Green leather trains, small book stalls, open-air cinemas... "Super 80 Street" has become Chongqing's cultural innovation landmark
How did the old community become the new landscape?
Our reporter Huang Shiqiang
During the National Day holiday this year, the "Super 80 Street" built by Zhengjie Community, Nanping Street, Nan'an District, Chongqing City was very lively.
It has become a cultural and creative landmark in Chongqing, attracting an endless stream of tourists to come to check in.
Beginning in 2018, Chongqing has initiated the transformation of old communities. So far, more than 2,000 old communities in cities and towns have been renovated.
Many old communities that were rarely visited in the past are radiating new vitality with the integration of culture, art, commerce and other elements, becoming new landscapes in the city.
"Old" becomes "Nostalgic"
"Come here to take a few photos" "The green leather train has a sense of age" "The gate of our old factory was like this"... On October 13, visitors from the "Super 80 Street" in the Zhengjie community were like weaving.
Although the National Day holiday is over, the place is still very popular.
"There are more people on National Day! Even the road is full of people, and cars can't pass." said Pan Guitian, a resident who lives in the community.
Stepping into the community, there is a strong atmosphere of nostalgia on both sides of the main road.
Green leather trains, small book stalls, open-air cinemas... these landscapes quickly draw visitors back to the past.
Many tourists come from other places and inevitably take a group of retro photos here.
In the 1980s, the Zhengjie community was very prosperous, but after more than 30 years of development, it has become an old community lacking property management, clogging and leaking pipes, and insufficient toilets and other supporting facilities.
From the "old" to the "nostalgic" of today, the "face change" of the Zhengjie community began in November last year.
"The street shops present the style of the 1980s with modern design, enhance the fashion sense of decades-old shops, and also introduce new cultural and creative concepts." The person in charge of the community introduced.
Tourists like it, residents are satisfied
In Chongqing, old neighborhoods have become new sights in the city, and "Super 80 Street" is not an exception.
Since 2018, Chongqing has initiated the transformation of old communities. On the one hand, it has increased the protection and renewal of the original ecology of the old communities, and on the other hand, it has also emphasized the need to provide new spaces for life and leisure.
Many communities have also implanted new tourism elements into the "old places", which has achieved remarkable results.
For example, Chongqing Cliff Trail, a popular place to check in, is located in Daijiaxiang community.
It used to be a deserted residential area. With the entry of cliff parks, coffee promenade and other elements, it has gained more popularity.
Such a "transformation" not only makes tourists like it, but also makes residents satisfied.
Huang Xiujuan, who has run a small restaurant in the Zhengjie community for 10 years, said of "Super 80 Street" with joy.
"The business during the National Day holiday this year is too hot, and the income in seven days is more than that in the previous month." What makes her even more happy is that compared to the mess in the past, the current living environment has become much more beautiful.
Nowadays, the residents of Zhengjie community are happy to come out and take a walk.
The person in charge of the community said that in the past, there were almost no children in the community. Now you can see groups of children playing and playing every day, and the community's human touch has become stronger.
Adapt to local conditions, ever-changing
What is commendable is that there are no traces of the same pattern in many old communities in Chongqing that have become new landscapes.
"Let the old community'live' is the unchanging purpose. However, it should not become exactly the same, it should be ever-changing." said the relevant person in charge of the Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Commission.
The Third Railway Village in Xinmarket Community, Huangjueping Street, Jiulongpo District, is an old community with a history of more than 30 years.
Nowadays, residents living here will proudly say "our home is very artistic".
Because it is close to the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, the community has also been influenced by art—a “train” grows out of the wall, a tool shed becomes a “herbal shop”, the facade has a “square sun”, and the corridor becomes an “art gallery” "...Walking in one stair room is like walking into an art exhibition hall.
Ziwei Road Community, Longta Street, Yubei District, is now praised as "Chongqing Little Paris" for gathering high-quality, multi-format, and stylized "Internet celebrity shops".
The relevant person in charge of the renovation of this old community for more than 20 years told the reporter that the construction of the commercial system in Yubei District is the first demonstration site for Chongqing projects. At the beginning of the renovation of the Ziwei Road community, it was decided to implant the concept of "business + culture". in.
Chongqing Steel, once the largest steel plant in Asia, is the eternal city memory of Dadukou District.
With the development of the city and the transformation of industry, Chongqing Iron & Steel has lost its glory and moved out of Dadukou District.
Nowadays, at the entrance of Xingong Community, Jiugongmiao Street in the district, there is a model of imitation steam engine.
In the community, the historical photos of heavy steel are displayed in a patchwork manner. The main roads of the community are distributed with sculptures and ornaments in the shape of screws and gears, as well as flower pots in the shape of "hard hats".
"We hope to use these elements to turn the community into a "steel museum" without walls, so that more tourists will come here to reunite with that part of the city's memory." The person in charge of the community said.