The China Cultural Heritage Foundation and its president, Geng Ying, have been awarded an honor certificate by UNESCO to mark “distinguished efforts” on a paper conservation project. The certificate was awarded on Monday in Beijing by UNESCO’s Assistant Director-general for Strategic Planning, Hans d’Orville.

Founded in 2007 by Geng, the foundation is a non-governmental organization that aims to identify, conserve and promote China’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It has donated $360,000 over the past four years to a UNESCO project entitled “Paper Conservation: Methodology of Paper Conservation and Paper Making Traditions in East Asia 2008-2012.”

The donations specifically fund authorities, institutions and experts from China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Mongolia to engage in various research and conservation activities associated with the project.

“The honor is not for myself but for the whole foundation and even the whole of China,” Geng said when receiving the certificate. The foundation will hold an exhibition on culture conservation in East Asia at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris in July, and will continue its cooperation with UNESCO. The next project will be habitat conservation and restoration of Pingyao Ancient County in Shanxi province.