Decoding Cultural Confidence as a City Sample | "Heaven on Earth" Becomes Stronger Today - Decoding Cultural Confidence as a City Sample in Hangzhou | Hangzhou | Sample

In the park by West Lake in Hangzhou, a statue of Italian Marco Polo, born in the mid-13th century, stands quietly. The pedestal of the statue bears the traveler's impression of Hangzhou at the end of the 13th century: "Hangzhou is the most beautiful and luxurious city in the world."

For thousands of years, Hangzhou has been renowned for its "beauty of mountains and rivers, and the prosperity of people's settlements", attracting countless literati and literati, creating a prosperous city for generations.

On June 5th, tourists visited Beishan Street in the West Lake Scenic Area of Hangzhou, with a broken bridge in the distance. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly given important instructions on Hangzhou's cultural heritage, ecological protection, and urban governance, drawing a blueprint for the development of this historical and cultural city.

Following the direction guided by the General Secretary, Hangzhou continues its millennium context, gathers the surging momentum of high-quality development, and shows the world a new era of integration of natural scenery and cultural landscape, economic prosperity and cultural development.

The City of Heaven is a gathering place of people and culture

To the north of Hangzhou, by the Liangzhu Port.

On a former abandoned quarry, the "Wenrun Pavilion" of the Hangzhou branch of the National Version Museum showcases the beauty of Song Dynasty charm. Since its opening in August 2022, the museum has received over 400000 visitors. In addition, the Liangzhu Museum and the Liangzhu Ancient City Site Park are also located in this area, gradually forming a "Liangzhu Cultural Corridor".

One hour's drive away, Hangzhou Qiantang Yuanuniverse Xintiandi Industrial Park has sprung up. Here, we anchor a new track of high-quality urban development, focusing on the core underlying technologies and new application scenarios of the metaverse, and introduce and cultivate a large number of future oriented science and technology innovation enterprises.

"The rising tide of the river, the eternal wind and current." The gathering of human culture has always been the "confidence" and "color" of Hangzhou's development since ancient times.

Since the establishment of Qian Tang County in the Qin Dynasty, Hangzhou has a history of over 2200 years. In 610 AD, the Jiangnan Canal was re dredged and incorporated into the Chinese Grand Canal system, making Hangzhou a commercial and trade city with a throat of Wu and Yue, a majestic river and sea, 20 parallel masts, and 30000 open rooms.

Abundant treasures and natural talents.

So, Hangzhou became Li Taibai's "waving between Hangzhou and Yue, watching the tide in Zhangting", Bai Juyi's "searching for osmanthus in the mountains and temples, watching the tide on the pillows of county pavilions", Su Dongpo's "wanting to compare West Lake to West Lake, light makeup and heavy makeup are always suitable", and Lu You's "walking on low paper, leisurely making grass, and playing with fine breasts in clear windows to divide tea"

"West Lake is full of celebrities, cultural relics, and poetry," said Song Jianming, the design director of the Hangzhou Asian Games and professor at the China Academy of Fine Arts. It is this clear water that has built a spiritual home for countless literati to live in.

Today's Hangzhou people can still enjoy the influence of millennium old culture and draw spiritual nourishment from it. The boatman stands at the top of the waves, holding the red flag in their hands without getting wet. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the 18th day of the eighth lunar month was officially designated as the Guanchao Festival. Even today, around the Mid Autumn Festival, guests from all over the world still flock to see the wonders of the Qianjiang River.

The traditional cultural life with strong Hangzhou characteristics is vibrant in the daily lives of ordinary people, such as reading the poems written by Bai Juyi, walking on the bridge passed by Su Dongpo, and savoring the tea tasted by Lu You.

Professor Huang Jian from Zhejiang University said that since the implementation of the reform and opening up, especially the "88 Strategy", Hangzhou has continuously consolidated its material foundation, expanded its cultural advantages, and promoted the transformation of urban culture from "soft decoration" to "soft power".

On April 2nd, at Xixi Wetland, the Song Dynasty Flower Festival. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Weng Xinyang

For over a decade, the cultural industry in Hangzhou has maintained rapid development. In 2022, the added value of the city's cultural industry reached 242 billion yuan, accounting for 12.9% of the city's GDP and becoming an important pillar industry for economic development. During this year's May Day holiday, various scenic spots in Hangzhou received a total of 10.7433 million tourists, an increase of 213% year-on-year.

In April 2023, the "Asian Flower" silk scarf specially made by Hangzhou Manshili Silk became a "meeting gift" for the delegation leaders of the Hangzhou Asian Games; Originating from the tea culture of Jingshan Temple in Hangzhou, it has deeply influenced Japan's tea ceremony; Hangzhou West Lake Longjing Tea is renowned throughout China

"The economic development of Hangzhou has always adhered to synchronous improvement with cultural protection and prosperity," said Liu Jie, member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee.

The prosperity of the city is due to the prosperity of the people

The Shuowen Jiezi records that the city is why the people are prosperous.

Since ancient times, the cultural gene of "people-oriented" has been deeply imprinted in the governance logic of Hangzhou.

For thousands of years, many famous eunuchs and herdsmen have been governing Hangzhou, building embankments and dredging waterways, leaving behind beautiful stories that benefit the people: Tang Governor Yuan Renjing mobilized people to plant trees, and the scene of nine mile cloud pine remains to this day; Li Mi, the famous prime minister of the Middle Tang Dynasty, brought lake water into the city and built six wells to benefit the people; After serving as an official for three years, Bai Juyi dredged West Lake and built water conservancy projects, benefiting the people.

Adhere to the right without preserving the old, respect the past without restoring it. Today in Hangzhou, urban construction respects objective laws and is full of humanistic sentiment.

Hangzhou has been ranked as the "happiest city in China" for 16 consecutive years, consistently ranking among the top in evaluation indicators such as human touch, public security, cultural heritage, and civilization level. The unique humanistic temperament and historical and cultural heritage have become important factors in attracting talents from all walks of life here.

"This is a place where survival and life can be integrated, with both classical charm and innovative vitality. The library is full of young people reading books on weekends," said Chen Mingxia, an employee of Hangzhou Hongshan Technology Co., Ltd.

Since the implementation of the "88 Strategy", Hangzhou has attached greater importance to the "people's attributes" of the city, emphasized the utilization of the city's cultural advantages, and taken continuously meeting the growing needs of the people for a better life as the starting point and foothold of urban development——

Guided by the "Two Mountains" concept, we will leverage the construction of ecological civilization that promotes harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and create a vivid example of a beautiful China.

In the eyes of Liu Xiang, Deputy Director of the Xixi Wetland Ecological Culture Research Center, the protection of Xixi is a good article that can be rated as "first-class": about 11.5 square kilometers of wetlands have become the "kidney of the city", surrounded by high education dense areas, leisure tourism areas, and high-tech industry clusters. This natural classroom also attracts a large number of students to attend science classes.

"Hangzhou regards protecting the Xixi Wetland as a clear direction for urban development and governance, and has coordinated the layout of production, life, and ecology in three major spaces," Liu Xiang said.

On April 26th, the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Sports Swimming Pool and the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Sports Stadium were held. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han

On both sides of the Qiantang River, there are new cultural landmarks rising from the "barren land" and new "growth poles" of the urban economy. The sports venues of the Hangzhou Asian Games, represented by the "Lotus Bowl," are poised to welcome guests from all over the world. Across from the Lotus Bowl, the G20 Hangzhou Summit's main venue, the International Expo Center, covering an area of 190000 square meters, has become a popular tourist attraction for tourists to visit and check in.

"From returning the lake to the people, returning the river to the people, and returning the river to the people, to asking about emotions, needs, plans, and achievements, we always adhere to the principle of serving people, satisfying people, inspiring people, and cultivating people, so that citizens can become participants, judges, and beneficiaries of urban construction." said Zhu Hua, member of the Standing Committee and Secretary General of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Gentle and courteous, steady and far-reaching

Yue Fei Temple, Yu Qian Temple, and Qiu Jin Tomb are fortunate enough to bury loyal bones in Qingshan; The birthplace of the May Fourth Constitution, the memorial site of the Patriotic Health Movement, the first victory of the Chinese Air Force in the Anti Japanese War, and the silent testimony of the national soul in the long sky

The patriotic sentiment of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later" has been deposited in the historical memory of Hangzhou and melted into the bloodline genes of the Hangzhou people.

Gentle and refined, then a gentleman. A series of "most beautiful" phenomena have become the best footnote to the achievements of Hangzhou's spiritual civilization construction, vividly reflecting the organic combination of socialist core values and traditional values of the Chinese nation——

On the zebra crossing, vehicles on both sides wait quietly, while pedestrians pass quickly. As of May 2023, the yield rate of zebra crossings on major roads in Hangzhou urban area has reached 94.86%, and the yield rate of buses has reached 99%.

Since 2013, Hangzhou has held annual selection activities for "Most Beautiful Mom" Wu Juping, "Most Beautiful Driver" Wu Bin, "Most Beautiful Dad" Huang Xiaorong; "Courtesy zebra crossings", "filial piety parking spaces", "patriotic red bus routes"... Each civilized practice brand moistens silently, making Hangzhou a warm and kind-hearted city.

On June 6th, tourists are visiting the Deshou Palace Site Museum of the Southern Song Dynasty. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yu

Brave to stand at the forefront, daring to be the first. In the new era, Hangzhou is also a city of the future. Here, we are continuously exploring innovative measures to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, showcasing to the world a beautiful development in humanistic influence and a more beautiful charm in economic development.

——Hangzhou strives to revitalize its historical and cultural heritage, meticulously writing a new chapter of ancient charm. On the banks of the Zhonghe River, the Southern Song Dynasty Deshou Palace Site Museum reproduces a touch of red palace walls; By the Gongchen Bridge, the cultural reality performance of the Jiangnan Ancient Canal makes tourists feel like they are in a drunken dream.

Focusing on "cultural benefits to the people", Hangzhou has developed a large-scale application scenario of "cultural enjoyment" public cultural services, spanning five levels of provinces, cities, counties, and villages, spanning nearly 20 departments such as publicity, cultural tourism, etc., with single point delivery of cultural services such as performances and training, promoting precise matching, high-quality balance, and co construction and sharing of public cultural services.

——In the Cross Lake Bridge Site Museum in the south of Hangzhou, a canoe quietly docks in the site hall. It is about 5.6 meters long, about 52 centimeters wide at its widest point, and about 2.5 centimeters thick. It has a history of about 8000 years and is known as the "first boat of China". It is a testament to the turmoil of ancient tide makers.

The adjacent Baima Lake Ecological Creative City fully leverages the social leading demonstration effect of the national cultural industry demonstration zone, leveraging national cultural brands such as the China Animation Museum, China Online Writers Village, and China International Animation Festival to highlight the deep integration and development of "culture+technology".

Huang Haifeng, member of the Standing Committee of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda, said that the new round of technological revolution is accelerating the reshaping of traditional cultural formats. Hangzhou will deeply implement the digital strategy of cultural industry, actively strengthen advantageous industries such as digital content, film and television production, animation and games, and fully showcase the charm of Hangzhou's culture through digital means.

Just like the emblem of the Hangzhou Asian Games, "Tide": the natural scenery of green mountains and clear waters, the cultural heritage of the picturesque Jiangnan region, and the spirit of standing at the forefront, Hangzhou, as a "paradise on earth," is undertaking the cultural mission of the new era with the cultural confidence of "living up to history and facing the future," attracting the world to gaze at this "window" in China.