Volunteers work to renovate a wooden structure in Xifang Temple, Pingyao county. DONG JIXUAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

In mid-June, Xifang Temple – a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) building complex in Xiqiang village of Pingyao, Shanxi province – hosted a team of cultural heritage protection volunteers who came to restore historical structures.

The group of 20-plus members was there to take part in a Gen Z construction workshop for architectural heritage protection. Gen Z refers to people born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s. The volunteers were from China, France and Spain.

The event was organized by the Shanxi International Communication Center, Shanghai Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation, the French voluntary organization REMPART and the government of Pingyao.

The 10-day workshop began on June 14 with a tea-offering ceremony honoring local master craftsmen. For the team members, many of whom hold higher education degrees, the workshop was a valuable experience to learn practical skills for heritage protection.

Chinese volunteer Wu Yue, for instance, is one of the three members holding PhD degrees. He admitted he had a frustrating start.

"I have observed the operations of the masters carefully and practiced again and again but failed to build a wall on the first day," Wu said. "This is my second time attending the workshop but there are still so many things I need to learn."

Li Pengfei, the Chinese team leader, talked with local craftsmen, suggesting members start with easier jobs. The members began to rebuild their confidence under the instruction of the masters.

The repair of heritage sites is a process of constant learning, even for experienced craftsmen, said Nicolas Delanghe, the French team leader.

Delanghe said he had experience in stone masonry after years of repairing ancient structures in Europe. "But this time I've learned a lot in dealing with wood-and-brick structures."

Guo Boya is a teacher in urban-rural planning and heritage protection at Shanghai's Tongji University. She said this was her first time taking part in on-site restoration work. "This is a valuable experience for my teaching career," she said. "I'd like to share what I have learned here with my students at the university."

The Gen Z workshop is a long-term cultural exchange program between Pingyao and the rest of the world.

In 2011, Shanghai Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation began to cooperate with REMPART, introducing the international workshop for heritage protection to the Shanxi county of Pingyao.

Over the past 15 years, more than 200 overseas volunteers have participated in this program. They took part in some major heritage protection projects, including the renovation of the ancient city walls of Pingyao and a number of ancient building repair projects in the county's rural areas.

"The abundant cultural resources make Pingyao an ideal location for international cooperation in heritage protection," said Ding Feng, secretary-general of Shanghai Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation.

With a history of more than 2,800 years, the Pingyao Ancient City was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. Within an area of 2.25 square kilometers enclosed by 6.2 km of city walls, there are nearly 4,000 ancient residences and business premises, making it one of the four best-preserved ancient cities in China. Outside the city, there are also a great number of ancient buildings scattered across the countryside.

According to Ding, the emotional connection between Ruan Yisan, the founder of the foundation, and Pingyao goes back much earlier than the workshop's commencement.

Back in the 1980s, Ruan from Shanghai's Tongji University was among the advocates for the protection of the ancient city, saving it from the large-scale demolition of ancient residences amid rapid economic development.

To pay tribute to Ruan's efforts, a road surrounding the ancient city was named Ruan Yisan Street in 2017.

On June 21, Marie-Georges Pagel-Brousse, president of REMPART, visited the workshop in Pingyao. She praised the initiative as an example for Sino-French cultural cooperation.

She said the launch of the workshop was meant to bring French practices to China and the past 15 years have proved that the Pingyao experience is inspirational for heritage protection in France.

"Pingyao is an ancient city kept alive as residents live in the traditional residences," she said, adding that protecting the integrity and residential function of heritage sites is something that REMPART seeks to promote in France.

The Shanxi International Communication Center took part in the Gen Z workshop in 2025. The program was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Initiative in that same year.

Hao Hong and Zhang Chenwei contributed to this story.

The opening ceremony of the 2026 workshop is held on June 14 at Xifang Temple. WEI BO/FOR CHINA DAILY