How to take a new road of quality development in tourism and leisure districts

Qianmen Street in Beijing, Central Street in Harbin, Datang Never Sleeps City in Xi'an, Ciqikou in Chongqing, Chunxi Road in Chengdu... These familiar neighborhoods, whether ancient or modern, or exotic, or famous, are all in the smoke rising from the streets.

"The fireworks of the world are the most soothing to mortals". Tourism and leisure districts, are ancient historical and cultural streets, but also prosperous market commercial centers, in the development of the times, they record the development and changes of a place, carry people's memories, and become cultural landmarks and city business cards in today's tourism development.

Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the second batch of national-level tourism and leisure blocks, and 751 blocks including Beijing 57 Tourism and Leisure Street and Tianjin Ancient Culture Street were selected. So far, there are 112 national-level tourism and leisure blocks in the two batches. How do these neighborhoods preserve and express their culture? What are the unique cultural tourism formats? What are the implications for the development and creation of tourism and leisure districts in various places?

Revitalization shows that traditional culture is timeless

Entering Taiping Street from Wuyi Avenue in Changsha, there is a small shop on the right - the old scale shop on Taiping Street, where Wen Zhifei, known as "the last scale maker in Changsha City", has stuck to this old scale shop for more than 40 years. "Now more and more young people are paying attention to this traditional craft to experience and buy handmade scales." He said.

In the eyes of tourists, it is such old shops and craftsmen who add humanity and fireworks to the quaint neighborhood. Small green tiles, sloping roofs, white tile ridges, fire walls, culture and architecture, history and fashion are integrated, tourists walk through the streets and alleys, feel the long history and the life of their ancestors.

"Touching the green brick wall, feelings are about to overflow", "The arcade along the way reminds me of my life when I was a child", "I seem to see life in the Ming and Qing dynasties here"... In the travel notes released by many tourists, many historical districts like Taiping Street often touch the cultural feelings and nostalgic memories of tourists. They are not only a cultural landmark of a city, but also a model of cultural and tourism integration and development that makes tourists linger.

Liu Min, a professor at the School of Tourism of Beijing Union University, told reporters that from their research, the two batches of national-level tourism and leisure blocks selected generally have two types, one is to improve the cultural tourism and leisure functions on the basis of the original historical and cultural blocks, such as Sanfang and Seven Alleys in Fuzhou, Qilou Old Street in Haikou, Qinghefang in Hangzhou, etc., and the other is rebuilt and transformed by relying on ancient place names or street sites that no longer exist, such as Wei Street in Hefei.

"In terms of cultural protection, these neighborhoods pay attention to the excavation of landmark buildings and the repair and protection of ancient architectural styles, such as the wide and narrow alleys in Chengdu to repair and rebuild courtyards in an old way, restoring the ancient city style pattern; Changsha Taiping Street retains the pattern and style of streets and alleys from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Republic of China, and protects and displays historical buildings such as Jia Yi's former residence. At the same time, it pays attention to the display of living culture, such as building intangible cultural heritage centers, characteristic cultural markets, and carrying out intangible cultural heritage display and experience projects such as dragon dances to reproduce typical cultural life. Liu Min said.

"Spring breeze ten miles Yangzhou Road, it is better to roll up the bead curtain." The once prosperous Dongguan Street depicted in the poem is still prosperous, with more than 50 historical and cultural monuments such as celebrity residences, salt merchant mansions, temple gardens and ancient trees and old wells, maintaining and inheriting the traditional style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Qingguo Alley in Changzhou, Jiangsu, which is known as "the first lane of Jiangnan Baume & Mercier", has given birth to more than <> Jin Shi and a large number of modern and modern Munior, and is still full of books and rich cultural landscapes. Located in the "hometown of Chinese poetry culture", Xiguan Impression District, Fangxian County, Shiyan City, Hubei Province, closely integrates poetry culture with rice wine culture and tea horse culture in accordance with the concept of "repairing, decorating and preserving the old"...

In addition to historical buildings and sites, these tourist and leisure blocks have preserved the original texture of streets and lanes, folk customs and humanistic ecology, and are also displayed to tourists through cultural facilities such as cultural memory halls and museums, as well as intangible cultural heritage activities.

Han Yuanjun, associate researcher at the Strategic Research Institute of China Tourism Research Institute, believes that in terms of cultural protection and display of neighborhoods, on the one hand, modern industries that can be shared by foreign tourists and local residents can be developed to achieve better cultural protection, and on the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to authenticity and show the unique local culture. This is not a simple reproduction of traditional culture through commercial means, but emphasizes the harmonious coexistence of local residents, local culture and local natural features. At the same time, cultural heritage is not simply displayed, but is displayed in a revitalized way around people's needs for food, housing, travel, shopping and entertainment.

Rich and diversified business formats to create a cultural business card of the city

"The imitation Tang architecture, brilliant lighting, and ancient performances fill the atmosphere." Four years ago, the "tumbler sister" of Xi'an Datang Sleepless City dressed in a Tang costume and brought the entire city on fire. Today, the rich cultural tourism format of Datang Never Sleeps City still amazes tourists one after another - performance art performances such as "Sheng Tang Secret Box" are once again "out of the circle", sculpture groups such as Zhenguan Zhizhi have launched panoramic slow live broadcasts, and more than 200 cultural and creative products are selling hot. "We have designed and developed cultural and creative products with different forms and Tang cultural elements, hoping that the Tang Dynasty City will not only be rich in Tang style and Tang charm, but also highlight the style of the times, and become a check-in place that people across the country yearn for." Tian Fangyuan, an employee of Xi'an Modern Chinatown Co., Ltd., said.

Shows, night markets, light shows... Nighttime consumption in tourism and leisure neighborhoods prolongs tourists' stay in the city, making the city more popular and prosperous at night. "The return of the night economy reflects the resilience and potential of China's consumer market." Zhang Jinshan, director of the Institute of Tourism Industry Economics of Beijing Union University, said.

As a gathering place of characteristic culture and consumption formats, the tourism and leisure district integrates cultural tourism with residence, commerce, sports, creative industries, etc., and creates a new landmark and cultural business card of the city. In Shanghai's Yuyuan Art and Life Block, not only the fireworks of 72 tenants are retained, but also the trendy brand literary and artistic models of Internet celebrity check-in points, and cultural creativity and technological innovation form a very distinctive "life aesthetic block". In Hangzhou's Qiaoxi Historical and Cultural District, 5 time-honored Chinese brands, 243 homestays, coffee, teahouses, bookstores and other shops, interactive experience stores such as Tao Yitian and Shangchuan Art Space, and Internet celebrity stores such as Fuge Leather Art enrich the consumption content. Beijing's Wukesong Tourism and Leisure District has become a gathering place for basketball stars, popular events, high-end training camps and trendy cultural activities with its sports and leisure characteristics.

Recently, Beijing citizen Zhao Jing specially booked tickets for the 751 Tourism and Leisure Block "Xingchun Market" online. "We not only saw the art book fair in the market over the weekend, but also ran into the ongoing China International Fashion Week. The locomotive and the big chimney here are very old, and I take a lot of pictures every time I come here. Zhao Jing said.

The gas tank was transformed into a press hall, a sky bridge was built above the pipeline, and a catwalk show was often staged in the factory... As a typical tourist block transformed from an old industrial base, Block 751 combines industrial resources with art, fashion, design, theater performance, and popular music, and 20 old train cars are lined up on the original abandoned railway tracks, becoming a space for gathering small trend new product releases, book bars, and design displays.

It not only displays the display of daily consumption formats, but also the creativity of traditional and modern culture, combined with its own resource endowment to create a rich and diverse and distinctive business layout, which is the source of the lasting attraction of tourism and leisure districts. "In the future, we should strengthen the top-level design of the block, enhance the modernity and future sense of the block, use science and technology, art, sports, culture, film, countryside and other elements to give vitality to the tourism and leisure block, pay attention to industrial implantation, and lead the cultivation of pillar industries through product innovation and business integration." Han Wonjun said.

Highlight local characteristics and adapt to modern lifestyles

"After walking a few steps, I came across a milk tea shop", "There are too few parking spaces, parking is too difficult", "Littering, making the environment very poor"... The tourist and leisure district is booming, and various problems are gradually emerging. According to the feedback of tourists, in terms of format allocation, the oversupply of shopping formats, fewer cultural formats, and few experiential formats that can participate are more prominent problems; Problems in public facilities and services are mainly reflected in facilities such as transportation, environmental sanitation, toilets, and guidance signs.

Nanluoguxiang in Beijing once disturbed the lives of local residents because of the surge in tourists, residential houses were broken into by tourists, small literary shops were "squeezed out" by fast-moving consumer goods stores, and the commercial atmosphere replaced the cultural atmosphere, making a well-known ancient street change its taste.

How can tourism and leisure districts highlight their characteristics, improve services, and achieve higher quality development? Liu Min believes that the development of tourism and leisure blocks in cities should give more consideration to how to highlight local characteristic culture, create typical cultural symbols and elements, and consider how cultural heritage such as historical buildings can adapt to modern lifestyles and meet the consumer needs of the market. In this regard, the government can provide financial support to cultural formats, so that they can also have a certain competitiveness in the face of commercial formats.

At present, many localities have proposed to encourage and restrict business formats in the policy of developing tourism and leisure blocks, such as theaters, bookstores, intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and other formats are encouraged, and there are certain preferential policies.

According to the "Classification of Tourism and Leisure Blocks" standard issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2021, there should be cultural symbols and intangible cultural heritage displays that display the historical and cultural features of cities and neighborhoods.

"We should pay attention to differentiated development, pay attention to creating momentum and borrowing momentum, and pay attention to product innovation, industrial implantation, channel restructuring, business integration and other fields of innovation and development, so as to embark on a new path of quality development in the new era of modern tourism development." Han Yuanjun said that tourism and leisure blocks were originally streets and alleys where local residents lived, and in terms of integration with local residents, it is necessary to pay attention to building a community participation mechanism for local residents, so that local residents can become the spokesperson, the largest beneficiary and the direct participant of the development of leisure tourism blocks, and achieve a balance between foreign capital, local residents, local governments and other stakeholders.

The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism pointed out that tourism and leisure blocks are a new front for the integration of culture and tourism, and when formulating the evaluation standards for neighborhoods, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism puts an end to "one side of a thousand streets", takes cultural protection, inheritance and utilization, and strengthens the integration of culture and tourism as important contents, strengthens the protection and utilization of cultural relics and intangible cultural heritage, optimizes the allocation of transportation and public service facilities, improves the tourism service functions of public cultural facilities, encourages the extension of the opening hours of various public facilities with leisure functions, and integrates history, culture and modern life. Create a more beautiful and livable environment for citizens, and provide tourists with more diversified and people-friendly products.

(Reporter Lu Yuanzhen)

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● The Outline of the 2035th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and the Long-Range Goals for <> proposes to strengthen the integration of regional tourism brands and services, build a number of world-class tourist attractions and resorts rich in cultural heritage, and create a number of national-level tourism and leisure cities and neighborhoods with distinctive cultural characteristics.

● According to the "Classification of Tourism and Leisure Blocks" standard issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, tourism and leisure blocks are divided into two levels: national tourism and leisure blocks and provincial tourism and leisure blocks, and the necessary conditions for selection include "the proportion of business formats with local culture or creative culture should not be less than 40%", and the general conditions include "cultural symbols showing the historical and cultural features of the city and neighborhoods in the block".

● The distribution of two batches of national-level tourism and leisure blocks announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: 6 each in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, 5 each in Fujian, Chongqing and Sichuan, 4 each in Beijing, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Xinjiang, 3 each in Tianjin, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shanghai, Hubei, Guizhou, Tibet and Shaanxi, and 2 each in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hainan, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

(Compiled by Lu Yuanzhen)

(Guangming Daily)