KUNMING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 120 guests from 24 countries of the Global South gathered on Sunday in Chengjiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province for discussions on world heritage protection and development.

They were attending a sub-forum under the 2025 Global South Media and Think Tank Forum, which is co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Yunnan Provincial Committee and the People's Government of Yunnan Province.

Yunnan is home to six world heritage sites, the second highest number in China, and among them, the Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er is the world's first tea-themed cultural heritage site, noted Zeng Yan, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and head of the provincial committee's publicity department.

Zeng said safeguarding these world heritage sites requires joint efforts, with protection as the top priority, while efforts should also be made to enhance research, transformation, exchanges and cooperation, thus bringing cultural and natural treasures to life as bonds of mutual learning between civilizations.

Xi Yanchun, vice president of Xinhua News Agency, highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts, calling the sustainable development of world heritage "a systematic project that entails collaboration of all parties, especially the active support of the media."

She said Xinhua will continue to step up cooperation with governments, media and think tanks in Global South countries and promote shared understanding and public awareness of the protection and inheritance of world heritage.

Robinder Nath Sachdev, president of The Imagindia Institute, said while many world heritage sites in Global South countries are recognized globally, the perspectives of these countries remain underrepresented in global narratives, calling for a stronger voice from the Global South.

Beyond protection, participants at the forum also stressed the need to keep heritage vibrant and relevant to modern life, particularly by engaging younger generations through social media, film and TV, as well as games.  ■