Xinhuanet, Xi'an, July 25 (Reporter Lei Xiaoxiao) Opened an old photo taken 46 years ago, 88-year-old Xi'an citizen Zheng Zeyao was filled with emotion.
In the black-and-white photos, the old city wall of Xi'an, which was "riddled with holes", is clearly visible.
Now taking this old photo, Zheng Zeyao revisited his hometown, and saw the Xi'an city wall standing majestically in front of him, the green shade in the park around the city, the moat and the water snuggling up, the chorus of birdsong and music forming a harmonious coexistence between man and nature , A gorgeous movement in which history and the present complement each other.
As the oldest and best-preserved ancient city wall in my country, the Xi'an City Wall is constantly witnessing the city's continuous exudes new vitality under the diligent protection of cultural relics protection workers.
protect the city walls
The Xi'an City Wall was built in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and expanded in the Ming Dynasty.
It is the oldest, largest and best preserved ancient city wall building in China.
However, the Xi'an City Wall has also faced the danger of being demolished several times and suffered serious damage.
"Our home is very close to the city wall. Every weekend, we take our children to play near the city wall. At that time, it was still a dirt city wall. It was covered with grass and no one managed it. Some people dig holes in the city wall to live by themselves." Zheng Zeyao recalled.
"Weeds grow on the top of the walls, and garbage is piled on the walls." This is a true portrayal of the city wall of Xi'an more than 40 years ago in the eyes of many elderly Xi'an citizens.
Since 1983, Xi'an's national protection city wall project has been officially launched: cleaning up the units and residents occupying the Wengcheng, repairing the east gate and north gate towers, rebuilding the south gate gate and suspension bridge, and building a park around the city... Until the beginning of the 21st century, this The "city protection" project that lasted for more than 20 years has finally restored the "scarred" Xi'an city wall to its former glory, but new challenges are placed in front of cultural relics protection workers.
"The rammed earth used for the ancient city wall was made of loess sieved and then added with glutinous rice slurry, which is very solid and strong. However, in the 1980s, due to lack of scientific knowledge, the fillers we chose were not very particular, resulting in later rammed earth. It collapsed and formed cracks," said Wu Chun, deputy director of the Xi'an City Wall Management Committee.
In order to protect the Xi'an City Wall more scientifically, in 2004, the Xi'an City Wall Management Committee was formally established. , continuous protection.
As a result, Xi'an City Wall started the innovative exploration of "preventive protection", which became a precedent for the protection of immovable cultural relics in the country.
At present, the city wall of Xi'an has gradually established a full-coverage monitoring system, with more than 8,000 monitoring points guarding the safety of the city wall.
"Through monitoring, we can detect diseases and trends in time, assess causes and dangers, and take timely measures to eliminate and curb the development of diseases," said Yang Jin, director of the Xi'an City Wall Management Committee.
In 2018, the city wall of Xi'an was included in the preliminary list for declaration of "World Cultural Heritage".
green city wall
Now entering the Xi'an City Wall Scenic Spot, surrounded by clear water, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant.
In the park around the city surrounded by greenery, old people dance, children play, and occasionally a few Qin Operas are heard.
The moat is surrounded by water, adding a bit of agility to the thick city wall.
There are 117 leisure squares, 32 fitness equipments, 15 table tennis venues, and a jogging track with a length of 8.2 kilometers.
"Every afternoon after the sun sets, I take my children here for a walk. It's cool and relaxing. This is not only a tourist attraction for foreign tourists, but also a comfortable 'habitat' for our local residents to relax and entertain." said 32-year-old citizen Wang Xiaojin. .
However, many years ago, when talking about the environment around the city wall, Xi'an citizens could only shake their heads and sigh frequently.
"It used to be all silt, and there was still some stagnant water. When it stinks in summer, I can't help but cover my nose." Citizen Li Ming recalled.
The national protection city wall project started in the 1980s, although the pollution has been improved to a certain extent, it has not completely cut off the sewage source.
Therefore, since the beginning of the 21st century, the moat has ushered in a "major operation" that "fixes both the symptoms and the symptoms".
"While we built sewage underdrains on both sides of the river, we rebuilt sewage interception box culverts for protection, to maximize the separation of rainwater and sewage and landscape water, and scientifically and systematically solve the problem of the moat and the forest belt around the city." The staff introduced. .
Now walking into the city wall of Xi'an, a bay of clear water passes by the city wall, and a "Chang'an Riverside Map" slowly unfolds.
This ecological river, landscape river, and humanistic river is not only a new specimen of Xi'an's "global" water control, but also provides a beautiful cultural tourism experience for citizens and tourists.
"The city wall is a very important national cultural heritage. As an important part of the city wall scenic spot, the moat is committed to creating a river landscape with rippling blue waves and a circle around the city, so as to realize the good wishes of generations of citizens for the whole line of the moat to be connected." Chief engineer of the moat reconstruction project Nong Xiaoying said.
In 2018, the moat wall scenic spot won the title of National Water Conservancy Scenic Area.
From the "universal protection of the city wall project" in the 1980s to today's exploration and practice of "preventive protection", from "repairing" to forming a five-in-one city wall scenic spot with "walls, forests, roads, rivers and lanes".
The Xi'an City Wall has not only recovered its former majestic appearance, but has also become a historical and cultural symbol that has attracted worldwide attention.
Vitality Wall
Every holiday, Xi'an City Wall will always stage a variety of cultural and entertainment activities, attracting tourists to stop and "check in".
Even under the epidemic, the long-standing culture of Han and Tang Dynasties still exudes a unique charm and has become an inexhaustible driving force for the development of Xi'an's cultural tourism industry.
This year's "May Day" holiday, a unique "Datang Games" was performed on the city wall of Xi'an. With the melodious drum music, staff dressed as maids and civil servants organized tourists to carry out traditional sports such as Cuju and archery.
In the West Yongning Road, the free experience of Huadian also attracted many tourists to experience it.
"The amusement project has an ancient style and has a high degree of 'fit' with the city wall, which adds interest to everyone in the process of visiting the city wall." said Cui Xianwei, who is studying in Xi'an for an undergraduate degree.
This was his first visit to the city wall.
In addition to the cultural feast, the sports events on the city wall of Xi'an are also unique.
Every November, the Xi'an City Wall International Marathon Friendship Race will officially start on the Xi'an City Wall.
In order to protect the Xi'an City Wall, only 4,000 people can qualify for the competition every year.
On the city wall of Xi'an, some marathon enthusiasts will choose to wear Han and Tang costumes to enjoy this international event, and historical elements are often added to the competition site, allowing participants to experience the unique charm of the thousand-year-old capital.
Statistics show that nearly 50,000 people registered for the Xi'an City Wall International Marathon in 2020.
"We use the city wall as the base, and there are activities throughout the year and every month, all based on traditional culture. The March 3 Kite Festival will bring you kites and recite Tang poems, and the International Museum Day will allow you to learn history on the city wall ruins. On Children's Day, let the children draw the city wall in my heart, etc. Under the influence of the epidemic, we have also carried out many activities online to continuously activate the inner resources of the city wall and make the cultural relics come alive." Wu Chun said.
From 2015 to 2021, the Xi'an City Wall has received a total of 24.955 million people.
"The protection, utilization and development of cultural relics is the responsibility of protecting history and fulfilling the cultural mission. On the basis of cultural relics protection, we must do a good job in the construction of cultural facilities and the planning and operation of activities, so that more people can experience and understand the unique charm of Chinese culture. "Yang Jin said.
In addition, as the gate of diplomacy, Xi'an City Wall has also witnessed a large number of international cultural exchange activities staged in Xi'an: Silk Road Expo, Silk Road International Film Festival, Silk Road International Art Festival... Welcome to Xi'an City Wall The ceremony brought the "first impressions" of the ancient city of Xi'an to the guests at home and abroad: the dazzling laser show and the entertainers in Tang suits formed a feast of performances through ancient and modern times, allowing the guests to accept the ancient capital warm welcome.
The camel bells from a thousand years ago are still reverberating in the ancient city of Xi'an, and the movement of the opening of the ancient Silk Road is playing.
From serving as a fortress for military defense to becoming a good place for citizens to enjoy leisure and entertainment, the city wall of Xi'an continues to be endowed with new missions and meanings, constantly witnessing the pace of high-quality economic development in the ancient capital of Xi'an.