Changsha in its prime - Observing Changsha from the Perspective of Humanities and Economy | Culture | Economy
To the north of Xiangjiang, at the head of Orange Island. The tranquil and distant Yuelu Mountain and the dazzling skyscrapers face each other across the river. Climbing to the top of Mount Lu to enjoy the scenery, exploring historical streets and alleys to appreciate culture, and strolling around the May Day shopping district to enjoy delicious food and fun... Changsha, also known as the "Star City", is an ancient city with a history of 3000 years, a world leading "media and art capital", a trendy "internet celebrity city", and a "young friendly city" that attracts countless young people.
We must adhere to putting social benefits first, firmly grasp the correct direction, adhere to integrity and innovation, vigorously promote and cultivate socialist core values, strive to achieve the organic unity of social and economic benefits, and ensure the sustainable and healthy development of the cultural industry.
Changsha has a long history, is inclusive, adheres to integrity and innovation, and is in its prime.
The bi-directional integration of culture and city
The temperament of a city often depends on its cultural heritage.
Students and tourists are studying and checking in at Yuelu Academy in Changsha. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
"I come from the south, originally a branch of the Lianxi River; when the Yangtze River flows eastward, it is nothing but the remnants of the Xiang River." A pair of couplets from the Yuelu Academy, a millennium old school, vividly depict the long history of Hunan culture and reflect the confidence and composure of Changsha as a millennium old ancient city.
When you come to Xiwenmiaoping, which is adjacent to the downtown, you will see the memorial archway preserved from the highest institution of learning in ancient Changsha, the "Changsha Imperial Academy", stands tall and towering, and the mottled stones engraved with "Taoist Prizes of Ancient and Modern Times" have gone through vicissitudes of life. On the side of memorial archway, there is a vinyl record themed coffee shop, and customers are full of youth.
Entering the Hunan Museum, the millennium old immortal Lady Xin Zhui and the thin plain silk single garment, like a sea of national treasures, seem to take you back to the past. The dynamic exhibition "Yi Nian · Xin Zhui Meng" also showcases the restoration of historical relics, traditional Peking Opera performances, and multimedia visual images, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
At the Hunan Museum, tourists are visiting the unearthed cultural relic "Plain Yarn Single Clothes" from the Mawangdui Han Tomb. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
Climbing Mount Yuelu, you will find revolutionary cultural relics closely connected to Mao Zedong, Huang Xing, Cai E, and others scattered among the green pines and cypresses. When you open social media, you will see the "Love Crossing Line" created by travel enthusiasts, taking you to "check in" scenic spots and historical sites
In Changsha, such a wonderful and harmonious "ancient and modern co frame" is not an exception. As people stroll through the streets and alleys of this national historical and cultural city, they will see the fusion and interplay of ancient and youthful, history and trends here.
This is a photo taken on June 9th of the Orange Island Scenic Area in Changsha. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
There is a Changsha star in the sky and a Changsha city on the ground. According to relevant research, during the Shang Dynasty, Changsha had a population settlement. During the Warring States period, the Chu State began to build cities here, with the city center located in the hottest May Day commercial area today.
Tan Zijie, Deputy Director of the Office of the Management Committee of Huangxing South Road Pedestrian Commercial Street, said that "Internet celebrity Changsha" is not only young, fashionable, delicious, and fun, but also has a profound cultural heritage. "Historical streets and alleys are also commercial districts, which itself proves that excellent traditional culture can bring strong vitality to a city."
Tourists check in and take photos at Huangxing Road Pedestrian Street in Tianxin District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
The integration of Changsha culture with the city is "practical and practical". At the foot of Lushan Mountain, as a local ancient book publishing house, Yuelu Bookstore displays tens of thousands of books, including a complete collection of characters from Hunan and Hunan, in its exhibition room. The cultural context is continuous and fascinating. Cui Can, the president of Yuelu Bookstore, said that Yuelu Bookstore focuses on introducing the thoughts and explorations of the Hunan ancestors at historical nodes to contemporary youth, continuously exploring the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture.
The integration of Changsha culture with the city is inclusive. Ms. Wu, who came to Changsha from Guangzhou for tourism, sighed that the streets of Changsha were full of national style teenagers or "anime" girls wearing Han costumes, and that "tolerance and vitality of a city are coming". Professor Xu Chunxiao from the School of Tourism at Hunan Normal University said that Changsha's inclusive cultural characteristics allow people with different preferences to find "check-in points".
This is the scenery of Changsha urban area captured on the night of June 7th. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
The culture of Changsha that blends with the city is "daring to be the first". Changsha is selected by UNESCO as China's first world "media and art capital" and one of the first national cultural and tourism consumption demonstration cities. It is renowned in the industry as the "TV Xiangjun" and "Publishing Xiangjun". Changsha is also known as the "Capital of China's Construction Machinery", with multiple leading enterprises such as Sany and Zoomlion Heavy Industry, and its industrial scale has remained the first in the country for 13 consecutive years.
At the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, visitors visited and exhibited construction machinery equipment at the 3rd Changsha International Construction Machinery Exhibition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
A cultural city with a long history, full of beauty and freedom everywhere - this is the view of Changsha in the eyes of Zhou Huiwen, the director of Changsha Museum. "This is a city without backpacks, absorbing the nourishment of thousands of years of history while easily turning around and running forward!"
Dual Empowerment of Culture and Industry
After thousands of years, the integration of culture and economy has provided more samples of the times.
Cultural "soft power" and cultivating industrial "hard power"——
According to legend, the famous general of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu, "fought in Changsha" and once stationed troops and raised horses at the eighth bay of the Liuyang River, leaving behind the name "Malan Mountain". Today, the Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Industry Park has transformed from a city village butterfly into a national cultural industry demonstration park with explosive creativity.
This is the Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Industry Park filmed in Kaifu District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
The less than 0.2mm gold wire, through techniques such as pinching, filling, accumulating, welding, stacking, stacking, weaving, weaving, etc., forms a stunning shape... The intangible cultural heritage skills shot by the documentary creation team of Hunan Zhihao Youth Culture Co., Ltd., who settled in Malan Mountain, have become popular on video platforms.
Chen Weiwei, co-founder of Zhile Youth, said that the company is committed to the deep exploration and innovative expression of traditional culture, creating a series of IPs such as traditional craftsmanship and Hunan culture, and has found the dual password of "positive energy" and "high traffic".
Nowadays, more than 3400 upstream and downstream enterprises in the video cultural and creative industry chain have gathered in Malanshan, forming a digital cultural "ecosystem" with high-definition video as its characteristic, content production, storage, broadcasting, trading, and supervision throughout the entire chain. In the first half of 2023, Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Industrial Park achieved a revenue of 33.742 billion yuan, an increase of 11.55% year-on-year.
Cultural "new labels" catalyze economic "new formats"——
In recent years, Changsha has become a unique source of innovation for new consumer brands in China, with many brands featuring a dual wheel drive of "culture+economy".
Tourists are checking in and playing on Taiping Old Street in Tianxin District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
Online black tea drinks, pastry brands such as "tea color" and "Mo Mo Dim sum" follow the line of China-Chic and Guofeng; The internet famous catering brand "Wenheyou" replicates the urban scenes of old Changsha into modern shopping centers, allowing consumers to taste the authentic Changsha flavor in a 20000 square meter space and immerse themselves in the unique charm of Changsha culture.
Tianxin District in Changsha, which has nurtured a large number of internet celebrity brands, is brewing a transformation from "cultural tourism+" to "+cultural tourism". Zhang Ling, Director of the Culture, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Tianxin District, Changsha City, said that the local government is studying and formulating policies to support the development of the cultural industry, promote cultural industrialization, industrial cultural and creative development, and artistic infrastructure, and create a batch of new cultural and tourism consumption scenes.
Tourists are playing on Taiping Old Street in Tianxin District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
Cultural empowerment has revitalized some traditional industries. In the hometown of Chinese fireworks, Changsha Liuyang, an immersive fireworks carnival combining various elements such as sound, light, electricity, shadow, and flame is held every week.
As the organizer of the Fireworks Carnival, the Fireworks Troupe positions itself as a cultural and creative enterprise. Founder Huang Cheng said that they are committed to injecting more cultural elements into fireworks, transforming from "selling products" to "selling creativity" and achieving cross-border integration.
Economic activity and cultural openness enhancement——
In the Changsha Museum, there are seemingly ordinary Tang Dynasty Changsha kiln celadon glazed brown colored porcelain pots, jars, and bowls, which are dazzling due to their poetic lines.
As a famous export porcelain, the Tang Dynasty Changsha kiln porcelain pioneered the writing of poetry, prose, and decoration, and while being sold overseas, it also spread Chinese culture. It is understood that during its heyday, Changsha kiln artifacts reached about 30 countries and regions, with the farthest reaching as far as South Asia and northern Africa.
To this day, Changsha has established a three-dimensional open pattern of "sea, land, and air", focusing on building an open highland in the inland region. In the first half of 2023, the total import and export value of Changsha was 152.54 billion yuan, ranking second among the six provincial capitals in central China in terms of growth rate.
The third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo opened in Changsha. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
The third China Africa Economic and Trade Expo was successfully held in Changsha from June 29 to July 2, 2023, and close economic and trade ties deepened cultural exchanges. Tang Zhu, the person in charge of the China Africa Culture and Economic and Trade Research and Practice Base located in Yuhua District, Changsha City, said that the high-quality courses they have developed, such as handicraft creation and interactive experience, are very popular, and the research and learning activities have built a "cultural bridge".
Exhibitors introduced their products to the audience at the 3rd China Africa Economic and Trade Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
People and cities "travel in both directions"
In the tea beverage brand "Zhadui" store on Jiefang West Road in Changsha, founder Mou Sheng pointed to the words "Changsha Tea" on the advertising sign and proudly said he was a "new Changsha person". At the end of 2017, he and his partner opened their first store in Changsha, which has been favored by investment institutions.
Mou Sheng is a post-90s generation from Northeast China. He has worked in first tier cities and stayed in Changsha to start a business and settle down. In his view, what attracts him to Changsha is not only the atmosphere of commercial innovation, but also the cultural atmosphere of daring to be the first and inclusive, which creates a "deep connection" between people and the city.
The starting point and foothold of economic and social development lies in "people". From "Only Chu has talent, and here is prosperity" to "just like classmates and youth, in the prime of life", Changsha's humanistic economy often focuses on the value discovery, excavation, and cultivation of "people".
Changsha has been ranked as the "happiest city in China" for 15 consecutive years. This year, it has proposed to further improve the livability and happiness index of the city, polish the friendly urban background for young people, and attract more young people to live and work in peace.
Wu Guiying, member of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Changsha Municipal Party Committee, said, "We always bear in mind that making people's lives happy is the 'greatest priority of the country.' We focus on the concerns of the people, secure the bottom line of people's livelihoods, and insist on adding more than 70% of our annual financial resources to ensure and improve people's livelihoods. We strive to build a happy city for the people and a happy city for the people."
In the Chaozong Street Historical and Cultural District, the Ma Shi Ancient Street with a history of over 400 years has witnessed urban changes. After organic renewal, this has become a trendy and fun district that integrates culture, tourism, and commerce. New and trendy businesses such as bars, murder screenplays, and karaoke bars are growing here. Long term rental apartments transformed from old buildings provide one-stop rental services for young people.
This is a photo taken of Chaozong Street and its surrounding scenery in Kaifu District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
At the Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Industrial Park, the average age of nearly 50000 industrial talents is less than 27 years old. Breaking down restrictions on young talents such as diplomas, professional titles, qualifications, and identities, opening up green channels for employment and entrepreneurship, and offering a maximum reward of 500000 yuan for outstanding youth entrepreneurship projects, a series of policies are being implemented to build a broad stage for young people.
"This city has a human touch and development prospects, which allows me to balance work and life well." Chen Qingyu, who studied in Changsha and founded a new media company after graduation, said of the reasons for choosing Changsha, "Changsha and I are in a 'two-way journey'."
"Why choose Changsha?" When you ask the youth of this city this question, the answer is: here, not only can you meet like-minded partners, but you can also enjoy the good entrepreneurial environment and support policies provided by the city for youth development, have equal opportunities and abundant resources.
Culture moistens things silently, and happiness is seen in every detail. A night market with a variety of colors, fragrances, and flavors, setting up a love station for luggage storage for tourists from other places; An internet famous milk tea shop that provides small horse bars, free popsicles, and ice cream stickers for long queues of customers
This is a shot of the Hunan Museum and its surrounding scenery in Kaifu District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
More and more young people are gathering in Changsha for livability, business, and tourism. In the published data on the growth of permanent residents in cities with a population of millions in 2022, Changsha ranked first with an annual increase of 180000 people.
People and cities travel in both directions, and cities and people develop together. Zhang Dandan, the head of Changsha New Consumption Research Institute, believes that Changsha's down-to-earth and smoky urban atmosphere makes young people believe that personal value can be achieved here, and the city also maintains vitality and vigor because of young people.
Just like a young classmate, in the prime of his life. Taking the improvement of urban quality as the starting point, creating a better livable environment; Taking deepening reform and opening up as an opportunity to resolve more difficulties and bottlenecks; With the goal of becoming a "long-lasting" internet celebrity, we aim to build a larger stage for realizing our dreams
On both sides of the bustling Xiang River, the soaring atmosphere of rowing boats and setting sail surges and surges, like the vast water of the Xiang River that has been surging for thousands of years. Every wave is new!
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