Continuing the Urban Context (High Quality Development Research Tour), Protecting and Inheriting History | Culture | High Quality
8 national historical and cultural cities, 104 historical and cultural blocks, 4170 historical buildings, 292 traditional Chinese villages... Guangdong is a rich area of historical and cultural resources.
In October 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during an inspection tour in Guangdong that in the process of transforming the old city and developing the new city, it is necessary to protect the historical and cultural relics of the city, continue the urban context, and make history and the contemporary complement each other.
Intangible cultural heritages such as Chaoshan Yingge and Dance have been widely spread through the Internet, and historical and cultural blocks such as memorial archway Street in Chaozhou have attracted tourists for sightseeing... Keep in mind that Guangdong will deeply implement the "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" project of Lingnan culture, creatively transform and develop, and promote the protection, inheritance and innovative development of historical and cultural resources.
Shops, foreign companies, tea houses, cinemas... Walking into the port area of Shantou Small Park, the style of "a hundred years of commercial port and a world of buildings and ships" catches the eye. This modern arcade complex, with a large building area, was built in the 1920s and 1930s and is a cultural symbol of the old urban area of Shantou. The local government is actively promoting the protection of historical and cultural resources in the small park port area, issuing protection regulations, protection plans, etc., and restoring the buildings to their original appearance. In the Shantou Port Opening Cultural Exhibition Hall, precious collections showcase the local historical changes one by one; In the Shantou Overseas Chinese Document Museum, a series of yellowed overseas Chinese documents record the longing of overseas Chinese for their loved ones in a foreign land.
Understanding the "family background" of historical and cultural resources, Guangdong continues to carry out census, identification, registration, protection and other work, so as to promote the synergy between historical and cultural protection and urban renewal. At present, all 104 historical and cultural blocks in Guangdong have completed their listing and protection work, and the historical and cultural blocks that have undergone micro renovation through embroidery have shown new vitality.
At the same time, Guangdong strengthens policy support, promulgates and implements regulations on intangible cultural heritage, provincial-level methods for identifying and managing representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and promotes the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage to shine with new brilliance. Walking up the Guangji Bridge in Chaozhou, which was originally built during the Southern Song Dynasty, feels like entering a non heritage market. Woodcarving inheritor Chen Jiaqiao flipped his hands and transformed a piece of wood into a lobster and crab basket, making the "shrimp" and "crab" come to life. "Showcasing the latest craftsmanship of Chaozhou woodcarving to tourists on site is also a way of inheritance and dissemination," said Chen Jia.
"Chaozhou is rich in intangible cultural heritage, and 40 kinds of arts and crafts such as Chaozhou embroidery, wood carving, and Paper Cuttings are well preserved. On the Guangji Bridge, the display of intangible cultural heritage has become a normal cultural activity." Zhong Min, director of the Chaozhou Ancient City Cultural Relics Protection and Management Center, introduced that some pavilions and towers on the bridge have been opened up as Chaozhou intangible cultural heritage exhibition rooms, so that tourists can intuitively appreciate the charm of traditional culture.
Chaozhou Fenghuang Mountain is full of clouds and water vapor. Fenghuang single cluster tea is known as "perfume in tea" because of its unique "natural flower fragrance". In November 2022, "Chaozhou Gongfu Tea Art" was successfully included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List as an important component of "Chinese Traditional Tea Making Techniques and Related Customs". In the past three years, Fenghuang Town in Chao'an District, Chaozhou City has promoted the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, with an average annual reception of over 8 million tourists and an average annual income of over 30000 yuan per tea farmer.
