For the first time, Lijiang authorities held a training course for preservationists of the Old Town of Lijiang, a UNESCO-listed world cultural heritage site in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

The course, organized by the Protection Agency of the Old Town of Lijiang for its staff on Friday at the Lijiang Qiaoxi Hotel, was part of the agency’s celebrations for the fifth annual China National Cultural Heritage Day, which was June 12.

Officials including the head of the agency, He Shiyong, lectured about the national protection standards of world cultural heritages and the agency’s experiences in preserving the Old Town of Lijiang.

In 1997, the city of Lijiang in Southwest China's Yunnan province became the first city in the country to be formally registered on the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites list. The agency also organized a campaign Saturday to promote public awareness about preserving the Old Town of Lijiang at Yuhe Square in Lijiang.

Cultural Heritage Day this year was themed "Everyone has a part to play in the protection of intangible cultural heritage."

Girls of Naxi ethnic group, the largest ethnic group in the Old Town, handed out special brochures describing the Cultural Heritage Day to visitors.

The second Saturday of June was first declared China's National Cultural Heritage Day in 2006 by the State Council to strengthen protection of the country's cultural heritage.