On October 24, 2024, following the successful conclusion of the 79th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the largest UN event the founding of the UN, the 19th Annual Session of Global Forum on Human Settlements was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA. Yuan Changjun, a Chinese master of Arts and Crafts, was invited to the event and was honored with the UN Award for Promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is the first time that a master in the field of intangible cultural heritage in China has been awarded this honor.
As a follow-up discussion and action of the United Nations Summit of the Future, the 19th Annual Session of Global Forum on Human Settlements in 2024, with the theme being "Invigorate Innovation and Local Leadership for a Sustainable Urban Future", brought together nearly 400 participants from 68 countries, including government officials, experts, scholars and business leaders. Senior leaders of the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Secretariat and relevant UN agencies, ambassadors of nearly 30 sovereign states to the United Nations Headquarters, heads of international organizations, Nobel Prize winners, professors from world-renowned universities, etc. attended as special guests.
Yuan Changjun, one of the masters on the selection list of the 8th "Masters of Chinese Arts and Crafts", a grand master of arts and crafts in Beijing, a representative inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage "filigree inlay art", an expert in the restoration of Chinese gold and silver artifacts, a senior craft artist, and one of the craftsmen making China's three state gifts. He studied at the Imperial Workshops and has delved into the profound realm of imperial gold craftsmanship. He has restored and reproduced hundreds of cultural relics for dozens of heritage conservation units and museums, including the National Museum of China and the Palace Museum in Beijing. He has presided over the design and making of a number of special collections and state gifts for several major national events, and CCTV offered a number of feature programs for him. In addition, he serves as a senior appraiser of national vocational skills, an expert of the national test question database, the editor in chief of several national textbooks, and a judge of several large skill competitions.
Having been engaged in the arts for more than thirty years, Master Yuan blends the strengths of northern and southern craftsmanship in his works, inherits the extreme refinement of imperial craftsmanship, and offers new insights into the integration of traditional craftsmanship into contemporary society. Over the years, the works designed and created by Yuan have won dozens of gold awards at national levels, and Yuan himself has been awarded many honors, such as the "Award for Special Contribution to Traditional Chinese Arts and Crafts" and "Award for Leading Figures in Traditional Chinese Arts and Crafts".
The "Floral Handbag" as one of China's state gifts at the 2014 APEC Summit
The piece titled "Filigree Inlay - Thousand-armed Thousand-eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva" won the gold award at the China Arts and Crafts Excellence Award of National "Hundred Flowers Award" in 2018. The piece "Filigree Inlay - Statue of Mazu" won the gold award at the China Arts and Crafts Excellence Award of National "Hundred Flowers Cup" in 2015. The piece "Treasure Ship on the Silk Road" won the Best Creation Award of the 2017 "National Craftsman Cup". Yuan was honored as "Advanced Individual" at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The piece "Filigree Inlay - Flowers Vie with Each Other" won the silver award at the China Arts and Crafts Excellence Award of National "Hundred Flowers Cup" in 2015. The piece "Filigree Inlay - Prosperity and Peace" won the gold award at the 2016 "Golden Phoenix" Innovative Product Design Awards. The piece "Guanyin" won the gold award at the Craftsmanship Cup Arts and Crafts Excellence Award of Shanxi Cultural Industries Fair.