Ningxia Shuidonggou borrows archaeology to "get out of the circle" and promote the integration of culture and tourism—
Scenic spots from the niche to the public
Our reporter Tuo Zhaobing
Shuidonggou, a 5A-level scenic spot, is located at the foot of the Ming Great Wall in Linhe Town, Lingwu City, Ningxia, 19 kilometers from downtown Yinchuan.
Maybe you haven't heard of it, but in the archaeological world, Shuidonggou is internationally renowned as the birthplace of Chinese prehistoric archaeology.
The pace of integration of culture and tourism is accelerating, and the public's enthusiasm for participating in archaeology is rising, which is making Shuidonggou accessible to the public.
The sleeping ruins outside the Great Wall
Drive east from the urban area of Yinchuan, cross the Yellow River, and arrive at Shuidonggou Scenic Area in about half an hour.
On the desolate Ordos platform, there is a gate with a khaki-colored ancient human face.
On the west side of the gate, a peculiar building lies quietly.
Outside the gate, the Gobi desert is endless.
In terms of scenery, it is hard to believe that this is a 5A-level scenic spot.
But from an archaeological point of view, Shuidonggou Scenic Spot really deserves its name.
In 1923, a large number of stone tools and paleontological fossils were unearthed here.
Since China could not provide advanced and suitable research conditions at that time, French paleontologists De Rijin and Sang Zhihua carefully numbered the stone products and shipped them back to France for in-depth research.
They found that the stone tool assemblage at the site is related to the stone tool culture of the middle and late Paleolithic period in Europe.
Among them, the Levallois stone core is a special technique of prefabricating stone cores for countertops. This technique is an integral part of the European Most culture, indicating that the long-distance migration of people from east to west occurred 40,000 years ago.
The discovery shocked the European archaeological community, because before this, Western scholars had always believed that China did not have the Paleolithic Age.
In 1928, they announced to the world with a rigorous academic attitude and scientific facts that the Shuidonggou site belonged to the Paleolithic Age, overturning the assertion of Western scholars that "China has no Paleolithic culture", and thus Shuidonggou became the earliest discovery in my country. The Paleolithic human cultural site has opened a new chapter in China's Paleolithic cultural archaeology and research.
Since then, Shuidonggou has undergone many excavations.
Pei Wenzhong, Jia Lanpo and other scholars and the expedition team of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences participated in the excavation.
The efforts of generations of archaeologists have yielded fruitful results.
Research has proved that 40,000 years ago, the production of Shuidonggou people has reached the most advanced and highest level of the same era, using leading and exquisite stone tools.
This phenomenon is unique to the late Paleolithic culture discovered in my country.
Further research also proved that Shuidonggou contains remains of two different eras, the Paleolithic and the Neolithic.
The proud Shuidonggou civilization is only known in the archaeological circle and is not widely known to the public, so this ancient site has been silent and eroded on the wasteland.
In 2005, with the support of the local government, Shuidonggou Tourism Development Co., Ltd. was established, trying to break the barriers between Shuidonggou archaeology and ordinary people through tourism.
"A batch of new archaeological achievements such as Sanxingdui and Shuidonggou have been excavated and unearthed. Together with relevant lectures and publicity, it has also aroused public interest and increased the passenger flow and economic income of ancient cultural scenic spots and museums." Ningxia Shuidonggou tourism development is limited. Wang Yawei, chairman of the company, said.
Picking academic "flowers"
Archaeology, once regarded as an "unpopular" subject, has been surprisingly popular.
In recent years, some experts and scholars have gone out of the institute and taught the relevant knowledge of archaeology to the public in a vivid and novel form on TV, Internet and other media.
The Chinese civilization has a long history, there are many historical museums and cultural attractions, many types, and many related academic studies.
Picking academic "flowers", using some of its achievements or highlights, and popularizing the interpretation of tourists, can clear the fog, clear the source, increase the credibility of history, and make archaeology accessible to the public.
How to interpret the wordless history, make the relics of the ancestors come alive, and make tourists interested, is a problem that the developers of Shuidonggou Scenic Spot must solve.
Entering the gate of the scenic spot, the peculiar building on the west side is the Shuidonggou Ruins Museum. The flat shape forms a sharp contrast with the magnificent buildings of some museums.
"Its shape resembles the Levallois stone core unearthed in Shuidonggou," said Wang Huimin, a researcher at the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and vice president of the Shuidonggou Site Research Institute.
Visually displaying the shape of a Paleolithic tool in a building is the first step for Shuidonggou cultural relics to reach ordinary tourists.
Entering the hall of the museum, the pavilion abandons the traditional display form: the large-scale ancient human sculpture group is astounding, and the replicas of animal fossils such as woolly rhino, bison, ostrich, etc. are lifelike.
The unearthed stone tools are an important part of the Shuidonggou culture. The display of the initially discovered Paleolithic Levallois stone core and the later unearthed millstones of the new era, etc., let people intuitively feel the difference between the new and the old stone tools.
There are also scene simulations.
The Shuidonggou Museum set up the largest indoor audience intervention dynamic experience area in China at that time. Using a number of patents combined with advanced technologies such as sound, light and electricity, it truly reproduced the production, life and disasters of ancient human beings 40,000 years ago. The scene of forced migration has created a precedent for the display form of Chinese museums.
Standing in the scene, the audience can see the sparkling lake, the bonfire in the cave, the hunting of ancient humans, and feel the lightning and thunder above and the big earthquake below. The mood changes with the scene.
"Immersive! It's like being in tens of thousands of years ago," said Wang Yan, an Anhui tourist.
The Shuidonggou Scenic Spot restores the experience when De Rijin and Sang Zhihua stayed in Zhangsan Xiaodian, replicated the archaeological scene of the two French paleontologists, and reconstructed Zhangsan Xiaodian at the original location. Let visitors enter the house to experience the experience.
Through perceptual knowledge and the help of docents, the wordless history is interpreted, satisfying the curiosity and thirst for knowledge of tourists.
"The Paleolithic sites were originally poorly visible and ornamental, and the tourist attraction was not strong. But driven by this model, everything has changed." said Gao Xing, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Promote the integration of culture and tourism
In July 2015, Shuidonggou Scenic Spot was approved as a national 5A-level scenic spot.
This is the first 5A-level scenic spot in China that has been successfully built on the basis of prehistoric sites.
Since then, the protection and utilization of the site has reached a new level of integrated development of culture and tourism.
In 2019, the scenic spot received 1.06 million tourists, with an operating income of more than 80 million yuan.
"Culture is the soul of tourism. In recent years, relying on the unique archaeological resources of Shuidonggou, we have made innovations in the integration of culture and tourism, and strived to transform archaeological research into social knowledge, allowing the public to share and inherit research results and enhance tourism value. Realize the unification of economic and social benefits." said Luo Yan, deputy general manager of Shuidonggou Scenic Area.
The integration of culture and tourism requires high-quality cultural support, especially the nourishment of Chinese traditional excellent culture.
The local government, academic institutions and scenic spots combine the protection of historical and cultural heritage with economic development, maintain the authenticity, integrity and continuity of historical and cultural heritage, and refine and display the spiritual signs of Chinese excellent traditional culture, so that historical and cultural heritage can be revived in the new era Newborn and radiant.
The scenic spot adopts an open form, absorbs research results from different disciplines, invites various research institutes and universities to cooperate in research, obtains a large number of precious cultural relics, and also cultivates a group of archaeological talents, which enhances the academic status of the Shuidonggou site. and social influence.
At the same time, the Paleolithic Cultural Festival was held at the Shuidonggou site, which explained the process of human evolution through many experiential forms.
In terms of popular science, the scenic spot has designed special courses for primary and middle school students to conduct research and study tours. Authoritative experts and scholars such as Gao Xing and Wang Huimin are invited to give lectures, and tell the children the relevant knowledge and research results of Shuidonggou archaeology.
The scenic area combines research products with Shuidonggou research, and develops simulated archaeological projects such as drilling wood to make fire, making stone tools, and making sheepskins, allowing children to participate in their own hands and experience the life of ancient people in Shuidonggou 40,000 years ago.
For young tourists, the scenic spot has developed blind box products.
In the blind box, there may be an imitation of a stone tool from Shuidonggou, a sculpture of a primitive man, or an imitation of an ostrich egg ornament unearthed in Shuidonggou.
Surprise blind boxes stimulate consumption, and tourists can experience and understand Shuidonggou culture by purchasing blind boxes.
"In today's era of advanced information, archaeology is not just a matter for professionals, and the public can join in. In order to better promote the integration of culture and tourism and achieve high-quality development of scenic spots, we have an idea to build a glass partition wall at the archaeological site. Or set up a large screen to allow tourists to watch the on-site archaeological excavations at close range, resulting in a better sense of experience." Wang Huimin said that while enjoying the great rivers and mountains, tourists have gained insight and opened their eyes, and the integration of culture and tourism will further expand tourists' horizons , to improve their literacy in science, aesthetics, history, etc., and also stimulate young people's enthusiasm and ideals for learning.
Because it is adjacent to the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty, the scenic spot also integrates the culture of the Great Wall, driving and radiating other projects.
Tourists go to the ancient ruins to look for the footprints of their ancestors, climb the renovated Great Wall of Ming Dynasty to overlook the desert, retrace the history, learn and travel, enhance cultural self-confidence, and feel the magic and splendor of human civilization and Chinese civilization.