During his state visit to Greece in 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then President of Greece Prokopis Pavlopoulos visited the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

Xi said that China and Greece, both boasting abundant cultural heritages, can strengthen cooperation in the preservation and restoration of important historical and cultural heritages.

At that time, a museum staff member demonstrated advanced laser restoration technology for cultural relics to the guests. The staff member was Costas Vasiliadis. Six years later, he, now head of the Conservation Department and Casts at the Acropolis Museum, still remembers the scene vividly.

"I demonstrated laser cleaning on a philosopher's bust and introduced the contemporary approach of the Acropolis Museum and of the Institute of Electronic Structure & Laser (IESL) to conservation," Vasiliadis told Science and Technology Daily.

"What remains particularly memorable for me is the genuine and engaged interest shown by both presidents in the practical aspects of conservation," Vasiliadis added. "The visit was also decisive in strengthening our cooperation with the Palace Museum."

Ten months later, the China-Greece Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Cultural Heritage Conservation Technology was launched for establishment. Its Chinese leading unit is the Palace Museum, and the Greek leading unit is IESL under the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH).

"The mutual attraction between two ancient civilizations, the shared need for cultural heritage conservation, and a wonderful serendipity naturally brought the Chinese and Greek sides together." When discussing the process of their acquaintance and cooperation, Zhao Guoying, former deputy director of the Palace Museum and director of the joint lab, recounted the details with great clarity.

She vividly remembers the scene of her team's first visit to the IESL in 2023. "That day, under a blue sky with white clouds, the Greek side specially hoisted the Chinese national flag in front of the pristine FORTH building to welcome the arrival of the Chinese delegation," recalled Zhao.

During the subsequent symposium, all Greek partners attended, and all parties engaged in in-depth discussions on the development of the joint lab and cooperation in conservation technologies.  

Now, the joint lab has established facilities totaling 650 square meters on the Chinese side and 100 square meters on the Greek side.

It has formed a complete innovation chain spanning scientific research, equipment, standards and applications, achieving significant progress in multiple areas, such as laser cleaning, laser holographic speckle interferometry, non-destructive testing, and digital technologies.

Laser cleaning is one of the key areas of collaborative R&D. The conservation of Lingzhao Xuan provides an excellent opportunity for in-depth cooperation. Primarily constructed of masonry and metal, Lingzhao Xuan, one of the few Western-style buildings in the Forbidden City, stands out distinctively amid the red walls and yellow tiles.

"Lingzhao Xuan is not only a witness to historical exchanges between Eastern and Western building materials and cultures, but also a calling card for today's international cooperation in stone cultural relic conservation technologies," said Duan Hongying, section leader of the Material Science Group, Department of Architectural Heritage at the Palace Museum. Currently, the joint lab is making advances in the R&D of a new laser cleaning equipment tailored for on-site operation at the Palace Museum.

Through the collaboration, the Chinese and Greek sides have established a solid foundation of mutual trust, achieved remarkable results, and fostered deep friendship.

In the view of Paraskevi Pouli, senior application scientist at the IESL and Greek head of the joint lab, the joint lab is not only an interdisciplinary international collaboration platform, but also a bridge for the exchange and mutual learning among diverse civilizations.

To date, the joint lab has established two workstations in China and expanded its collaborative research institutions to 12 units across China and Greece.

"In the future, the joint lab will continue to deepen international cooperation. It has already collaborated with the UAE on archaeological excavations and plans to establish a workstation in Malta to jointly conduct research and conservation of local sites, ancient architecture, and murals," said Qu Liang, director of the Palace Museum's Conservation Standard Department and executive deputy director of the joint lab.

"The joint lab aims not only to benefit the Chinese and Greek partners but also to become an exchange and cooperation platform across China, Europe and beyond, making more contributions to international cooperation in cultural heritage conservation technology and the mutual learning among global civilizations," Qu added.