[Explanation] On July 27th, Zhang Guiquan, a 65-year-old man who insisted on cycling every day, passed through the ancient city of Pingyao again.
Twenty-five years ago, this old man compiled the text of Pingyao Ancient City's application for World Cultural Heritage. Since then, with the success of the application, this small northern city has begun to become internationalized step by step.
[Explanation] In the early 1980s, civil engineering was launched in various parts of China, and a demolition knife was also being hacked towards the ancient city of Pingyao, which has a history of more than 2,000 years.
Upon hearing this, Professor Ruan Yisan of Tongji University in Shanghai went to Pingyao to repeatedly implore the suspension of the demolition and the ancient city was preserved.
In June 1994, Luo Zhewen, then director of the Cultural Relics Division of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, and Zheng Xiaoxie, head of the CPPCC Urban Construction Group, and other experts proposed that the ancient city of Pingyao should be listed as a "world cultural heritage of humanity."
In 1995, after review by the Ministry of Construction of China and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, the ancient city of Pingyao was included in the tentative list for the declaration of World Cultural Heritage, and the application for the heritage began.
[Concurrent] Zhang Guiquan, former Director of the Tourism Bureau of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province
At that time, after I received the task, I drafted the text of the World Cultural Heritage application. I went with the secretary of the county party committee and the county magistrate at the time. I went to the Ministry of Construction. I reported this material. In a year's time, at the final meeting of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee, we were the first to pass, and it passed completely.
[Explanation] In terms of protecting the ancient city, Pingyao County has invested hundreds of millions of yuan to renovate and restore the ancient city.
In 2012, Pingyao County initiated the protection and repair project of traditional houses in the ancient city, which is the first in the country and even in the Asia-Pacific region, and it has attracted the attention of international organizations such as UNESCO and the Global Cultural Heritage Foundation.
[Concurrent] Ji Taiping, former director of the Urban and Rural Planning Bureau of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province
After applying for the heritage, Pingyao took the lead in restoring the county government, because the county government is a historical political space in a place. The regulations and scale of the Pingyao county government fully comply with the ritual requirements of the feudal society during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Level regulation.
We invited a relatively strong and researched ancient building design team in the county to conduct a comprehensive and systematic design for the restoration of the county government. At the same time, the design and construction took about a year and less than two years. We repaired all the originally regulated buildings of the county government covering an area of more than 26,000 square meters. Then, it became the largest scenic spot in Pingyao.
[Explanation] In 2001, the Pingyao International Photography Exhibition was held. Within the world cultural heritage, tradition and modernity interact, and the ancient city is in line with international standards. The photography exhibition made Pingyao famous internationally.
[Concurrent] Ji Taiping, former director of the Urban and Rural Planning Bureau of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province
The photography exhibition not only injects vitality into the county government, but also brings a cultural brand and cultural vitality to Pingyao. In 2017, we also attracted the international film exhibition directed by Jia Zhangke. This film exhibition is from the perspective of film art. , Pingyao has a link, which makes Pingyao more international and into the world.
[Explanation] In order to better integrate with international standards and jointly discuss the prosperity and development of world cultural heritage, Pingyao County has successively established sister city relations with Provins, France and Kyakhta, Russia, and cooperated in economic, trade and cultural tourism.
The ancient Chinese city with a history of 2,800 years, after its successful application for heritage, embarked on the world stage and shined brightly.
Qu Lixia reports to Shanxi and Jinzhong
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]