High Quality Development Research Tour: Beijing: Creating a New Business Card for Capital Culture | Culture | New Business Card

High quality development research tour

"Until we reach the garden, how can we know the spring scenery is like this..." In the scorching summer afternoon, we walked into the Zhengyi Temple Theater located along the West River in Qianmen, where the Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion" was being performed. The melody of the century old theater is melodious, reminiscent of the bustling past.

"This was originally a temple in the Ming Dynasty. During the Kangxi period, Zhejiang silver merchants raised funds to build a temple." The elderly in the alley are familiar with the past of Zhengyi Temple.

The two-story theater hidden in the ancestral hall has a compact layout and exquisite decoration. It is the only pure wooden theater in Beijing that has been preserved to this day and is basically intact. It is also the first indoor theater in Chinese history and is known as the "living fossil of Chinese theater".

Zhang Peng, the director of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater and the general manager of the Zhengyi Temple Theater, proudly said, "Mr. Cheng Changgeng, Mr. Tan Xinpei, and Mr. Mei Qiaoling, who were among the 'Thirteen Wonders of Tongguang', once performed on stage at the Zhengyi Temple. Later, Mr. Mei Lanfang also frequently performed here. This is a century old theater that witnesses the birth and prosperity of Peking Opera."

Having experienced the splendor of a cluster of stars, Zhengyi Temple has also experienced the darkest moments. Since 1860, Zhengyi Temple has fluctuated several times. Who would have thought that today's carved beams and painted rafters, simple and elegant theater, were used as warehouses and coal shops.

In April 2022, after the renovation of the Zhengyi Temple Theater, it reopened, and the drums and gongs that stopped and stopped rang out again

"When people come here, they can not only taste traditional Chinese drama in this ancient theater, but also experience the new trend of collision and combination of Chinese and Western cultures. We hope to build Zhengyi Temple into the 'National Grand Theater' of the ancient theater industry," said Sun Minglei, Secretary of the Party Branch of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater.

Guild buildings that intersect north and south, with varying scales, are scattered like inlaid pearls in the core area of the capital. In the exploration of the "Guild Hall with Drama" strategy in Beijing, these century old ancient buildings have transformed into "small and beautiful", "small and exquisite", and "small and elegant" new spaces for performing arts, integrating historical traditions into modern life.

"This is a bustling 'prosperous place' in Beijing for nearly 600 years," said Wang Hui, Chairman of Beijing Xinlongfu Cultural Investment Co., Ltd. "Although this place was once quiet and some areas were used as employee canteens, now the Longfu Temple Cultural District is one of the most popular check-in spots in Beijing!"

Why has Old Longfu become a new traffic? Standing on the top floor of the Longfu Building at the Longfu Cultural Center, the answer is right in front of you. From here, you can enjoy the imperial city atmosphere of the Forbidden City, the White Pagoda, and Jingshan to the west, and the new style buildings such as the International Trade Center to the east. In just a moment, you can complete the ancient and modern journey. Not to mention, there are also art galleries, immersive theaters, specialty bookstores and other cultural spaces in Longfu Building, which can feast the eyes of cultural "foodies".

"This year, this wall will be equipped with naked eye 3D screens." Standing outside the construction of Longfu Temple Phase II, Wang Hui introduced the future digital development direction of Longfu Temple. "Currently, the online system of 'Digital Longfu Temple' has completed the construction of AR Longfu Universe Technology Platform. In the future, consumers can experience VR consumption projects at Longfu Temple, watch immersive films in the Tiandi Giant Screen Flying Cinema, and enjoy the fun of deep integration of technology and culture."

Like Longfu Temple, in recent years, a series of industrial changes have taken place in Beijing, with many creative factories growing in old neighborhoods and factory buildings.

Why can a visual effect behind the scenes have over 2 million views and make netizens exclaim "too shocking"? The reporter walked into Mojing Tianhe Digital Image Technology Co., Ltd. to find the answer.

"The special effects footage of" Wandering Earth "," Walking Alone on the Moon ", and" Assassination of Novelists "that everyone sees in the cinema were all produced by Mojing Tianhe." Wei Ming, co-founder and CEO of Mojing Tianhe, led the reporters to the "Motion Capture Studio" to showcase their virtual real-time shooting technology based on the Unreal Engine.

The motion capture actor is dressed in a black motion capture suit, waving his left hand, and the screen in front of him displays the real-time scene of the virtual character greeting in the virtual scene.

"This technology can drive characters, props, and virtual cameras in real-time in virtual scenes, allowing directors to see the final rendered image in the early stages of the process, greatly improving the production efficiency of movie visual effects." Seeing everyone's reaction, Wei Ming proudly said.

When it comes to why he chose to land in Beijing, Wei Ming opened his mouth and said, "Beijing is a place where cultural and creative talents gather, and its advantages are very obvious. For example, if you look at this park, there may be more than ten companies related to film and television production. We work in visual effects, and next to us are color mixing, sound production, and animated films... The creative efficiency is too high!"

According to Shi Tie from the Film and Television Department of the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, there are currently over 10000 enterprises in Beijing that have been engaged in film and television creation and production for a long time. The top 10 domestically produced films in China at the box office are all Beijing produced films.

"Beijing is continuously promoting high-quality cultural development through the comprehensive integration of technology, finance, tourism, and education." The relevant person in charge of the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee said, "Especially, technology empowers cultural development and is becoming a new important driving force for the development of Beijing's cultural industry. From January to April 2023, Beijing's cultural new business enterprises achieved a revenue of 404.13 billion yuan, accounting for 68.3% of the city's cultural enterprise revenue. The combination of cultural content and digital technology in cultural new business models has become an important component of Beijing's cultural industry."

According to Huang Zhongshan, Deputy Director of the Institute of Culture of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, the development of Beijing's cultural industry will form a very obvious upward trend in 2023. From the long-term trend of the future, Beijing culture will usher in a new period of high-speed and high-quality development.

Beijing, the pace of building a national cultural center is accelerating!