Decoding Cultural Confidence as a City Sample | Thousand Years of Starry City Blossoming - Decoding Charm as a Cultural Confidence Sample for Changsha | City | Culture
A star in the sky, Changsha City on the ground.
Changsha, located at the intersection of the Xiangjiang River and the Liuyang River in the north, is named after the Changsha Star above the city.
June 9th, Juzizhou, Yuelu District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
It borders Dongting to the north and Pingyuelu to the west, with rivers flowing through the city and Orange Island floating in the heart of the blue river. 200000 years ago, humans lived and multiplied here. For over 2500 years, Changsha, with its city site remaining unchanged, has undergone the baptism of war and witnessed tremendous changes.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the excellent traditional Chinese culture nurtured in the development of more than 5000 years of civilization, the revolutionary culture and the advanced socialist culture nurtured in the great struggle of the party and the people, have accumulated the deepest spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation and represent the uniqueness of the Chinese nation. Spiritual logo.
Changsha is exactly like this. Here, a multitude of talented individuals and heroes emerge, inheriting a long and rich cultural heritage and embracing a magnificent historical site like a starry river. The spirit of inclusiveness and daring to be the first has taken root and nurtured Changsha's distinctive cultural splendor - thick yet dynamic, ancient yet youthful, with a more open and enduring atmosphere.
Endless string recitation and continuous cultural context
In the south of Changsha, Tianxin Pavilion stands tall and towering. Looking out from afar, the Xiang River stretches across, and the foothills are visible. Under my feet, the ancient city wall stood silently. By my ear, it was as if the sound of string recitation from Chengnan Academy could be heard.
On June 11th, Tianxin Pavilion in Tianxin District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
Heading south again, about two kilometers away, the ancient Zhu Zhangdu leans against the riverbank. Embark on a boat to cross the river, pass around Orange Island, climb up the west bank from the archway entrance, climb up stairs, and arrive at the millennium old school Yuelu Academy.
The "Zhu Zhang Hui Lecture" by Southern Song Neo Confucianism scholars Zhu Xi and Zhang Shi, who were closely related to the two academies, established Changsha's key position in Hunan culture and profoundly influenced the evolution of ancient Chinese philosophical thought. This road, which was a must pass route for two ancient philosophers to give lectures back and forth to the academy over 850 years ago, has now become a classic route for tourists to experience the culture of Changsha Academy.
The Yuelu Academy, founded in 976 AD, features a plaque that reads "Seeking Truth from Facts", recording the ancient and modern brilliance of China's excellent traditional culture.
General Secretary pointed out, "Chairman Mao was nurtured here in the past, and seeking truth from facts comes from here. How could the Communist Party succeed? Back then, on a boat in Shikumen and on Nanhu, there were so many people, and to this day, we must clarify the path and localize the truth."
For over a thousand years, the operation of academies has never been interrupted. Nowadays, the academy has established a talent training system from undergraduate to postdoctoral studies, and the pursuit of seeking truth through the world is deeply rooted in the hearts of students from Hunan.
On June 8th, students and tourists studied and checked in at Yuelu Academy in Changsha. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
This summer, 110 young people graduated from Yuelu Academy of Hunan University and devoted themselves to national economic and social development. Wu Yu, a 2023 graduate majoring in literature and history, expressed everyone's thoughts: "We will uphold the training of seeking truth from facts and applying it to the world, and become the inheritors, promoters, and practitioners of excellent traditional culture."
On this land of Changsha, ancient patriotic intellectuals represented by Qu Yuan, Jia Yi, Du Fu, and others have emerged one after another, promoting culture and passing on the cultural heritage without stopping.
Nowadays, urban development has become a new stage of cultural prosperity——
Strolling through the city, Jia Yi's former residence is located in the "Tai Fu Li", the "Du Fu Jiang Ge" on the banks of the Xiang River, and the "Xi Wen Miao Ping" adjacent to the bustling city... Time passes quietly and far, complementing the human fireworks.
A road sign in Yuelu District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
On Orange Island, a signpost points in different directions to more than ten bookstores. In the winding ancient alley, the popular bookstore "Changsha Twelve Hours" has rich content and fresh aesthetics, attracting book lovers from all over the world. On the bookstore message wall, a reader wrote a postcard: "The spiritual torch raised by the small bookstore illuminates an ancient and young city of the future."
As a national public cultural service demonstration zone, Changsha has 1079 physical bookstores and 202 libraries of various types, with an average of 10000 people having a public reading area.
Wenhua New Lottery has also attracted world attention——
Yuelu Bookstore Publishing House adheres to the principles of "inheriting Xiangxue, embracing a hundred schools of thought, promoting academic prosperity, and accumulating culture". Not only has it achieved fruitful results in the field of ancient book publishing, but it has also published over 10 languages and nearly 200 books to spread to countries such as Italy and Singapore, spreading excellent traditional Chinese culture overseas.
"The culture of Changsha inherits the past and opens up the new, flowing into the Yangtze River and the sea, and influencing the world," said Chen Xianshu, a librarian at the Hunan Provincial Museum of Culture and History and an expert in Changsha's historical and cultural research.
Ancient style, new charm, China-Chic
In the Changsha Museum, there is a stacked geological layer indicating a wall that attracts people to stop——
During the Warring States period, the Han Dynasty, and modern times, people's living utensils were embedded in soil layers and stacked layer by layer. The interpreter explained that archaeologists have excavated cultural accumulation layers from multiple dynasties in and around Changsha May Day Square; The rich cultural relics, unearthed documents, and architectural relics prove that this place has been a densely populated urban center for over two thousand years.
On June 7th, tourists checked in and played on Taiping Old Street in Tianxin District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
This means that the bustling "City Living Room" May Day Square in Changsha, thousands of years ago, was also bustling and bustling - "Everywhere is bustling and bustling, with thousands of people coming out of Changsha", "Every hundred thousand households in Changsha, tourists are like Kyoto"
Architecture is a solidified history, and streets and alleys are the memories of the city. From 2018 to 2022, Changsha has accurately utilized methods such as "retaining, renovating, demolishing, and supplementing" to carry out organic renewal of 14 historical and cultural blocks and historical areas, including Taiping Old Street and Baiguoyuan.
"Every street and alley has its story, and every block of green brick has its origin," Cao Fei, a community cadre in Liansheng Street, Kaifu District, told reporters that the staff had numbered 6500 pieces of paved cobblestones on an ancient cobblestone street one by one, just to ensure precise protection when re paving the road surface.
Time leaves Changsha with nothing more than antiquity. Here, the traditional old alley with grey walls and green tiles is adjacent to the steel and cement skyscrapers. In a Chinese style homestay in Baiguoyuan, you can look up and see the towering tallest building in Hunan. In the peaceful old street of Taiping in Tianxin District, in the former residence of Jia Yi, the Changhuai Well has been built for over 2200 years; Outside the former residence, various vibrant and trendy brand merchants are widely sought after by young people
On June 10th, tourists visited Baiguoyuan Street in Furong District, Changsha City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
All of this has converged into a unique cultural resource of Changsha, which combines ancient and modern elements.
Cultural resources are economic resources.
In historical and cultural districts, trendy shops such as coffee shops and incense shops continue to emerge, with over 80% of merchants being born in the 1990s and 2000s; A group of new consumer brands with traditional culture as their creative core set off from Changsha and headed nationwide... During the May Day holiday in 2023, the cumulative passenger flow in the May Day commercial district of Changsha reached more than 5.3 million, an increase of 117.47% year-on-year.
"The transformation of Millennium Star City into charming Changsha is a two-way journey between the city and youth, as well as the integration and symbiosis of culture and industry," said Cao Lin, Deputy Director of Changsha Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio and Television. Nowadays, with abundant cultural resources as fertile ground, a large number of young people gather at Malan Mountain to unleash their creativity. The average age of practitioners in the industrial park is less than 27 years old, and young entrepreneurs account for nearly 90%.
Cultural charm is the charm of a country.
In the Changsha Museum, the blue glazed brown spotted painted Arabic bowl that once slept in the sea for thousands of years silently tells the story of the Changsha kiln. In 1998, the sunken ship "Heishi" was salvaged from the Indonesian waters, carrying over 67000 artifacts, including over 50000 porcelain pieces from the Tang Dynasty Changsha kiln, becoming a witness to the Maritime Silk Road.
At the 2nd China Africa Economic and Trade Expo held at the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, visitors were shopping for African skincare products. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
This summer, Changsha will serve as the venue for the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo, welcoming foreign friends with confidence. Across thousands of years, Changsha embraces the world even more warmly.
Red Hot Land, City of Happiness
In January 1921, heavy snowfall fell in Changsha.
At the meeting of the Chaozong Street Cultural Bookstore, Mao Zedong, 28 years old, led members of the New People's Association to enthusiastically discuss and establish the ideal of "transforming China and the world". Afterwards, he set off from the banks of the Xiang River to Shanghai and boarded the red boat.
For over a hundred years, the passion for seeking happiness for the people has been surging non-stop in Changsha——
In the Yuelu Mountains, revolutionary pioneers such as Huang Xing and Cai E rest forever. Guo Liang, Miao Boying, Yang Kaihui and other members of the CPC set out from here to join the revolutionary tide one after another. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Changsha won three victories through fierce battles and huge sacrifices, becoming a magnificent and iron blooded city in China.
We need to educate and guide party members and cadres to carry forward revolutionary traditions and inherit the red genes.
"Changsha is a red museum without walls," said Yin Junde, Director of the Propaganda and Education Department of the Changsha Municipal Party Committee. Currently, there are 107 patriotic education bases at all levels in Changsha; The local organization has created literary and artistic masterpieces such as "The Great Wave Washes the Sand" and "Half a Quilt", and created red bases such as Hunan First Normal School and the former site of the Xinmin Society. "We must make Party members, cadres, and the masses remember and polish their original intentions from the red culture."
Entering a new era, red culture nurtures an inexhaustible driving force for realizing the people's aspirations for beauty——
This is Lei Feng's hometown. Nowadays, more than 1.6 million Lei Feng volunteers are active in the streets and alleys, serving the people; Focusing on "urgent difficulties and anxieties" to do a good job in people's livelihood, Changsha has added 125000 new degrees, 2200 hospital beds, and 141000 parking spaces in a year... The investment in people's livelihood in Changsha continues to increase.
The scenery of Changsha urban area captured on June 7th. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Sihan
Practicing the concept of serving the people and achieving high-quality development is a prerequisite and confidence. For many years, Changsha has unwaveringly adhered to the development of the real economy, cultivating multiple industrial clusters worth billions of yuan, such as construction machinery and new materials; Strictly implementing the principle of "housing for living, not for speculation" amidst the hustle and bustle of the public, the housing price to income ratio has always remained at a low level
"Surrounded by mountains of clouds, every household cares about fireworks." - On the Tianxin Pavilion, an ancient couplet embodies the essence of Changsha's urban culture. Wu Guiying, member of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Changsha Municipal Party Committee, said that the sentiment of "worrying about the world" and "putting the people first" has infiltrated this red hot land and this happy city from the depths of history.
Eagles soar in the long sky, fish soar shallow at the bottom, and all kinds compete freely in the frosty sky. Today, the ancient city of Changsha is full of charm and energy; Today in Changsha, youth, we are embarking on a new journey with our heads held high.
video
