Hulunbuir, 4 April -- The cultural complex of the northern ethnic minorities of the grandson of Hong Kong's "ship king."

China News Network reporter Zhang Wei

At the end of April, when the Hulunbuir grassland in the northeast of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region had just turned green, Zhao Shiqing, chairman of the Hong Kong-Inner Mongolia Economic and Trade Joint Chamber of Commerce, "returned" here to sign a "big order": to create a song and dance drama showing the culture of ethnic minorities in the north.

Zhao Shiqing told the China News Agency: "Hulunbuir is a land of multi-ethnic integration, where diverse cultural ecology such as farming culture, forestry culture, nomadic culture, hunting culture, fishing and hunting culture converges, and I hope to present this beautiful picture through the combination of traditional folk songs and contemporary art." ”

Infographic. In 2019, Zhao Shiqing participated in the inaugural meeting of the Orunchun Cultural Protection Association. Photo courtesy of Zhao Shiqing

On the way to Erguna City, Zhao Shiqing recounted his "cultural complex of ethnic minorities in the north" that has not changed for 20 years.

Zhao Shiqing is the grandson of Zhao Congyan, one of Hong Kong's "four ship kings" and the executive chairman of Huaguang Shipping Holdings Co., Ltd., and he "returned" to Inner Mongolia, preferring to use two other identities: chairman of the Hong Kong Orunchun Foundation and chairman of the Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Geography Foundation.

"Since I was a child, I have longed for Inner Mongolia, and I don't know why, but I yearn for it very much." He went to study in the UK at the age of 13 and returned to China in his 20s, and Zhao Shiqing still went to his dream of being a teenager.

In 2000, he returned to China to study as an exchange student at Peking University, and in 2001, Zhao Shiqing set foot on the land of Inner Mongolia for the first time, entered Hulunbuir, and decided to "take root" here.

When asked which season he prefers in Hulunbuir, he did not hesitate: "Every season is beautiful. ”

Infographic. Zhao Shiqing conducting fieldwork in Hulunbuir. Photo courtesy of Zhao Shiqing

In summer, together with Orunchun hunters, they use the ancient birch boat making skills to make boats, and drift on the small river in the forest; In winter, living in the old hunter's Xie Renzhu (the residence of the Orunchun safari life), one boot was a little burnt by the campfire, and the other boot was frozen because it "bordered" the outdoor air at -40 degrees Celsius..."Immersing myself in China's last hunting culture is the most beautiful thing in my opinion." ”

In 2002, Zhao Shiqing established the Hong Kong Orunchun Foundation. "If not properly protected, the cultural heritage of many ethnic minorities will be reduced or even disappeared." Zhao Shiqing's words are concise, but he reveals his "grand plan": to do some conservation work for the cultural minorities in the north.

According to Zhao Shiqing's incomplete statistics, in the past 20 years, the Hong Kong Orunchun Foundation has spent about 800 million yuan (Hong Kong dollars) on the preservation of ethnic minority cultures in northern China, half of which is his own input.

Infographic. Zhao Shiqing takes Hong Kong university students to conduct fieldwork in the Evenk grassland. Photo courtesy of Zhao Shiqing

In 2004, a Hong Kong fashion brand did a fashion show of nomadic culture in northern China, but could not find a suitable soundtrack, Zhao Shiqing took out his own recording of folk songs sung by the elders of the Orunchun ethnic group.

"The combination of original singing and modern music not only puts Orunchun folk songs on the world stage, but also allows Orunchun young people to re-examine the cultural continuity of their own ethnic group." Zhao Shiqing felt that this was an unintentional surprise.

Zhao Shiqing has taught at a university in Hong Kong for 5 years, during which he will bring fifty or sixty students to Hulunbuir every year to do fieldwork, and once held a photo exhibition on the theme of "Cambridge and Evenki Land in England" on the Evenk grassland, tracing the history and memory of the Evenki people along the footsteps of overseas scholars of Cambridge University in the 19th century and 30s...

Based on his love for the culture of ethnic minorities in the north, he established the Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Sites Foundation in 2010 in an attempt to promote the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in Hong Kong.

Zhao Shiqing believes that Hong Kong can serve as a "recommending official" for Chinese cultural exchanges, "allowing Chinese elements and world elements to exchange and integrate here." ”

Since 2015, the Hong Kong Cultural Festival has been successfully held, ink painting, visual arts, performing arts, dance, opera... The whole nine yards. Zhao Shiqing said he hopes to bring Inner Mongolia's intangible cultural heritage to this year's Hong Kong cultural festival.

"Introducing Inner Mongolia's intangible cultural heritage to Hong Kong in the form of a market display will naturally have a certain degree of internationality and many opportunities for international participation." Zhao Shiqing told reporters.

In the past 20 years, Zhao Shiqing has often "rooted" in Hulunbuir for half a year, and traveled around the world for half a year, integrating the blood of the mysterious tribes in northern China and the world. (End)