The East China Base of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was inaugurated and unveiled in Xuzhou.

On June 3rd, the "2019 Wuxi City Cultural and Natural Heritage Day Theme Activity and the Inauguration Ceremony of the East China Base of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences" jointly organized by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism (Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau), and Wuxi Municipal People's Government was held at the Helu City Ruins Museum in Binhu District, Wuxi. Leaders including Zhu Yanshi, Deputy Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Wu Xiaolin, Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau; Liu Xia, Deputy Mayor of Wuxi Municipal People's Government; and Jiang Yunjie, Director of Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism (Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau) attended the theme activity and unveiled the sign for the East China Base of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Wuxi Helu City Ruins Management Office signed a cooperation agreement on the establishment of the East China Base on-site.

Wuxi is a national historical and cultural city. In recent years, under the high attention and strong promotion of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, it has made remarkable achievements in cultural heritage protection and utilization, transitioning from "cultural awakening" to "cultural self-awareness." The city has 466 cultural relics protection units at all levels and 117 controlled protection units for cultural relics sites. The Grand Canal (Wuxi section) has become a World Cultural Heritage site; the Hongshan and Helu City sites have been established as national archaeological site parks; the Qingming Bridge Historical and Cultural Street and Huishan Old Street have been named Chinese historical and cultural streets; and Dangkou Ancient Town, Changjing Town, Zhoutie Town, and Lishe Village have become Chinese historical and cultural towns and villages. In May 2009, the Wuxi Municipal People's Government approved the establishment of the Wuxi Wudu Helu Ancient City Ruins Management Committee, specifically responsible for the protection, management, and construction of the archaeological site park. In the ten years since its establishment, the management committee has accumulated rich experience in the protection of large-scale sites, making a huge contribution to the protection, display, and utilization of the Helu City ruins.

As China's top archaeological research institution, the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is a key force in the protection of national archaeological sites and unearthed cultural relics. Jiangsu Province is a major province for cultural heritage and has the largest number of units with archaeological excavation qualifications. The cooperation between the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Wuxi Helu City Ruins Management Office to establish the East China Base welcomes major cultural relics protection and archaeological research institutions from the six provinces and one municipality in East China, as well as the participation of our city and major cultural relics and archaeological institutions in Nanjing, Suzhou, Changzhou, Xuzhou, Zhenjiang, and Yangzhou. The establishment of this multi-faceted open platform, integrating archaeological excavation, cultural academic research, specialized personnel training, and exchange and cooperation, not only provides new space for scientific research by research institutions, universities, and all sectors of society, but will also further enhance the level of cultural heritage research in our city. The establishment of the base will open a new chapter for archaeological research and cultural heritage protection work in Wuxi, and will also provide an exchange platform for the transformation of archaeological research results into unique local cultural tourism products, having significant guiding significance and promoting effects on archaeological research work in Jiangsu Province and Wuxi.

After the meeting, all the attendees visited the East China Base of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Dongxiao City Protection and Display Area of the Helu City Archaeological Site Park, and the "Immortal Sleeves Flutter, Generations of Honor" exhibition of unearthed cultural relics from the Ming Dynasty Qian family tomb at the Helu City Ruins Museum. During the visit, the construction of the Helu City Archaeological Site Park received unanimous affirmation from the leaders and guests.

In the next stage, the Helu City Ruins Management Committee will continue to improve the work of cultural relics protection and the integration of culture and tourism. The goal is to build the Helu City Archaeological Site Park into a research base and display window for Wu culture, where culture and tourism develop together, history and nature blend, and humanity and landscape complement each other, as well as a model archaeological site park in the Jiangnan region.