Why choose Liangzhu?, Asian Games Torch Collection Park | Ruins | Liangzhu

On June 15th, the spark of the Hangzhou Asian Games was successfully collected at the Damojiao Mountain in the Liangzhu Ancient City Site Park in Hangzhou.

Liangzhu once again stands under the global spotlight.

Why did you choose Liangzhu as the spark collection site for the Hangzhou Asian Games?

To answer this question, you can first take a look at the previous Asian Games where the flame collection was chosen.

Whether it is the Olympics or the Asian Games, the flame has become an important symbol of the Olympic Games. The holy flame symbolizes light, unity, friendship, peace, and justice.

When the first Asian Games were held in the Indian capital of New Delhi in 1951, the practice of lighting the Olympic flame was inherited. To light the holy flame, one must first collect the spark.

Unlike the fixed location of the Olympic flame collection in front of the Hera Temple in Olympia, Greece, which is the birthplace of the Olympics, the flame collection location for the Asian Games is almost different from each edition.

The spark of the 1st New Delhi Asian Games was collected at the Red Fort in the palace of King Shah Jahan of the 5th Mughal Dynasty in India;

The sparks of the 5th and 6th Bangkok Asian Games were collected at the palace of the King of Thailand;

The spark of the 18th Jakarta Asian Games was collected inside the Chandra National Stadium in New Delhi, India, where the first Asian Games were held

At the 11th Beijing Asian Games and the 16th Guangzhou Asian Games held in China, it is believed that many people still have a deep impression of the locations and ceremonies for collecting sparks——

The spark collection site for the Beijing Asian Games is located under the Nianqing Tanggula Peak, which is over 100 kilometers north of Lhasa and has an altitude of 7117 meters. It was collected by the 15-year-old Tibetan girl Dawa Yangzong, who then handed over the spark to the "Prince of Gymnastics" Li Ning.

The torches for the Guangzhou Asian Games were collected by flame collectors at the North Beacon Tower of the Great Wall in Juyongguan, Beijing.

Throughout the past Asian Games, the selection of ignition collection locations has been influenced by the host country's ingenuity and the silent language they want to convey to the outside world.

The flame collection site of the Beijing Asian Games is the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, which is the highest altitude and closest to the sun in the world. Nianqing Tanggula Peak is also one of the sources of China's longest river, the Yangtze River.

The spark collection site of the Guangzhou Asian Games is the Yongguan Great Wall, which is an important pass of the Great Wall and has been known as the "Number One Pass in the World" since ancient times.

These two locations both symbolize China's long history and splendid civilization, reflecting the noble character of the Chinese nation, which is intelligent, hardworking, peace loving, and constantly striving for self-improvement. They reflect the beautiful wishes of the Chinese people for peace and friendship.

Focus your gaze on Liangzhu again.

Based on the selection of ignition collection locations for the Beijing and Guangzhou Asian Games, the selection of ignition collection locations for the Hangzhou Asian Games should be nationwide.

Why did you ultimately choose to stay at the local Liangzhu Ancient City ruins?

Because of its weight, significance, and significance: the Liangzhu Site is a holy land that proves the 5000 year history of Chinese civilization.

It is a holy land with strong historical and cultural connotations. Archaeological research has confirmed that as early as 5300-4300 years ago, there was a regional early country Liangzhu civilization with rice farming as its economic basis in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River around the Taihu Lake Lake.

It is the earliest national civilization discovered on the land of China and also the earliest cultural relic in East Asia.

The archaeological achievements of the Liangzhu Ancient City Site have rewritten Chinese history and also world history. The national compilation of high school history textbooks has identified Liangzhu culture as one of the important sources of Chinese civilization.

It is a widely recognized "highland" worldwide. On July 6, 2019, at the 43rd UNESCO World Heritage Conference held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, Liangzhu Ancient City Site was successfully included in the The World Heritage List.

This means that the 5000 year history of Chinese civilization has finally been internationally recognized.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has clearly pointed out that the Liangzhu Ancient City Site represents the outstanding contribution of the Yangtze River Basin to the origin of the "diverse and integrated" Chinese civilization. It is a great achievement of prehistoric rice farming civilization in East Asia and China over 5000 years ago, and an outstanding example of early urban civilization in human civilization history.

The renowned British archaeologist Colin Renfreu visited and inspected the Liangzhu Ancient City site twice, and gave high praise to the Liangzhu site. He also introduced the Liangzhu site to the Western academic community multiple times——

"The understanding and excavation of Liangzhu has advanced the world's understanding of China's early civilization by over a thousand years."

"If viewed within the framework of the world, Liangzhu pushed the origin of China's national society to the same level as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Indian civilizations, almost simultaneously."

It is a comprehensive showcase of Chinese civilization. After the successful application for World Heritage Site of Liangzhu Ancient City, the Liangzhu Ancient City Site area, Yaoshan Site, and peripheral water conservancy facilities site, which are important components of the application, have been gradually opened to the public in the form of site parks.

The three archaeological site parks integrate multiple functions such as the protection and display of the archaeological site itself and its environment, education, scientific research, tourism, leisure, etc. At the Liangzhu Museum, there is also a permanent themed exhibition titled "Liangzhu is a holy land that proves the more than 5000 years of Chinese civilization history".

The Three Site Parks and Liangzhu Museum have become important places for global visitors to experience and appreciate the 5000 year civilization of China, as well as important windows for showcasing ancient and modern China. As of now, it has attracted over 7 million visitors and has initially established the brand of "Looking at 5000 Years of China to Liangzhu".

Remembering the reminder to bring cultural relics collected in museums to life, Yuhang fully utilizes digital technologies such as AR and VR to provide visitors with an immersive experience in both parks and museums; Working hand in hand with Dunhuang, we have jointly tackled the challenge of protecting soil sites in humid environments. We have explored the Laohu Ridge site in the southern wall of the Liangzhu Ancient City site and the peripheral water conservancy system site, striving to make ordinary visitors feel "interesting" and "understandable".

It is a treasure trove distilled from the spiritual symbols of the Chinese nation. Under the overall guidance of the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, the Liangzhu Site actively participated in the exploration of the origin of Chinese civilization and the research on the civilization model of the "Archaeological China" Yangtze River downstream region.

At present, breakthrough progress has been made in research on the early formation of Liangzhu and the prehistoric social civilization process in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, providing strong support for the definition and recognition of civilization and the Chinese plan to enter a civilized society.

Standing at the intersection of history, the Liangzhu culture, which carries 5000 years of memory, has become a unique spiritual landmark of the Chinese nation.

What is the "silent language" we want to convey when the spark collection site for the Hangzhou Asian Games is selected at the Liangzhu Ancient City Site?

In summary, it consists of four words: cultural confidence.

We must strengthen our cultural confidence, take on our mission, and work together to create a new culture that belongs to our era, and build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

To build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation, we must recognize the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization. The first prominent characteristic of Chinese civilization is continuity, which fundamentally determines that the Chinese nation will inevitably follow its own path.

Therefore, without understanding China from its long-standing historical continuity, it is impossible to understand ancient China, modern China, and future China.

Liangzhu is an important window for understanding China from its long-standing historical continuity——

Archaeological research has confirmed that the Liangzhu civilization was based on rice farming as its economic foundation; Today, 5000 years later, rice remains one of the most important crops in China, and rice is still one of the most important grain varieties for the Chinese people.

Archaeological discoveries have shown that the ancient city of Liangzhu is composed of a three fold layout of a palace area, an inner city, and an outer city in a centripetal manner. This layout is similar to the triple structure system of the later capital cities of China, namely the Palace City, Imperial City, and Guo City. The Forbidden City in Beijing is such a triple structure system.

From urban construction and water conservancy facilities, to jade carving and engraved patterns, all embody the "Liangzhu spirit" of the ancestors of Liangzhu. This is in line with the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation for 5000 years, which has upheld the principles of integrity, respect for the past, and the courage to accept new challenges and accept new things

Whether in the material or spiritual fields, the precious wealth and excellent culture created by the ancestors of Liangzhu 5000 years ago on the land of China are still deeply influencing the current China, and have become deeply engraved cultural genes in the bones of the Chinese people through historical sedimentation.

Currently, Hangzhou is planning to build the Liangzhu Cultural Corridor. This cultural corridor, first proposed by Yuhang, revolves around the Liangzhu culture, connecting 5000 years of Liangzhu culture, over 2000 years of Canal culture, over 1000 years of Jingshan culture, double thousand year old ancient town culture, Tiaoxi culture, red culture, etc., committed to forming a continuity of historical and cultural heritage.

Taking another step higher, we will consider the broad connotation of Liangzhu Fire Seed Collection from a higher standpoint. The great ancient civilizations of humanity are interconnected.

Two years ago, when the Yaoshan site was first opened to the public, Yue opera performer Mao Weitao used the recitation and singing style of Yue opera to perform fragments of the ancient Greek drama "Oedipus King" on the "altar" of the Yaoshan site in the form of ancient Greek opera troupes. This is a great ancient civilization paying tribute to another great civilization, artistically expressing respect for the inheritance of civilization and the expectation of mutual learning among civilizations.

In this sense, collecting the kindling of the Hangzhou Asian Games at the site of Liangzhu Ancient City is just a small step for us to stand at the moment of building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, look back on the great footprints of the pioneers who have blazed their way, carefully follow the past, look back on the present, find "where we came from", clarify "where we are going", and firmly move towards Chinese path to modernization and a community with a shared future for mankind.

Liangzhu sparks, candles illuminate the future.