Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

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Journal of Building Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jobe

Investigating the critical issues in the conservation of heritage

building: The case of China
Ming Shan a, Yu-Fei Chen a, Zhao Zhai b, *, Juan Du a
a
School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, 22 South Shaoshan Road, Changsha, China
b
School of Traffic & Transportation Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, 960 Wanjiali Road, Changsha, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The importance of conserving heritage buildings is widely acknowledged, and considerable
Heritage buildings research studies have been conducted in this area. The extant literature mainly investigates the
Conservation topic from the aspect of technology. This study aims to examine the management issues in the
Critical issues conservation of heritage buildings. To achieve this goal, pilot interviews were conducted with
China experienced industry experts from China first, followed by a questionnaire administered to 58
practitioners working in the country’s heritage building conservation sector. Non-parametric
statistical methods were used to analyze the collected data. Results revealed that “extreme
vulnerability to fire hazard,” “loss of traditional craftmanship,” “adverse impact from weather,”
“increased material cost due to the small size of the project,” and “outdated budget quota” were
the top five critical issues to the conservation of heritage buildings in China. Recommendations
that may help address these issues were also provided at the end of this paper. This study enriches
the knowledge by exploring the critical issues affecting the conservation of heritage buildings.
Additionally, the findings from this study are useful to the industry practitioners, as they can help
the industry formulate effective measures to tackle these critical issues.

1. Introduction
History shapes the present and future of countries, and the world of built environment has no exception. Heritage buildings that
have stood the test of time and are still standing strong is an important part of transmission of culture over generations [8]. They help
people today explore people’s philosophy and psychology in ancient time [18]. Conservation is important, critical, and essential to
heritage buildings, as it helps maintain the existence of heritage buildings from where people could have the chance to understand the
value and significance attached to heritage buildings [41]. Basically, there are four major types of conservation to heritage buildings,
namely, preservation, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and restoration. Preservation is to keep a heritage building as close as possible to
its original state by conducting repair and maintenance aimed at avoiding and minimizing future deterioration or loss [35]. It focuses
on the stabilization of heritage buildings including its materials and structures. Reconstruction is the efforts to recreate the buildings
that have been vanished or have to be demolished for the sake of structure safety [40]. Rehabilitation refers to the practices conducted
to alter a heritage building to meet modern demands (e.g., video surveillance and fire safety) while keeping the original character of
the building. Restoration refers the practices carried out to return the decayed heritage buildings to its original good condition.
Currently, considerable studies have been conducted on the conservation of heritage buildings, and most of which is regarding the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ming.shan@csu.edu.cn (M. Shan), chen_yufei@csu.edu.cn (Y.-F. Chen), zhao.zhai@csust.edu.cn (Z. Zhai), ziguitongxue@sina.com (J. Du).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104319
Received 2 February 2022; Received in revised form 3 March 2022; Accepted 3 March 2022
Available online 5 March 2022
2352-7102/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

new technologies and materials used in practice [31,41]. Recently, new research interest grew and an increasing number of papers
addressing the management problem in the conservation of heritage buildings have been published [50,52]. However, research gaps
remain and one of them is the lack of a thorough investigation of the critical issues in the management of heritage building conser­
vation projects. This study is determined to bridge the knowledge gap. Such a study is functional and imperative. It looks at the
problems in the current practices of conserving heritage buildings which can deepen the practitioners’ understanding of this kind of
projects. Additionally, given this study is explorative research, it contributes to the current body of knowledge as well.
This study was conducted in the context of China, a country has a history of thousands of years and is rich in heritage buildings,
such as the Great Wall, the Potala Palace, the Forbidden City, the Summer Place, and the Mogao Grottoes. To conserve those valuable
heritage buildings, China has invested heavily. Many conservation projects are conducted in past decades or ongoing across the
country currently [13,21]. However, like any type of project, the conservation projects of heritage buildings have a lot of management
issues. These management issues include but are not limited to incorrect use of management materials, lack of funds, and lack of clear
standards in project evaluation. These issues have caused numerous problems affecting the project badly [69]. Therefore, China is a
suitable context for this piece of study.
The structure of the paper is as follows. Next section presents the background of the conservation of heritage buildings in China.
Then, major research efforts that have been conducted on the conservation of heritage buildings worldwide are presented together
with research objectives of the study. After that, research methods, data collection and data analysis methods used in this study were
recorded in detail. Subsequently, statistical analysis results derived from data and critical issues obtained from the analysis were
revealed and discussed. Lastly, recommendations that may address those issues were provided.

2. Background: heritage building conservation in China

As an ancient civilization, China enjoys a wealth of heritage buildings, and the government of China has conducted a lot of efforts in
conserving and protecting those heritage buildings [58]. In November 1982, China enacted the Law of the People’s Republic of China on
Protection of Cultural Relics, which is the first law of China aiming to protect the cultural relics of China [32]. In November 1985, China
signed up the World Heritage Convention, pledging to conserve the World Heritage sites and its national heritage situated on its
territory [63]. In October 2000, Chinese National Committee for The International Council on Monuments and Sites and China Na­
tional Cultural Heritage Administration jointly launched the Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China, which sum­
marized and explained the major practices of heritage conservation conducted in the country [54]. Additionally, since March 1961,
China started drawing up the List of Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, and a total of 5058 units are
included in the list up to now [26]. At the same time, since February 1982 China created another list which recorded the National
Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in the country, and currently 137 cities are included [67]. The units and cities included in the two
lists are required to undertake scientific and technical measures to conserve heritage buildings in its jurisdiction.

Fig. 1. Heritage building locating in remote area of South-Central China.

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M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

China’s rapid economic growth and social development have posed both challenges and opportunities for the conservation of its
heritage buildings. There is no doubt that some heritage buildings, like the courtyards in Beijing, were demolished during the urban
development [71]. However, thanks to the advanced technologies and new practices, an increasing number of heritage buildings were
effectively conserved. For example, geospatial analysis conducted based on the data collected by satellite was adopted to identify and
map the subtle archaeological features of the lost Han–Wei Forbidden City located in Henan Province, China [29]; mobile crowd
sensing techniques were used to carry out damage detection of the Great Wall of China [62]; polymeric materials were used in the
conservation of murals in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in Gansu Province, China. More importantly, valuable experience in protecting
and conserving heritage buildings during economic development has been gained through the conservation programs conducted at
several national capital construction sites, such as the Three Gorges Dam Project and the South-North Water Diversion Project [58].
Despite considerable efforts have been made, problems exist in the conservation of heritage buildings in China [21]. For instance,
because of lacking clear definition of heritage buildings, some heritage buildings, particularly those locating in residential areas, were
demolished by mistake [70]; due to lack of funds, heritage buildings, particularly should be protected at the regional and local level
according to the government’s regulation, were inappropriately protected (see Fig. 1) [10]; due to the wrong use of technologies and
materials for repair and maintenance, historical values of the heritage buildings were compromised [72]. In addition, many heritage
buildings located in urban areas are currently used for different functions, such as offices, restaurants, and museum centers and many
additional but unnecessary facilities like toilets, kitchens, stores, and extra lightings were added [70]. All these problems have become
major obstacles to the conservation of heritage buildings in China and thus, it is imperative to conduct research to address these
problems.

3. Literature review
3.1. Research streams of heritage building conservation
Currently, many studies have been conducted in the conservation of heritage buildings. These studies investigate different aspects
of conservation work, such as technology, material, and management. From the aspect of technology, many advanced, innovative
technologies have been proposed by the academia. For example, smart carbon fiber reinforced polymer with embedded fiber optic
Brillouin senor was adopted to retrofit a heritage building in Italy [5]; BIM technologies was used to serve the management of in­
terventions to heritage buildings in Italy [6]; geodetic methods were used to determine the vertical deviation of heritage buildings in
Poland [39]; structural health monitoring technology was used to control, verify, and inform about the condition or changes in a
heritage building so that engineers can obtain reliable information for management and decision making [7]; digital model integrating
the experimental reality was used to study the structural response of heritage buildings [2]; finite element software was used to
simulate and analyze the reinforcement and repair effects of damage states of historical building walls caused by reinforced mesh
cement [30]; and 3D point clouds was used as well, because it can help to automatically recognize historical architectural elements
[38]. Additionally [22], compared traditional and modem techniques used for seismic strengthening in masonry buildings from
different perspectives including effects, benefits and disadvantages.
As for materials, the extant research mainly focuses on the use of mortar in the repair and maintenance of heritage buildings [53].
presented a synthesis of results obtained in the mortar characterization of religious buildings in Portugal [60]. presented an analysis of
results for different lime-based mortars used for heritage building external renders in Portugal [45]. tried to reproduce traditional
lime-based mortars with local materials for the restoration of heritage buildings [15]. investigated the possibility of using
environmental-friendly mortars (with crushed bricks replacing sand) as bedding mortars for repair of heritage buildings [46]. pro­
posed using mortars with crushed lava granulate in the repair of damp heritage buildings [36]. investigated the rendering plasters of
four heritage buildings in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by conducting architecture analysis using historical data [56]. suggested
using polymeric materials used in the preservation of historical stone buildings [25]. investigated the materials used for the repair and
maintenance of historical buildings in Western Anatolia, Turkey, and they found that climate-friendly building materials might have
been adopted on purpose over centuries, for the protection and survival of historical buildings.
Apart from technology and material, an increasing number of studies investigated the conservation of heritage buildings from the
perspective of management [47]. proposed a new contracting method that can help decision makers determine the optimal budget
allocation for heritage buildings in Taiwan [34]. presented the survey process of a heritage building in Portugal [33]. investigated the
problem s of stone supply in the conservation and repair of historical buildings in Britain [70]. presented a systematic approach that
can be used to conserve heritage buildings adjacent to tunnel excavations. The approach includes assessment of health conditions of
historical buildings, risk assessment, simulation analysis, and implementation of corresponding conservation measures [52]. devel­
oped an integrated management structure for the identification and evaluation of Palestine’s heritage buildings [17]. investigated
people’s response on building repair and retrofit and identified the impediments of limited response in a case of historical village in
China [51]. investigated the relationships between traditional methods, technological innovations, and economic sustainability of
interventions in conservation of heritage buildings [43]. constituted a new framework that focuses on the success of project man­
agement on historical building retrofitting [59]. presented a hybrid model developed for ranking the value of heritage buildings
intended for renovation [50]. developed a management system that can be used as a supporting tool to the maintenance and con­
servation of heritage buildings [20]. checked the applicability of life cycle assessment methodology to conservation works in heritage
buildings, with particular reference to cleaning technologies and materials [27]. presented a model and tools with which stakeholders
involved in the conservation and maintenance process could make evidence-based decisions [49]. proposed a multicriteria approach to
identify the highest and the best use for heritage buildings [1]. identified the parameters for a performance-based framework to
prioritize underutilized heritage buildings for adaptive reuse interventions in New Zealand.

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M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

3.2. Research gap and objectives of the study

Based on the literature review, it could be seen that extensive studies have been conducted focusing on the technologies and
materials used for heritage building conservation. Studies working on the management of heritage building conservation could be
detected, but most of them mainly examine the decision making of the conservation of heritage buildings. Limited research looks at the
critical issues occurred in the conservation process. Thus, this study attempts to bridge the knowledge gap. The objectives of this study
are to identify critical issues in the management of heritage building conservation projects, and to provide recommendations to address
those issues.

4. Methods and data presentation

4.1. Research methods
Research methods used in the study are pilot interview, questionnaire, and post-survey interview. As little research has been
conducted to investigate the issues in the conservation of heritage buildings, this study conducted pilot interview as an alternative.
Pilot interview is a commonly used method for collecting opinions and ideas of industry experts regarding a given subject [42,64]. In
this study, face-to-face pilot interviews were conducted in December 2020 with five industry experts invited from the network of the
research team, to identify the major issues affecting the conservation of heritage buildings in China. To ensure the quality of the
interview, these experts were required to have at least five years of experience in conducting heritage building conservation projects.
During interview, experts were requested to list down the main issues they have encountered during their practice. After all interviews
were completed, a detailed summary was made. Lastly, a total of 17 issues were identified, as shown in Table 1 below.
Questionnaire has been widely used to collect opinions from professionals regarding a given subject [16,65]. Thus, this study used
questionnaire to gather the opinions of industry practitioners regarding the critical issues in managing heritage building conservation
projects. Based on the results of earlier pilot interviews, a questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire consists of two sections. The
first section was to solicit the background information of the respondents, including the types of their employers, their positions in
organizations, and the geographic locations of the project they have carried out in the most recently, as well as their years of experience
in conducting heritage building conservation. The second section requested the respondents to provide their endorsement on the 17
issues identified from pilot interviews, based on a nine-point rating scale where 1 means very disagree, 5 means neural, and 9 means

Table 1
Issues in the conservation of heritage buildings in China.

Code Issue Description

I1 Incorrect use of repair and maintenance The techniques used by the conservation work are different from local traditional ones, which will undermine
techniques the historic value of the heritage building.
I2 Poor conditions on the site Site conditions are poor, which makes the conservation work cannot be carried out.
I3 Incorrect use of materials Wrong materials were used for the repair and maintenance of heritage building. For example, modern
materials like cement and steel were used in the repair and maintenance of wood structure or brick-wood
structure.
I4 Loss of traditional craftmanship The number of workers equipped with traditional craftmanship decreased significantly due to the issue of
aging, making the new craftmanship must be used. However, the repair effect of the new craftmanship is
incomparable with the ones produced by traditional craftmanship.
I5 Lack of knowledge and skills Most of the practitioners are newcomers who do not have sound knowledge and necessary skills on the
conservation of heritage buildings.
I6 Lack of funds Lack of funds because not enough attention of the local government is paid to the conservation of heritage
buildings.
I7 Lack of clear standards in project The project quality is compromised as there is no clear standards in the evaluation of heritage building
evaluation conservation projects.
I8 Unexpected changes from the client Unexpected changes were raised from the client side which increased the difficulty in project
implementation.
I9 Disturbance from onsite workers Sometimes the workers at the site will suddenly claim extra payment or less working hours, which will affect
the implementation of the conservation project.
I10 Uncertainty There are a lot of concealed works in the repair and maintenance of heritage structures which may cause
considerable uncertainties and imperil the structures.
I11 Adverse impact from the weather Weather will affect the repair and maintenance of heritage structures as some craftmanship should be carried
out in a fixed temperature and humidity.
I12 Extreme vulnerability to fire hazard Most of heritage buildings in China are wood frame structure which is extremely vulnerable to fire hazard.
I13 Poor compliance to rules and regulations Rules and regulations stipulated by the government were not fully complied with during the implementation
of conservation projects.
I14 Increased material cost due to the small The size of the repair and maintenance projects of heritage structures is relatively small and thus the project
size of the project team is unable to have a reasonable price for the materials needed which will increase the project cost
eventually.
I15 Outdated budget quota The existing budget quota used for the conservation of heritage buildings is outdated and is no longer suitable
for current practice.
I16 Information asymmetry Most of heritage structures are in remote areas of China, and the project contractors are basically from the
outside and are not familiar with the conditions of the project location, which increases difficulties in project
implementation.
I17 Lack of guidelines from authorities So far only central government of China released one guideline regarding the repair and maintenance of
heritage structures. The local governments did not fully follow up to release local guidelines.

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M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

fully agree. To receive as many responses as possible, a web-based questionnaire was developed for dissemination.
Lastly, to check the validity of the results obtained from questionnaire, post-survey interviews were conducted with ten experts
randomly selected from those who have responded to the questionnaire. During interview, each expert was presented the results
obtained from the questionnaire and was requested to assess the results in terms of validity. Moreover, to gain deeper insight into the
findings, each expert was requested to explain the questionnaire results and provide possible recommendations for the critical issues
exposed by the questionnaire, based on their practical experiences.

4.2. Data collection and presentation

Comparing to the general construction sector, heritage building conservation sector is minor and the number of the practitioners
working in the sector is limited. Thus, it is difficult for the questionnaire to have a vast number of respondents. Hence, this study used
snowball sampling, a sampling method particularly suitable to a survey difficult to find participants [11]. The link of web-based
questionnaire was sent to professionals in the network of the research team, targeting those who have experience in conducing
heritage structure repair and maintenance in South-Central China, as shown in Fig. 2. Meanwhile, professionals receiving the ques­
tionnaire were also encouraged to share the link in their networks, so that the questionnaire could receive as many responses as
possible. Lastly, 58 responses were gathered. Based on a careful visual examination, every replied questionnaire was found properly
filled up. Thus, all responses were considered valid for the study. Table 2 shows the profile of the respondents.

4.3. Data analysis methods

Nonparametric statistical methods including One sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank
test, were conducted to analyze the data collected by questionnaire. One sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test is a statistical method
checking whether the median of the sample is equal to a test value [4]. In this study, the method was used to check if issues are critical
to heritage building conservation by setting 7 as the test value. If the median of the respondents’ assessment of an issue is less than 7
and the p-value generated by the one sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test is less than a given alpha (e.g., 0.05), it can be concluded that
respondents’ assessment of the issue is statistically lower than the test value of 7, which means that the issue is not critical to the
conservation of heritage buildings. If the median of the respondents’ assessment of an issue is equal to or above the test value of 7,
conclusion should be made that the issue is critical.

Fig. 2. Location of South-Central China (shaded in grey).

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M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

Table 2
Profile of the respondents.

Variable Category Number Cumulative Percentage (%)

Employer Governmental department 8 13.8

Client 4 20.7
Contractor 32 75.9
Designer 8 89.7
Consultancy 6 100
Position in organization Top level 4 6.9
Middle level 32 62.1
Lower level 22 100
Years of experience Less than 4 years 18 31
5–9 years 16 58.6
10–14 years 14 82.8
15 years and above 10 100

As shown in Table 2, respondents of the questionnaire have different backgrounds regarding their employers, positions in orga­
nization, and years of experience. It is therefore necessary to check if significant differences exist in the assessments of respondents
with different backgrounds. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to conduct the check. The method can check the potential differences be­
tween two or more different groups, and it has been widely used in the data analysis in construction and maintenance research [23,44].
As for the interpretation of the test results, if the p-value generated by the test is less than a given alpha (e.g., 0.05), it can be concluded
that the assessments of respondents differ, and otherwise the assessments of respondents are consistent.
Apart from one sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for data analysis as
well. Wilcoxon signed-rank test is a widely used method that can compare two matched samples to assess whether their population
mean ranks differ [9,19]. Thus, the method was used in this study to compare the different issues with each other, to identify the most
critical issues in the conservation of heritage buildings.

5. Results and discussion

5.1. Statistical test results
Table 3 presents respondents’ assessments of 17 issues and the relevant statistical test results. According to Table 3, 13 out of 17
issues received medians statistically equal to or greater than the test value of 7, suggesting they were critical to the conservation of
heritage buildings. By contrast, four issues, namely I3 “incorrect use of materials,” I9 “disturbance from onsite workers,” I1 “incorrect
use of repair and maintenance techniques,” and I2 “poor conditions on the site,” received medians statistically lower than the test value
of 7, indicating they were not critical. In addition, the Kruskal-Wallis test results in Table 3 showed that none of the issues were

Table 3
Respondents’ assessments of different issues and statistical test results.

Code Issue Means One sample Wilcoxon signed- P-values of Kruskal-Wallis test
rank test

Value Rank Median Test p- Employer Position in Years of

value value organization experience

I12 Extreme vulnerability to fire hazard 7.48 1 8 7 0.021a 0.673 0.126 0.297
I4 Loss of traditional craftmanship 7.45 2 8 7 0.029a 0.681 0.206 0.567
I11 Adverse impact from the weather 7.26 3 8 7 0.166 0.631 0.096 0.115
I14 Increased material cost due to the small 7.16 4 8 7 0.428 0.732 0.085 0.200
size of the project
I15 Outdated budget quota 7.09 5 8 7 0.657 0.254 0.079 0.926
I5 Lack of knowledge and skills 6.98 6 8 7 0.787 0.305 0.080 0.465
I6 Lack of funds 6.86 7 8 7 0.864 0.889 0.229 0.369
I13 Poor compliance to rules and regulations 6.81 8 7 7 0.328 0.983 0.035b 0.168
I7 Lack of clear standards in project 6.71 9 7 7 0.340 0.885 0.029b 0.316
evaluation
I10 Uncertainty 6.71 9 7 7 0.433 0.960 0.062 0.175
I16 Information asymmetry 6.69 11 7 7 0.226 0.155 0.382 0.270
I8 Unexpected changes from the client 6.62 12 7 7 0.093 0.171 0.357 0.155
I17 Lack of guidelines from authorities 6.41 13 7 7 0.104 0.872 0.141 0.197
I3 Incorrect use of materials 6.21 14 7 7 0.042a 0.522 0.162 0.519
I9 Disturbance from onsite workers 6.05 15 6 7 0.001a 0.850 0.212 0.042b
I1 Incorrect use of repair and maintenance 5.69 16 5 7 0.000a 0.811 0.409 0.336
techniques
I2 Poor conditions on the site 5.60 17 5 7 0.000a 0.724 0.414 0.713
a
The one sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test was significant at the significance level of 0.05, suggesting the assessments of respondents were statistically different from
the test value of 7.
b
The Kruskal-Wallis test was significant at the significance level of 0.05, suggesting the assessments of respondents were statistically different.

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Table 4
Wilcoxon signed-rank test results for issues in conservation of heritage buildings.

I12 I4 I11 I14 I15 I5 I6 I13 I7 I10 I16 I8 I17 I3 I9 I1 I2

I12 – 0.797 0.161 0.057 0.148 0.059 0.038* 0.003* 0.002* 0.005* 0.002* 0.002* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000*
I4 – 0.276 0.197 0.144 0.044* 0.034* 0.008* 0.004* 0.004* 0.002* 0.001* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000*
I11 – 0.376 0.565 0.349 0.285 0.079 0.064 0.086 0.084 0.015* 0.009* 0.019* 0.000* 0.000* 0.000*
I14 – 0.828 0.524 0.508 0.122 0.144 0.194 0.129 0.068 0.044* 0.021* 0.000* 0.001* 0.000*
I15 – 0.498 0.469 0.219 0.07 0.121 0.124 0.094 0.019* 0.015* 0.001* 0.000* 0.000*
I5 – 0.666 0.459 0.219 0.333 0.368 0.152 0.064 0.018* 0.003* 0.000* 0.000*
I6 – 0.647 0.556 0.527 0.562 0.265 0.121 0.050 0.005* 0.002* 0.000*
I13 0.826 0.972 0.887 0.655 0.105 0.069 0.002* 0.003* 0.000*
7

–
I7 – 0.981 0.748 0.766 0.282 0.311 0.022* 0.005* 0.001*
I10 – 0.845 0.702 0.092 0.169 0.028* 0.007* 0.001*
I16 – 0.623 0.216 0.180 0.012* 0.003* 0.000*
I8 – 0.512 0.233 0.042* 0.009* 0.005*
I17 – 0.461 0.180 0.024* 0.013*
I3 – 0.618 0.159 0.058
I9 – 0.369 0.331
I1 – 0.723
I2 –

*Wilcoxon signed-rank test was significant at the significance level of 0.05, suggesting the two compared issues were statistically different from each other.

Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

perceived differently by respondents in term of their employers; except I7 and I13 none of the issues were perceived differently by
respondents in term of their position in organization; and except I9 none of the issues were perceived differently by respondents in term
of their years of experience. These results indicated that the respondents’ perceptions of the 17 issues were generally similar even
though the respondents have different backgrounds.

5.2. Critical issues in the conservation of heritage buildings

Due to word limit, it is difficult to discuss all issues in the paper. Thus, the research team concentrated on and discussed the top five
issues that are most critical to the conservation of heritage buildings only. Such a strategy has been used by many construction and
maintenance studies. For example [3], identified 27 causes of schedule delays that may affect public constructions projects in Burkina
Faso and discussed the top five causes only [68]. identified 22 critical risk factors that may affect transnational public-private part­
nership projects and discussed the top five risk factors only in their paper. Based on the results of the mean ranking shown in Table 3,
I12, I4, I11, I14, and I15 received mean values greater than 7, suggesting they were critical issues to the conservation of heritage
buildings In addition, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test results in Table 4 showed that the mean values of I12, I4, I11, I14, and I15 were
statistically different from those of the rest issues, which further proved that I12, I4, I11, I14, and I15 were top critical issues to the
conservation of heritage buildings in China.
Receiving the highest assessment of 7.48, I12 “extreme vulnerability to fire hazard” was assessed as the most critical issue to the
conservation of heritage buildings in China. Three factors, namely material type, building location, and lack of rules and regulations,
contribute to this issue, based on the results of post survey interviews. In China, the overwhelming majority of the heritage buildings
are made by wood [12], which are more vulnerable to fire hazard comparing to other construction materials like stone. Additionally,
apart from material type, the locations of heritage buildings matter as well. In China, most of heritage buildings locate either in urban
residential areas or in remote areas. For those locating in urban residential areas, family life or residents can contribute to fire hazard;
for those locating in remote areas, modern fire prevention facilities are largely unavailable [69]. Additionally, the interviewees of
post-survey interviews stressed that laws and regulations pertaining to fire safety in heritage buildings are lacking. The worrying fact
like this has also posed additional fire hazard to the conservation of heritage buildings in China.
I4 “loss of traditional craftmanship” received a mean value of 7.45 and was assessed as the second most critical issue to the
conservation of heritage buildings. Traditional craftmanship mainly refers to the traditional ways of building and repairing, including
the use of local materials and techniques, and the local traditional styles of skilled masons [28]. Because of drastic changes in
innovative technologies and increasing use of new materials in recent years, fewer attention was paid to traditional craftmanship, and
it has been virtually forgotten by the present generation [28]. In addition, in the conservation of heritage buildings in China, tradi­
tional craftmanship was mainly transmitted from the master to the apprentice by oral teaching. Therefore, it is difficult to spread
widely in a short time [55]. All these factors have contributed to the loss of traditional craftmanship in the conservation of heritage
buildings in China.
I11 “adverse impact from weather” received a mean value of 7.26 and was assessed as the third most critical issue to the con­
servation of heritage buildings. In China, most heritage buildings are wood structures which are easily affected by weather. For
instance, heritage buildings in cold regions always suffer from frost damage which could lead to arsenic formation, epidermal cracking,
and cracks [14]; heritage buildings in regions featured in humid climate always suffer from diseases like efflorescence, chap, cracks,
and rottenness [37]. In addition, for the repair and maintenance of heritage buildings, weather affects the craftsmanship as well [61],
because some craftsmanship is normally required to be carried out in a fixed temperature and humidity. For instance, in the traditional
shed wall paste decoration technology, the raw material fiber of the paper has the characteristics of restoring the shape memory of the
fiber when wet, resulting in instability of the paper during decoration. In addition, temperature and humidity also have a great in­
fluence on the adhesion of the bottom paper of the ceiling and the white grate. When the temperature and humidity change, it is easy to
cause the large area of the ceiling and the white grate to separate, which causes the ceiling to sag and thus affecting the life of the
ceiling.
I14 “increased material cost due to the small size of the project” received a mean value of 7.16 and was assessed as the fourth most
critical issue to the conservation of heritage buildings in China. Currently, to reduce costs and increase output, most manufacturers
basically adopt modern production methods [24]. However, some materials needed by the repair and maintenance of heritage
buildings require special traditional formulas and traditional craftsmanship, and they are mostly in small batch [48]. These special
needs of restoration materials for heritage buildings require manufacturers must change production methods and standards, which has
greatly led to low production efficiency and increased production cost. Therefore, the cost of repairing materials procurement in­
creases significantly.
I15 “outdated budget quota” received a mean value of 7.09 and was assessed as the fifth most critical issue to the conservation of
heritage buildings. In China, the budget quota released by the government is an important basis for project cost estimation. It de­
termines the number of labors, materials, and machinery required by sub-projects in practice [57]. Deficiencies in budget quota will
affect the accuracy of cost estimation. It may also affect projects’ smooth implementation [66]. Budget quota applies to the repair and
maintenance of heritage buildings as well. In 1995, China promulgated the "National Unified Housing Repair Project Budget Quota",
the most authoritative and the latest budget quota for the repair and maintenance of heritage buildings across the country. However,
after a 20-year development, the quota is no longer suitable for the current repair and maintenance practice. In addition, due to China’s
vast geographic location, there are big differences in architectural styles, construction technologies and building materials in heritage
buildings of different regions, and the shortcomings and defects of the national unified quota have gradually become prominent.

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M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

6. Recommendations
To address the critical issues obtained from the study, post survey interviews were conducted with ten experts who have partic­
ipated in the questionnaire survey, asking them to provide solutions. This section recorded the opinions of the experts.
To address the issue I12 “extreme vulnerability to fire hazard,” experts suggested the management and control of fire hazards in
heritage buildings should be strengthened, and that the use of open flames should be prohibited in heritage buildings and their
protection areas, except for special purposes such as religious sacrifices. Additionally, the expert panel stressed that some factors such
as the characteristics of fire formation and development in heritage buildings should be fully considered, and that some new tech­
nologies such as fire detection, alarm, and fire suppression system should be used when configuring fire suppression systems. In
addition, experts highlighted that the current fire safety management regulations must be further improved and particularly, the
relevant responsibilities should be clarified and the technical standards for fire safety of heritage buildings must be stipulated as early
as possible.
To address the issue I4 “loss of traditional craftmanship,” experts suggested giving more attention to traditional craftsmen.
Traditional craftsmen are intangible cultural heritage, and they are scarce resources for the conservation of heritage buildings.
However, currently, most of traditional craftsmen are aging. Thus, it is urgent for the government to pay more attention to traditional
craftsmen. For example, measures should be taken to improve the living conditions of traditional craftsmen. In addition, some experts
recommended that private forces could be used to protect traditional craftmanship. For example, private protection organizations
could be established under the guidance of the government, which may create an exchange platform where folk traditional artists and
researchers may collaborate with each other. Also, the platform may summarize and sort out different types of traditional craftmanship
to achieve a comprehensive, scientific, and effective protection.
To address the issue I11 “adverse impact from weather,” experts recommended to use new materials and new technologies. For
instance, thermal insulation materials could be used to prevent cold waves and large temperature differences between day and night. It
can also effectively reduce the impacts of strong winds, sun exposure and heat radiation. Experts stressed that such kind of materials
has a good application prospect in repairing heritage buildings that have suffered from natural corrosion. Some experts suggested
strengthening the monitoring of the local weather in the restoration of heritage buildings, adjusting construction methods, and
improving construction management according to changes in the construction environment, so that problems can be discovered and
dealt with in a timely manner.
As for the issue I14 “increased material cost due to the small size of the project,” experts recommended that the client side should
have some trusted partners who could provide materials with due quality and reasonable price. Clients could establish a long-term
stable cooperative relationship with those partners to make sure that the required materials are always in position whenever
needed. Additionally, some experts stressed that clients use information management to address the issue. For example, clients may
conduct market research on repair materials in a planned way and collect material supply information proactively. By doing so, clients
will be able to grasp the price trends of materials and then formulate strategic material purchase plans.
To address the issue I15 “outdated budget quota,” experts suggested that the authorities should communicate with heritage
building management, construction, research, and protection units in various places, to check the existing quotas used in practice,
collect feedback from all parties, and fix the problems accordingly. In addition, some experts recommended that the authorities should
release relevant guidance information and adjustment indexes regularly, so that the heritage building repair quota is always in benign
dynamic management, and the conservation of heritage buildings could be in organized development.

7. Conclusion
This study investigated the critical issues that have affected the conservation of heritage buildings in China, by conducting pilot
interviews and questionnaire survey with experienced industry practitioners. Statistical test analyses were conducted, and results
showed that industry practitioners perceived unanimously regardless of their different backgrounds. Results revealed five top critical
issues to the conservation of heritage buildings in China. Among these issues, some are generic to any country, like “extreme
vulnerability to fire hazard” and “adverse impact from weather”; some are prone to be unique to the context of China, like “loss of
traditional craftmanship,” “increased material cost due to the small size of the project,” and “outdated budget quota.” To address these
issues, post-survey interviews were conducted with industry practitioners again, and specific solutions were provided from different
perspectives, including technology, material, operation and management, and regulations.
Although research objectives of the study were achieved, there are some limitations. First, the sample size of the study is relatively
small and thus, cautions should be given when the results of the study were interpreted and generalized. Second, the findings of the
study are limited to the context of China, which may have applicability issue when applying to other countries.
Despite these limitations, this study is still valuable and useful both to the academia and the practice. This is the first study
investigating the critical issues in the conservation of heritage buildings in China. Thus, it contributes to the theory, by expanding the
current body of knowledge of heritage conservation. In addition, this study reveals the critical issues that have affected the conser­
vation of heritage buildings in China and provides some solutions that may be helpful. Thus, it is beneficial to the practice as well.
Moreover, the findings obtained by the study would also be helpful to the conservation of Chinese cultural heritage, considering
heritage buildings are one important type of tangible culture to any country.
For future research, there are a lot of research opportunities. Cost-benefit analysis of heritage building conservation might be
investigated. Sustainable practices in heritage building conservation might be scrutinized. In addition, externalities of heritage
building conservation to its location will also be an interesting topic to address.

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M. Shan et al. Journal of Building Engineering 51 (2022) 104319

Author statement
Ming Shan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing-Review & Editing, Supervision
Yu-Fei Chen: Formal analysis, Investigation
Zhao Zhai: Writing-Original draft, Visualization
Juan Du: Resources, Investigation

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing in­
terests: Ming Shan reports financial support was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71901224).
Ming Shan reports financial support was provided by Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, China (Grant No. 2020JJ5779).
Zhao Zhai reports financial support was provided by Education Department of the Hunan Province (Grant No. 20C0029). Zhao Zhai
reports financial support was provided by Changsha Municipal Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. KQ2014116).

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