On the west bank of the Yongding River, there is a millennium-old village named after Liuli - Liuliqu Village. The colored glaze produced by Beijing Liuli Products Factory, a royal official glazed kiln factory with a history of 760 years in the village, embellishes the colors of the ancient capital.

　　Yesterday, the kiln fire that had been extinguished for ten years was burning again, and Jinyu Liuli Cultural and Creative Industrial Park, which was transformed from an old kiln factory, also made its debut to the public.

"Liu" shines brightly, and the torch is passed on from generation to generation!

The Millennium Ancient Village has explored a new path for both cultural heritage protection and green development.

　　Goodbye kiln fire in ancient villages in the west of Beijing

　　After the on-site glazing, the glazed ridge beast was sent to a reconstructed glaze firing kiln; then, six non-heritage inheritors of the glaze firing process, kissing, kiln and glaze, relayed the fire and passed it to the hands of two children ;The kiln craftsman then ignites the kindling from the kindling lamp, and sends the spark of fire into the ancient kiln.

　　At 10:33 in the morning, the kiln fire was rekindled!

　　Seeing the flames burning more and more vigorously, Zhao Changan, the inheritor of the second-best glaze firing technique, had reddened eyes: "I am very excited and gratified to see that the glaze firing technique can be passed on in my lifetime!"

　　Zhao Changan and Liuli met in 1993.

That year, he came to work at the Beijing Liuli Products Factory and was exposed to this skill for the first time.

Eighteen years later, Zhao Changan has grown into a Beijing-level representative inheritor of glass firing techniques. During the overhaul project of the Forbidden City, the animals on the vertical ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were fired by him relying on ancient techniques.

　　However, with the release of functions in urban development, Liuliqu Village is facing difficult problems that must be answered.

In 2013, Beijing Liuli Products Factory stopped production due to environmental restrictions, market narrowing and other reasons, and the kiln fire was once extinguished.

"I have been working on glass firing for half my life, and I really like this craft in my bones. I really can't let it go." Zhao Changan couldn't hide his disappointment in his heart.

　　Transformation and upgrading of the old factory area

　　With the city's proposal to build the Xishan Yongding River Cultural Belt, a turning point came quietly.

　　In order to rejuvenate the glaze firing skills and meet the needs of urban renewal and ancient building restoration for high-quality glazed components, in 2019, the municipal state-owned enterprise BBMG Group carefully planned to build a brand new cultural building on the site of the old Liuliqu kiln factory. Creative Park.

In December 2020, in accordance with the relevant opinions of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, the Palace Museum, and Mentougou District on restoring the protective production of colored glaze with traditional techniques and implementing the inheritance and protection of intangible cultural heritage, the upgrading and renovation of the factory area was officially launched to realize the transformation and upgrading of the closed factory area.

　　The craftsmen who left because the kiln fire was extinguished returned to Liuliqu.

After returning, Zhao Changan served as the person in charge of the colored glaze firing technique in the park, responsible for the control of the colored glaze production technique and cultural inheritance. "There is hope for the inheritance of the craftsmanship."

　　"The whole park can also be said to be a museum, and you can see the display of official colored glaze everywhere." Yu Haiyan, the person in charge of the park, introduced.

The reporter saw at the scene that a number of traditional arched downdraft kilns were preserved in the park, and one billet and one billet tile were stacked in rows in the kiln, which restored the ancient kiln installation process before firing the kiln.

　　At the same time, there is also a glazed tunnel kiln, as well as the supporting ground laying track and kiln car.

In the future, it will be connected with the other two spaces and built as a tunnel kiln art space. By introducing special catering, online celebrity bookstores, art exhibitions and other activities, it will inject new vitality into the park.

　　A new path has been explored for the protection of cultural heritage

　　Old kilns burn new tiles.

It is also the first intangible cultural heritage theme park in Beijing that retains production functions.

　　Nowadays, although glazed tiles are no longer exclusive to the royal family, the exquisite production skills are still preserved here, and glazed products for the Forbidden City continue to be fired.

According to Zhao Changan, each glazed component has to be fired twice, and it also needs to go through 20 times of raw material crushing, batching, mud refining, billet making, trimming, drying, biscuit firing, glazing, glaze firing, and kiln inspection. There are many processes, and the whole process takes more than two months, which is very particular.

In his opinion, the charm of this traditional craft lies in the ability to control the temperature in the kiln to ensure the color of the finished product, and the fired tiles are crystal clear and emerald green.

　　"We have witnessed the rekindling of the thousand-year glazed kiln fire, which is an important stroke in Beijing's history." Shan Jixiang, president of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics and director of the Academic Committee of the Palace Museum, said that Jinyu Liuli Cultural and Creative Industrial Park will serve as the "leader". Driving the protection of cultural heritage in Mentougou District is a model for the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

　　In the future, more citizens and tourists can get a close look at the glazed culture.

According to the plan, the park will cooperate with the Forbidden City, the Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics and Mentougou District to hold glazed historical and cultural exhibitions, colored glaze handicraft exhibitions, colored glaze cultural and creative exhibitions, colored glaze craft intangible cultural heritage research experience, cultural and educational activities, etc. from time to time, so that more people can experience it at close range. The charm of traditional culture.

　　Beijing Daily reporter Pan Fuda