside

The paper investigates change processes regarding the managerial aspects of organizing Cultural Heritage activities in China. The focus is not on the historical and artistic meanings of archeological discoveries in themselves; nor on the technical, scientific, and methodological repercussions of conservation and restoration; nor finally on the evolution of museology per se. Rather, the core of the analysis is on new managerial problems along the “archaeological chain” (archeological discoveries, restoration, museum definition and public access to cultural heritage) posed by new professional discourse and the overall evolution of the economic and political context. The paper is based on field research carried out in Luoyang, Henan province. The micro view adopted (managing practices more than policies), and the unusual access to data (including financial figures on individual entities) represent a unique opportunity for a sort of “journey” inside the Chinese public sector