World Monuments Fund in China

The mission of the World Monuments Fund (WMF) is to encourage and support the conservation and preservation of culturally and historically significant works of art and architecture worldwide. WMF is a private international organization based in New York. It works across geographic, cultural, and national boundaries and with both publicand private-sector partners in communities and countries around the globe. WMF was founded in 1965 and its first large scale projects involved the restoration of over 25 important architectural and artistic sites in Venice that were damaged after the massive floods in 1966.

Since then, WMF has undertaken major projects in over 80 countries. Some of its most significant projects include: the vast Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Angkor, Cambodia; the Easter Island sculptures; a historic synagogue in Krakow, Poland; the adobe churches of New Mexico, U.S.; a modern 1939 landmark house on Long Island, New York, U.S.; Marie Antoinette’s private theater at Versailles, France; the Tower of Belem, Lisbon, Portugal; Emperor Qianlong’s Lodge of Retirement in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China; and Nicholas Hawksmoor’s St. George’s Church, Bloomsbury in London, England.