Bridging Seas and Centuries: The Beiyang Sailors Legacy Symposium
About the event
This two-day event is an interdisciplinary Symposium. It will explore broad questions of heritage, memory, and urban transformation in both the UK and China. It will use the Beiyang Fleet Sailors Cemetery in Newcastle as a starting point.
The event is anchored in the historical presence of Chinese sailors in the North East of England. It brings together scholars and practitioners from across:
- history
- archaeology
- cultural heritage and museum studies
- management and organisational research
- tourism studies
- intercultural communication
It seeks to understand how industrial and maritime legacies are remembered, governed, interpreted, and reimagined within changing urban, social, and geopolitical landscapes.
Participants will engage with case studies, theoretical frameworks, and practice-based insights. The event will foster dialogue among academics, heritage professionals, city stakeholders, and the wider public.
Themes
The event will focus on four thematic streams:
Memory, Archaeology and Maritime Heritage
- The Beiyang Fleet Cemetery and Chinese naval history in the UK context
- Industrial and maritime archaeology in post-industrial cities
- Memorialisation and collective memory in transnational settings
Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Language Exchange
- Historical narratives in UK–China engagement
- Language, identity, and interpretation in heritage contexts
- Intercultural remembrance and transnational educational exchange
Heritage and Cultural Management
- Governance of cemeteries, museums, and heritage sites
- Managing difficult or contested heritage
- Stakeholder collaboration in cross-national projects
- Digital transformation in heritage management: virtual archives, digital storytelling, and preservation technologies
Tourism and Urban Futures
- Heritage tourism and city branding
- Sustainable visitor experiences
- Industrial sites as future-oriented spaces of cultural regeneration
We welcome contributions that explore other aspects and the broader significance of UK-China Heritage. This includes, but is not limited to, the following perspectives:
- historical
- sociological
- artistic
- digital
- management
- marketing
- community-based
Who should attend?
We welcome contributions and participation from a wide range of individuals and institutions. This includes, but is not limited to:
Academics and postgraduate researchers
From fields such as:
- heritage studies
- archaeology
- history
- management
- cultural studies
- language and translation
- tourism
- other relevant disciplines that can offer insights into memory, heritage, and urban transformation
Heritage practitioners, museum professionals, and policy stakeholders
Specifically those involved in cultural governance, preservation, and public engagement.
City planners, cultural organisations, and representatives
Specifically from the public and voluntary sectors. Particularly those interested in cross-cultural dialogue, local history, or heritage-based urban regeneration.
We encourage interdisciplinary engagement. We welcome diverse perspectives on the past, present, and future of industrial and maritime heritage in a global context.
Submission guidelines
Participants who wish to give a presentation at the symposium are invited to submit an abstract of 150–250 words.
Abstracts should clearly address one or more of the conference themes. They should articulate their relevance to the symposium’s focus on heritage, memory, cross-cultural dialogue, and urban transformation in the context of the Beiyang Fleet Sailors Cemetery.