First Viewpoint丨Zhijiang Review: Make the Grand Canal a Cultural Park | Xi Jinping | Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is an epic poem flowing through the land of China. It connects the north and the south in geographical sense, and runs through the ancient and modern times in spiritual sense. It has been a Chinese cultural context for thousands of years, vividly interpreting and powerfully witnessing the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, such as continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peace.
"Do a good job on the Grand Canal" is General Secretary Xi Jinping's earnest advice to us. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the successful application of the Grand Canal of China for World Heritage status. We must deeply understand the General Secretary's series of important expositions on the Grand Canal, solidly promote the major strategic deployment of the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park, and protect, inherit and utilize the Grand Canal well, so that this river of economy, people's livelihood, ecology and culture will shine with new brilliance in the new era.
"Doing a good job on the Grand Canal" is an important political task.
General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to and cares deeply about the Grand Canal. In the heart of the General Secretary, the Grand Canal is a precious heritage left to us by our ancestors and a flowing culture. This sentiment for the canal has left a series of "cultural footprints" and interpreted many stories between the General Secretary and the canal.
One day in 2006, the Hangzhou water bus "West Lake" welcomed a special passenger. From Gongchen Bridge to Genshanmen Wharf, the ancient canal and modern scenery came into view. When he heard the staff introduce that the Hangzhou Canal was undergoing comprehensive protection, he nodded frequently and said, "I hope Hangzhou can continue to work hard to do a good job in comprehensive protection of the canal so that Hangzhou's economy and natural environment can develop harmoniously." This passenger was Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited the Grand Canal for many times and issued a series of important instructions and instructions. From the "West Lake" on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the Grand Canal Forest Park in Tongzhou, Beijing, and the Sanwan Ecological Cultural Park in the Yangzhou Grand Canal, from south to north, from one region to the whole country, the General Secretary's "Canal Feelings" have been continuously extended and sublimated between his actions and thoughts. Under the direct promotion of the General Secretary, in 2019, the "Outline of the Grand Canal Cultural Protection, Inheritance and Utilization Plan" was issued at the national level; the Grand Canal was also included in the first batch of national cultural park construction projects.
Last September, when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Zhejiang, he went to the Zhejiang East Canal Cultural Park in Shaoxing. He climbed the steps to the high arch stone bridge in the park and saw the ancient canal flowing and the traffic on the viaduct not far away. The General Secretary sighed, "Here you can imagine the vicissitudes of the past and present." Afterwards, the General Secretary visited the Zhejiang East Canal Museum and earnestly urged us to "do a good job on the Grand Canal" before leaving.
A moment of vicissitudes, a glance of a thousand years. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always placed cultural heritage work in a prominent position in governing the country and making systematic plans and arrangements with the lofty mission and deep feelings of "being responsible for history and the people", promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional culture. We must do a good job, in-depth, thorough and in place in the Grand Canal article from the height of firmly supporting the "two establishments" and resolutely doing the "two maintenances", and build the Grand Canal National Cultural Park well, so as to live up to the General Secretary's entrustment, live up to the expectations of the Party and the people, and live up to the heavy responsibility entrusted by the times.
“To do a good job in the construction of the Grand Canal”, we must highlight the goal direction of “the people’s canal”.
For thousands of years, the key point of the Grand Canal is the Chinese character "人". General Secretary Xi Jinping has a very precise strategic positioning of the Grand Canal, and has emphasized on different occasions that the Grand Canal is for the benefit of the people. When he investigated the Grand Canal in Hangzhou in 2006, he required that "the canal be truly built into a landscape river, ecological river, and cultural river with the characteristics of the times and Hangzhou, and truly become a 'people's canal' and a 'tourists' canal'."
In November 2020, the General Secretary visited the Sanwan Ecological and Cultural Park of the Grand Canal in Yangzhou City. After having a cordial exchange with citizens at the dock, he pointed out, "The canal nourishes the cities and people on both sides of the strait. It is a river of wealth and happiness for the people on both sides of the canal. I hope that everyone will work together to protect the Grand Canal so that the canal will always benefit the people." "We must unify the protection of the Grand Canal's cultural heritage with the improvement of ecological environmental protection, the protection and restoration of famous cities and towns along the canal, the integrated development of cultural tourism, and the transformation and improvement of canal shipping, so as to create favorable conditions for the economic and social development of the regions along the Grand Canal and the improvement of people's lives."
According to statistics, nearly one-eighth of China's population lives in the Grand Canal Basin. The people-friendly and livable Grand Canal is the most distinctive cultural feature. The Grand Canal, which was once full of sailing boats and thousands of ships, is now not only a hub for ships and a prosperous business, but also a place suitable for living and working, with a rich people and a prosperous life. It plays a comprehensive role in water conservancy, shipping, ecology, culture and tourism.
In the process of resolutely implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's requirements and steadily advancing the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park, we must always take benefiting the people as the fundamental starting point and foothold for canal protection, ask the people for their needs, ideas and results. At the same time, we must allow more people to participate in the protection of the Grand Canal, and let all work on protection, inheritance and utilization truly integrate into the urban fabric and people's lives, so that the river of wealth and the river of happiness will truly deserve the title.
To "do a good job in the Grand Canal", we must adhere to the practical requirements of "protecting, inheriting and utilizing" it.
In February 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed during his inspection of the Grand Canal Forest Park in Tongzhou, Beijing, that “we should make use of the past to serve the present and deeply explore the historical and cultural resources with the Grand Canal as the core”. Four months later, the General Secretary again gave important instructions on the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt: “The Grand Canal is a precious heritage left to us by our ancestors and a flowing culture. We must coordinate the protection, inheritance and utilization of it.”
Last September, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his inspection tour in Zhejiang that "the Grand Canal is the longest artificial canal in the world and a very valuable cultural heritage. The Grand Canal culture is an important part of China's excellent traditional culture. We must work hard to protect, inherit and utilize it so that the ancient Grand Canal can shine with a new look for the times."
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly expounded on the historical status and contemporary value of the Grand Canal culture, and profoundly explained the dialectical relationship between the protection and utilization, inheritance and development of the Grand Canal culture. The ideas, methods and answers contained therein have pointed out the direction and provided guidance for coordinating the protection, inheritance and utilization of the Grand Canal and allowing it to shine brightly in the new era.
Zhejiang has a total of 11 river sections and 13 heritage sites listed in the World Heritage List. The river section is 327 kilometers long and flows through more than 20 counties in five cities including Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Huzhou and Shaoxing. It is one of the provincial sections of the Grand Canal that is fully navigable and is still in active use.
We must bear in mind the earnest entrustment of General Secretary Xi Jinping, work one term after another and follow a blueprint to the end to promote the coordinated progress of the protection, inheritance, and utilization of the Grand Canal culture, gather people with cultural spirit and let people follow the cultural context. The Grand Canal will surely become a bright business card that showcases Zhejiang's image, continues Chinese civilization, and demonstrates cultural confidence in the new era.
"To do a good job on the Grand Canal", we must shoulder the important mission of Zhejiang's exploration in the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has entrusted Zhejiang with the mission of "actively exploring the construction of a modern Chinese civilization". The provincial party committee has comprehensively deployed and implemented the "Ten Actions" for Zhejiang to explore the construction of a modern Chinese civilization. Among them, the historical context continuation action focuses on the Grand Canal culture.
Water veins are connected to cultural veins, and the Grand Canal culture embodies the ideological wisdom of "two combinations", especially the "second combination". General Secretary Xi Jinping's important exposition on the Grand Canal is an important part of Xi Jinping's cultural thought. "Doing a good job on the Grand Canal" is not only an important aspect of active exploration in the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation, but also an important landing point for learning and implementing Xi Jinping's cultural thought.
Not long ago, in Keqiao, Shaoxing, on the bank of the canal, the Zhejiang Grand Canal National Cultural Park Construction Promotion Meeting was held as scheduled, the Provincial Grand Canal Cultural Research Institute was unveiled, and the Grand Canal National Cultural Park Construction Community was initiated... A new chapter has been added to the article on the Grand Canal.
Focusing on implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's series of important instructions and instructions on the Grand Canal, the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park in Zhejiang Province has proposed the construction direction of "one highland, four demonstration zones": that is, to create a Grand Canal cultural research highland and four demonstration zones, namely, the Grand Canal cultural heritage protection and inheritance demonstration zone, the Grand Canal ecological protection demonstration zone, the Grand Canal cultural tourism development demonstration zone, and the Grand Canal better life demonstration zone, to fully demonstrate the cultural characteristics of the Zhejiang Canal of "millennium ancient charm, the Silk Road of Jiangnan, connecting rivers and seas, and transporting goods to the world."
Under this general framework and general requirements, all localities and departments should strive to be doers and practical workers, and build the Grand Canal, which has been flowing for thousands of years, into a "golden signboard" to showcase and promote Zhejiang to the outside world, build it into the most influential and recognizable golden line and boutique line on the Grand Canal, and build it into a major landmark achievement in cultural inheritance and development and the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its successful application for World Heritage status, the Grand Canal, which runs through China, connects China, and coexists and prospers together, is fully demonstrating the Chinese nation's sense of innovation and great wisdom for thousands of years. In the future, it will continue to surge along the riverbed of time, deeply inspiring the innovation and creativity of 66 million children of the river, and accumulating inexhaustible motivation to "bravely be a pioneer and write a new chapter" in the intersection and fusion of history and reality.
