Decoding Cultural Confidence as a City Sample | Cultural Context for a Thousand Years to Build Jinghua - Decoding Cultural Confidence as a Capital Beijing | Culture | Qianqiu

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At the symposium on cultural inheritance and development, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen cultural self-confidence, undertake missions, work hard, and work together to create a new culture that belongs to our era and build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has elevated cultural construction to a new historical height, led the construction of a cultural power to achieve new historic achievements, and raised our party's understanding of the role of culture and the laws of cultural development To a new level.

In order to guide the whole party and the whole society to have a deeper understanding of the historical significance, practical significance and era significance of the "second combination" proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, starting from June 12, Xinhua News Agency has opened the column "Decoding Cultural Confidence City Samples" to fully demonstrate the motherland The cultural self-confidence power contained in the great changes in the new era of historical cities in the north and south of the country.

Beijing, a world-renowned city with a history of over 3000 years of construction and 870 years of capital, has a long and continuous cultural heritage. It not only witnesses the long history of Chinese civilization, but also highlights the profound cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Beijing has adhered to the overall framework of building a national cultural center with "one core, one city, three belts, and two districts", nurturing the ancient capital culture with a long history, rich and profound red culture, distinctive Beijing style culture, and flourishing innovative culture. It has combined the protection and inheritance of historical and cultural heritage with high-quality development, and continues to inherit, open and inclusive, and uphold integrity and innovation in the new era, demonstrating the cultural confidence and humanistic atmosphere of a great capital.

Citizens gaze at the Shichahai from the Wanning Bridge at the intersection of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Beijing Central Axis. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhonghao

The context is continuous, and the string song never stops

The Jingou River begins to flow, and passenger boats are tied to the Haizi Bridge. But when the spring water in Jiangnan rises, it beats the sky with waves and spreads light gulls.

The Haizi Bridge in the Yuan Dynasty, described by poet Yang Zai, is the Wanning Bridge located today on Di'anmen Outer Street. At that time, the canal transport terminal of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal was crowded with southbound boats, and the boatmen could hear the sound from ten miles away. The bridge was bustling with people and pedestrians coming and going. In the eyes of European traveler Marco Polo, this is undoubtedly the busiest metropolis in the world. "The ground plan of the entire city is like a chessboard, and its beauty is extremely good, which cannot be declared."

The history and culture of a city are a display of style, an expression of charm, and a symbol of its appearance.

It is the planning pattern of the "front palace and back city" of the Yuan Dynasty that has laid the foundation for the urban landscape of Beijing today - grand and solemn layout, reasonable and orderly space.

From a high altitude, the central axis of Beijing passes through the Forbidden City, forming a "center" character; And it forms a "ten" character with Chang'an Street, another axis of Beijing city.

This central axis continues to extend outward with the development of the city. On the North Extension Line, the National Version Museum of China is grand and magnificent, showcasing the charm of Chinese culture; On the southern extension line, Daxing Airport looks like a phoenix spreading its wings, welcoming guests from all directions;

Along Chang'an Street, which connects the east and west, it is in sync with the historical process of New China: New Shougang witnesses an unparalleled Winter Olympics event, and the development of the urban sub center is progressing steadily and rapidly

Urban axis, central harmony. Urban development is flourishing.

Wang Jun, a researcher at the Palace Museum and director of the Institute of Palace Museum Studies, believes that as an outstanding representative and great crystallization of Eastern cities, Beijing directly traces the origin of Chinese civilization and demonstrates astonishing cultural continuity.

The Yongdingmen City Tower located on the central axis of Beijing. Photo by Ju Huanzong, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

Every street market, every landscape, and every skyline here continues the historical memory of the city, infiltrating the people who grew up here.

Along the central axis, to the south of Zhengyang Gate, Ding Shufeng, who has lived here for more than 30 years, can feel the ancient meaning of "water flowing through streets and alleys, courtyards and homes" when walking out of her home. She can also hear the Beijing Opera and its charm lingering in the 400 year old Pigment Guild Hall. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Beijing has made great efforts to promote the overall protection and revitalization of the old city through the application for World Heritage on the central axis, and to build a comprehensive spatial structure that integrates historical context and ecological environment based on the three cultural belts of the Grand Canal, the Great Wall, and the Yongding River in Xishan. Adhering to the people's position, Beijing has forged a new era of literary and artistic peak.

Timur, an international student from Kazakhstan, was surprised to find that in Beijing, the subway is not only an efficient means of transportation to various parts of the city, but also a large number of exquisite murals and sculptures inside the subway station, such as "Haoqi Xuannan" and "Beijing Time honored Brand Series", have become a time express for passengers to access the city's history.

A solid cultural background also promotes the production of high-quality artistic works: in recent years, movies such as "Changjin Lake" and "Wandering Earth 2" that audiences are familiar with are all produced in Beijing; 4.581 million real name registered volunteers, through enthusiastic dedication, are spreading the warmth of China in various public service fields.

"The history and culture of Beijing are rich and profound, constantly providing rich cultural nourishment for the people here," said Ma Bingjian, former director of the Beijing Institute of Ancient Architecture Design and Research.

Open, inclusive, beautiful, and shared

On June 3rd, as night fell, the magnificent symphony of "Ode to the Red Flag" resounded over the Great Wall of Badaling. This is a passionate performance by Russian conductor Dzeyev and the Marinsky Symphony Orchestra for the enthusiastic audience.

The ancient Great Wall, symphony, and Red Flag Ode all showcase the unique charm of cultural integration, showcasing Beijing's open and inclusive cultural image.

Being in the city of Beijing, this kind of "brilliance" that bursts out due to cultural integration and collision can be seen everywhere.

On March 18, 2023, a cruise ship sailed on the Liangma River. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhonghao

At the international style waterfront of Liangma River, the beautiful riverside night view corridor has become a "check-in spot" for night tours in Beijing; The Longfu Temple area, which used to be a representative area of old Beijing's urban fireworks, has been revitalized, and the creative art experience space of cultural integration between China and foreign countries has become a new bright color; In the courtyard of Fanxing Drama Village located in the original Shuncheng Gate of Xuanxi Street, bronze statues of Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare, two masters of drama, stand facing each other, seemingly exchanging their understanding of culture and art

"Beijing has a large number of well-known cultural relics and landmarks that have become cultural landmarks in emerging cities." Paula from Gabon, Africa, has been working in Beijing for 14 years and believes that "Beijing's culture can make people from different cultural backgrounds feel unforgettable."

Integrating ancient and modern, connecting China and foreign countries.

Beijing will make the excellent traditional Chinese culture more clear and exciting, turn "China Festival" into "World Festival", and let Chinese elements shine on the world stage.

At the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics, from the poetic countdown to the 24 solar terms, to the pouring "Yellow River water", from the soaring and blooming of "welcoming pine" fireworks, to the tender farewell of willows, every creative idea embodies the essence of Chinese culture; The lovely "Bing Dwen Dwen" perfectly integrates the "national treasure" giant panda, ice and snow sports and Chinese cultural aesthetic elements, and becomes the "top stream" of global popular culture. It shows the unique Chinese charm to the world, so that the world can feel China's calm, confident, open and inclusive demeanor in the new era.

Adhering to integrity and innovation, composing a brilliant chapter

Shine the "golden business card" of history and culture, let history and culture "speak", Beijing stand on a new stage, seize new opportunities, and promote the construction of ancient capital culture, red culture, Beijing style culture, and innovative culture.

With the opening of the former site of Tsinghua Garden Station and the Yishou Hall of the Summer Palace to the public, and the previously opened Xiangshan Revolutionary Memorial Site, the complete picture of the "road to Beijing for exams" has been presented. In recent years, Beijing has comprehensively and systematically excavated, protected and utilized the "red cultural treasure", increased efforts in repairing and protecting revolutionary sites, vigorously promoted the innovative development of "red+", relied on the three major red cultural theme areas of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Anti Japanese War, and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, created red boutique exhibitions, created red cultural works, and promoted the revitalization of the capital's red cultural resources.

The renovated site of Tsinghua Garden Station. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhonghao

Following the rules of the ancients, we can broaden our horizons. On the old stage of the Guild Hall in Dongcheng District, art forms such as Peking Opera, cross-talk, folk music, and drama have embarked on a journey of revitalization and utilization of the old Guild Hall, continuously filling the high-quality supply of spiritual and cultural values for the masses.

On May 19th, after being vacated and repaired, Qingyun Temple was upgraded to a Jinshi Museum and opened to welcome visitors. In recent years, Xicheng District alone has launched 52 projects to vacate directly managed public housing cultural relics. "The Jinshi Museum combines the revitalization and utilization of cultural relics with museum construction, providing exhibition space for folk collectors, building a bridge between cultural relics and the public, and creating a model space for cultural relics revitalization in Beijing," said Jin Zhen, Director of the Xicheng District Bureau of Culture and Tourism in Beijing.

The empowerment of urban development through cultural innovation also relies on the exploration of institutional innovation. As a national cultural center, Beijing has vigorously promoted the "cultural+" strategy of cultural and financial integration, cultural and technological integration, and cultural and tourism integration in recent years, effectively releasing Beijing's scientific and technological resources, human resources, and innovative creativity, and continuously empowering cultural development.

In the National Cultural and Creative Experimental Zone located in Chaoyang District, the first cultural enterprise credit promotion association in China and the first cultural and financial service center in the city are exploring ways to optimize the development environment for cultural and creative enterprises; Through "credit financing for cultural relics and buildings", the Qianmen Cultural and Creative Branch of Bank of Beijing provides low interest credit loans for the Tai'anli Cultural Relics Revitalization and Utilization Project, becoming a new attempt to explore and solve the problem of cultural relics revitalization and utilization

Actors perform traditional Chinese dance programs at the Beijing Pigment Guild Hall. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhonghao

Beijing Fang, 798 Art District, Shouchuang Langyuan Station, 77 Cultural and Creative Park... Each distinctive cultural industry park is becoming a hub for the dissemination of socialist advanced culture, a carrier of urban renewal, an innovation hub for cultural and technological integration, a gathering place for high-quality cultural enterprises, and a check-in place for citizens to consume cultural products. Statistics show that in 2022, Beijing's cultural industry above designated size achieved a total revenue of 1799.71 billion yuan. Among them, the core areas achieved a total revenue of 1633.94 billion yuan, accounting for 90.8% of the total revenue of the cultural industry, and maintained the first place in the national comprehensive index of cultural industry development for seven consecutive years.

Burning lamps and ancient pagodas, fragrant with books, the intersection of the five rivers leads to Bizhou. The sub center of Beijing, one of the new "two wings" of Beijing, is transforming from a blueprint into a real scene, forming a trend of "co development with sub main and sub main". On June 3rd, during a series of "Cultural Exploration Roads" activities with the theme of exploring urban space and historical culture, Yu Rundong, Vice Dean of the Deputy Center Branch of Tsinghua Tongheng Planning and Design Institute, pointed to the "three major cultural facilities" that are about to be completed not far away - museums, theaters, and libraries - and agreed with fellow travelers to revisit their old places in a few years and experience the new changes in the Tongzhou Grand Canal cultural belt

Coming from history, innovating through inheritance. Beijing, the capital of this great country that embodies both traditional cultural heritage and modern cultural charm, is blossoming in the journey of building an international first-class harmonious and livable city.