Overview of IICC-X
The ICOMOS International Conservation Centre – Xi’an (abbreviated as IICC-X) is an international professional institution jointly founded by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) at the invitation of the Xi’an Municipal People’s Government. Entrusted by ICOMOS, the Chinese Committee for Cultural Heritage Conservation coordinates its professional operations. The Centre is jointly supervised by the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China and the Xi’an Municipal People’s Government.
Established in 2006, IICC-X adheres to its core missions: promoting cultural heritage conservation and cross-border cooperation among Eurasian nations along the Silk Road, disseminating the international conservation principles laid out in the Xi’an Declaration on the Conservation of the Setting of Heritage Structures, Sites and Historic Areas, and fulfilling its institutional mandates as an international professional body. It provides academic guidance and technical assistance to Silk Road nations — especially Central and South Asian countries — covering heritage conservation, site management, research and World Heritage nomination, while building sustainable frameworks for global communication and collaboration.
In 2009, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre officially appointed IICC-X as the Secretariat and Information Centre of the Coordination Committee for the Transnational Serial Nomination of the Silk Road, which brings together sixteen participating countries. In 2013, China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan designated IICC-X as the Secretariat of the Working Group for the Transnational World Heritage Nomination of Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor.
Following the successful inscription of Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor on the World Heritage List in 2014, IICC-X has continued to act as the permanent Secretariat and Information Centre serving the 16-country Silk Road World Heritage Coordination Committee. Supported by ICOMOS, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China, the Xi’an Municipal People’s Government, together with long-term partner experts, research institutions and heritage site management authorities, IICC-X carries out comprehensive work including transnational serial World Heritage coordination and post-inscription management, development of the Silk Road digital archive platform and database, international cultural heritage exchange, public outreach and heritage education.
