In September 2022, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Uzbekistan during his central Asia diplomatic tour.
The Amir Tura Madrasah in the ancient city of Khiva in Uzbekistan before the restoration project. (Photo: CHINA ACADEMY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE)
Among Xi’s official gifts presented to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was a miniature of the ancient city of Khiva, which had been restored by Chinese and Uzbek teams.
The Amir Tura Madrasah in the ancient city of Khiva in Uzbekistan after the restoration project. (Photo: CHINA ACADEMY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE)
Khiva was once an important trading post on the Silk Road. But some of the ancient buildings suffered severe damage. A September 2013 visit by Xi to Uzbekistan opened a new chapter in bilateral cooperation. This included assistance for restoring Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage. In April 2014, the two sides identified historical sites for protecting and restoring in the ancient city of Khiva. This was the first cultural heritage restoration project carried out by Chinese experts in Uzbekistan. The three-year project cultivated a team of Uzbek cultural relic protection experts and helped revive traditional crafts.
“The preservation and restoration of historical sites in Khiva, a project launched during my visit to Samarkand in 2013, has been successfully concluded, further augmenting the charm of this ancient city,” Xi wrote in a signed article for Uzbek media ahead of his 2022 visit.
