The "Vitality Show Belt" of "Jinmen Ancient Ferry", Chinese Story | Haihe
Haihe, the mother river of Tianjin. From the prosperous transportation scene of "three forks of dawn and ten thousand boats gathered together" in the past, to the "vibrant and beautiful belt" filled with commercial, cultural and tourism temperament, the Haihe River flowing through the city and into the sea, has always recorded the development pulse of the "Jinmen Ancient Ferry" for over 600 years.
Night cruise by boat, shining and dazzling on both sides; Strolling through a century old neighborhood, the historical landscape is in front of us; The new commercial space for check-in brings fashion and vitality to the face... Nowadays, along the Haihe River, the waterfront economy is booming like a thousand sails, increasingly becoming a new coordinate to stimulate urban vitality.
From the "movement" of the Haihe River to the "revitalization" of both banks
At the beginning of the lantern festival, the water flows with rosy clouds. The "internet celebrity" catering cruise ship, which was recently launched, slowly departed from the dock. "Eating delicious food and enjoying the beautiful scenery, immersing oneself in the dazzling lights on both sides of the Haihe River, is a unique experience," said Ms. Jia, a tourist from Hubei.
The cruise ship is sailing on the Haihe River in Tianjin. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
"The Haihe Catering Boat is a newly launched themed cruise ship this year. During the summer vacation, there was a strong demand for tourists to board the boat. We promptly increased the number of operating trips according to the number of tourists, and the venue was almost full." said Song Lin, Marketing Department of Tianjin Jinlv Haihe Cruise Co., Ltd.
Cross talk performances, band performances, folk music performances, fashion shows, and folk flower fairs... Different themed performance activities meet the diverse needs of domestic and foreign tourists, and the "flowing stage" brings visitors a rich and colorful audio-visual feast. Since the beginning of this year, Haihe cruise ships have received over 700000 tourists.
As the Haihe River moves, both sides also come to life. Walking downstream from the Italian style dock, the nearby Italian style area is bustling with activity. Tourists sit outdoors, savoring exotic wines and delicacies.
Renato Pegolaro, an Italian who runs a pure Italian style restaurant, is particularly busy. "Recently, there have been many customers, many of whom came to my store to taste Italian cuisine after visiting Haihe. I am very happy to let more Chinese friends learn about Italian cuisine culture," Renato said.
The urban landscape along the Haihe River in Tianjin. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
The third Haihe International Consumption Season, which opened in mid June, attracted more than a thousand commercial, cultural and tourism enterprises to join and held over 500 various consumer promotion activities within three months. "We will continue to enhance the consumption function along the Haihe River, link the surrounding tourism and commercial facilities into a 'chain', and build an international commercial center centered on the Haihe River, making it an important part of Tianjin's acceleration of the construction of an international consumption center city," said Li Hong, Deputy Director of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce.
From "Rust Belt" to "Show Belt"
A hundred years ago, the winding Haihe River was the iconic "economic lifeline" of Tianjin. The factories, chimneys, docks, and freight stations on both sides of the strait have contributed to the development of modern Tianjin's industry and the formation of the largest industrial and commercial city in the north.
In the new century, Tianjin has launched the comprehensive development and renovation project on both sides of the Haihe River, with the city's industrial strategy moving eastward and old enterprises relocating and renovating. Many old factories have transformed into cultural and creative industry parks, consumer business districts, and design towns, radiating new vitality.
On the east bank of the Haihe River, there is a unique architectural complex, where the red brown antique buildings complement the modern and exquisite shops. This is the Tianjin Cotton 3 Creative Block.
Tianjin Mian3 Creative Block on the East Bank of the Haihe River in Tianjin from the perspective of drones. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
"The predecessor of the Cotton 3 Creative Block was Tianjin Cotton Textile Third Factory, with a factory building dating back over a hundred years," said Liu Mengjiao, Deputy Director of the Industrial Development Promotion Bureau in Hedong District, Tianjin. The block fully utilizes the original spatial pattern of the old factory buildings, and adopts a combination of new and old, ancient and modern, inheritance and innovation to construct a creative industry cluster that not only continues the historical texture of industrial heritage, but also reflects the vitality of the fashionable block.
From the settled creative study rooms, cafes, art venues, to various cultural and artistic activities such as the regular "Bu Mian Night Lane" market and outdoor concerts... Since its opening, Mian 3 Creative District has introduced the industrial cluster concept of "art+culture" and "fashion+technology", attracting more than 130 creative enterprises, covering multiple fields such as creative design and art exhibition.
"The 'Cotton 3' IP, which has history, culture, stories, and scenes, is becoming an important relay station and a new engine for urban cultural and creative industries in the 'new consumption corridor' along the Haihe River." said Chen Qiang, General Manager of Tianjin Cotton 3 Creative Enterprise Management Service Co., Ltd.
In recent years, Tianjin has adhered to the principle of "protection before utilization", activating the mottled "rust belt" along the Haihe River into a "beautiful belt", becoming a unique landscape.
The coal hopper of the original Tianjin First Thermal Power Plant has been transformed into a decoration inside the Tianjin Jinmaohui Shopping Mall. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
The vitality is still heating up. This autumn, Nezha Design Town, transformed from an old factory, will open. Industrial design, creative design and other industrial clusters will transform into "fashion plugins" along the Haihe River, empowering urban development with creativity.
From Linhai to Qinhai
Except for the urban section, the scenic line of Haihe River continues to extend, and various waterfront and seaside spaces downstream have become new carriers for expanding urban vitality.
On the mudflat of Tianjin Dongjiang Seafront Park, a group of children happily piled up sand and stone castles, and tourists who went to the sea to pick up shellfish returned with small buckets... Mr. Xu, a tourist from Inner Mongolia, said, "We were attracted by the online video of Dongjiang coastal scenery, and came to the sea to watch the sunrise."
A view of Dongjiang Qinhai Park. Shen Jizhong
Looking from the shallow beach towards the shore, a "shell" facing the sea, a undulating "sand dune" along the coastline, and a huge "paper airplane" come into view. Between these three uniquely shaped tourist service center buildings, small stalls and shops such as ice drinks and snacks are scattered.
At the first exhibition of the large-scale immersive interactive digital art piece "Whale Story" light and shadow art exhibition, the National Marine Museum is crowded with people.
"This art exhibition utilizes AI and digital technology to emphasize the close connection between humans and nature through multiple interactive experiences, hoping to raise the audience's awareness of environmental protection and biodiversity," said Zhang Xueyan, a lecturer at the National Marine Museum. Since its opening, the museum has had an annual visitor volume of 1.8 million to 2.3 million. Since this summer, the daily number of visitors to the museum has exceeded 10000.
On July 29th, tourists experienced an immersive interactive digital art exhibition called "Whale Story" at the National Marine Museum. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
In March of this year, Tianjin released the "2023 Tianjin Cultural and Tourism Quality Year Implementation Plan", relying on the "Canal Haihe Bohai" to achieve river sea linkage development, enhance the overall image and reputation of Haihe, and create a new coordinate for urban vitality.
At the upcoming 13th China Tourism Industry Expo in early September, viewers can ride bicycles in the virtual world to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Haihe River, and also immerse themselves in the scenery of Tianjin's sea and river blending in naked eye 3D videos.
"The flowing sea and river water contain the 'development code' and 'source of vitality' of the city," said Zuo Jian, a first level inspector of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
Video: Li Shuai, Liu Runzhi
Participated by: Liu Mingzhe, Li Kehan
Jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency for external parties and Xinhua News Agency Tianjin Branch
Produced by China Story Workshop
