2025 "BMW China Culture Journey — Grand Canal Cultural Protection Project"
Visits the Sui and Tang Grand Canal

• · Innovation drives progress: The BMW Warm Heart Fund is supporting 10 intangible cultural heritage (ICH) inheritors to join the Tsinghua - BMW Innovation Center, enabling them to achieve “innovation through heritage”.
• · Responsibility puts the future in our hands: BMW China, in collaboration with the Network of International Culturalink Entities, has launched the second phase of the 2025 “BMW China Culture Journey - Grand Canal Cultural Protection Project”.
• · Business success and corporate social responsibility go hand in hand: For 19 years, the BMW China Culture Journey has been committed to protecting Chinese intangible cultural heritage. Through long-term dedication, BMW continues to write a legacy of “Innovation + Responsibility”.

On July 14, the second phase of the “BMW China Culture Journey — Grand Canal Cultural Protection Project” officially began with a visit to Luoyang, the ancient capital and western starting point of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal. Funded by the BMW Warm Heart Fund and co-hosted by BMW China and the Network of International Culturalink Entities, the project continues its mission to protect and promote both tangible and intangible cultural heritage along the Grand Canal.

This year, guided by the theme of “Innovation + Responsibility”, the BMW China Culture Journey has launched three key initiatives:

1. 1. Cross-boundary ICH Innovation Practice: The BMW Warm Heart Fund is sponsoring 10 ICH inheritors from different regions, ethnicities, and crafts to join the Tsinghua-BMW Innovation Center. They will be co-creating conceptual ICH cultural products for the Neue Klasse with professors at Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts and Design, producing true, tangible examples of “Innovation Through Heritage”.
2. 2. Decoding the Millennia-old Sui and Tang Grand Canal: Under the theme "Innovation Through Heritage", the project combines offline exploration with online engagement to showcase Henan’s rich historical and cultural legacy, uncovering the timeliness appeal and cultural essence that make the Grand Canal a national treasure.
3. 3. Release of the New ICH Self-drive Guidebook: The launch of the BMW China Culture Journey – Henan ICH Self-drive Guidebook lifts the veil on “What Makes China, China” while supporting the local culture and tourism development.

Just two weeks ago, BMW published the BMW Brilliance Sustainability Report 2024. This marks the 12th consecutive year that BMW has released its Sustainability Report, providing a comprehensive overview of the company's firm commitment and innovative achievements in driving green transformation in China. For BMW, sustainability goes beyond being green — it’s also about people, culture, society, and the environment.

At the kickoff ceremony, Dr. Franz Decker, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., stated: “The BMW Group has established a vision for the future of mobility that is ‘more human, more intelligent, and more responsible’. This belief has shaped the most ambitious innovation program in BMW’s history: the Neue Klasse. At BMW, we respect tradition while reinventing it, which is the way BMW steps into the future and also the essence of the Neue Klasse’s design philosophy. Innovation drives our progress, but it’s responsibility that puts the future in our hands. Over 19 years of BMW China Culture Journey, we’ve stayed committed to protecting cultural heritage and making that a long-term responsibility. We firmly believe achieving business success and fulfilling corporate social responsibility can - and must - go hand in hand.”

Innovation Through Heritage: What Happens When Millennia-old Intangible Cultural Heritage Meets the BMW Neue Klasse?

To “integrate intangible cultural heritage (ICH) into modern life”, the BMW Warm Heart Fund is sponsoring a group of multi-ethnic ICH inheritors to join the Tsinghua–BMW Innovation Center. Collaborating with professors from the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, they will co-create conceptual cultural and creative products for the BMW Neue Klasse. Their work draws from traditional crafts such as Luoyang Sancai, herbal fragrance, guqin making, Tibetan bronze locks, Gambiered Gauze, bamboo weaving, and brocade. This initiative promotes the heritage protection and international promotion of ICH, fostering culturally rich and innovative cross-disciplinary creations. This is not just a design project — it’s a challenge grounded in real-life scenarios. Backed by nearly a decade of experience in ICH protection and innovation, the Tsinghua–BMW Innovation Center has crafted a dynamic training program to equip the next generation of ICH inheritors with the right tools to innovate through heritage.

During the visit to explore Luoyang Sancai, BMW Neue Klasse designers engaged in thoughtful exchanges with ICH inheritors surrounding the theme of “Innovation Through Heritage”. Together, they explored how Eastern aesthetics and Western industrial design can intersect to transform cultural reverence into elevated user experiences. This cross-boundary collaboration between the BMW Neue Klasse and Chinese ICH is a vivid example of BMW’s commitment to being “At Home in China, Understanding China”. Cultural elements such as the 24 Solar Terms are being thoughtfully integrated into the upcoming BMW Neue Klasse’s in-car display, designed specifically for Chinese consumers.

Civilizations thrive in diversity, advance through exchange, and flourish with mutual learning. For 19 years, the BMW China Culture Journey has been dedicated to protecting ICH, enabling nearly 1,000 inheritors and benefiting more than 218 million people to date. In 2024, through livestreams, cultural product development, and the release of a self-drive guidebook, the program brought 4 million people on a virtual tour of the Grand Canal. It also contributed to the commercialization of ICH-inspired products, notably the "BMW ICH Longquan Celadon Portable Tea Set”, co-created by a Zhejiang Longquan celadon inheritor and Professor Zhang Lei from Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts and Design, now available for purchase via the MY BMW APP. These are living examples of integrating ICH into modern life. BMW deeply appreciates and values cultural diversity, striving to achieve "shared beauty in harmony".

Innovation Through Heritage: We Shape the Future Only when We Understand the Past

In an intensely competitive industry, BMW, as a century-old company, has never wavered in its commitment to the legacy of Sheer Driving Pleasure. It continues to champion responsible innovation, respect local culture, and embrace cultural diversity. This philosophy deeply resonates with China’s national efforts to promote and preserve its rich traditional culture — creating a synergy between BMW’s values and the cultural priorities of its second home.

In 2025, the BMW China Culture Journey will visit Luoyang, the ancient capital of 13 dynasties, and explore the Erlitou Xia Capital Site to explore the origins of Chinese civilization. The program will also reflect on the question: “What makes China, China?” and delve into the roots of China’s earliest cultural identity together with stakeholders. The BMW China Culture Journey – Henan ICH self-drive guidebook, the eighth volume in the program’s travel series, is also set to be launched, offering travel insights while blending cultural depth with a strong sense of social responsibility.

Whether it’s a century-old carmaker or a thousand-year-old craft, the goal is the same: to stay rooted in what matters while continuing to grow. And that’s the true essence of “Innovation Through Heritage”.

Only With Responsibility First Can We Move Steadily, and Only by Adhering to A Long-Term Perspective Can We Reach Far

The BMW Group has established a vision for the future of mobility that is “more human, more intelligent, and more responsible”. Guided by this vision, the BMW Group believes that business success, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility go hand in hand. BMW in China is far more than just an automobile manufacturer. “At Home in China” for 30 years, BMW has long become an integral part of the Chinese society and has already established itself as an outstanding corporate citizen in China. Being at home in China means that BMW is deeply involved in the core issues of Chinese society, earnestly fulfilling its social responsibilities, and continuously creating long-term value for this homeland.

In 2008, BMW established the first corporate public welfare fund in the Chinese automotive industry - BMW Warm Heart Fund. The "BMW Children's Traffic Safety Education”, launched in 2005, has been running for 21 years. The "BMW China Cultural Journey", initiated in 2007, has continued for 19 years. In 2021, BMW launched the "BMW Beautiful Homeland Initiative", which has led the way in biodiversity conservation. These efforts provide innovative solutions for major social issues in China.