Dai Bin | Seeing the cultural heritage of the ancient town and the endless vitality of tourism

Ancient towns are nostalgic memories in the process of modernization, and are also cultural landmarks in the international vision. They play a multi-format space support from urban leisure to rural vacation in the modern tourism system. Since the reform and opening up, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, ancient towns such as Wuzhen, Zhouzhuang, Xitang, and Nanxun have attracted a large number of tourists from home and abroad and numerous investment institutions and operating entities. The layout has expanded from point to surface, the scale has expanded from small to large, and the competitiveness has expanded from weak to strong, exploring a unique path for the development of Chinese ancient town tourism. The tourism industry in the new era faces new opportunities and challenges. It is the strategic orientation and work focus of the cultural and tourism system to study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on the tourism industry, implement the important arrangements of the National Tourism Development Conference, speed up the construction of a new space for a better life shared by hosts and guests, and promote the high-quality development of ancient town tourism.

Prosperity is not just a memory

Ancient towns are mostly industrial and commercial trade centers in history. After human civilization entered the agricultural society, people began to choose places with superior geographical locations or rich natural resources to settle down, and gradually formed small settlements based on family or blood relations, which constituted the early form of urban development. With the development of handicrafts and commerce, shops, inns, money houses, etc. appeared, and towns became industrial and commercial trade centers. From Samarkand and Bukhara along the ancient Silk Road to Provins, the trade center of Western Europe in the Middle Ages, from the ancient city of Lijiang on the ancient Tea Horse Road to Xitang and Nanxun along the canal, all prospered because of trade. Merchants from all over the world gathered in the ancient towns in the contemporary vision to trade silk, grain, cotton cloth, and handicrafts. In this sense, today's ancient towns are also new towns at that time.

The ancient town was also a living space with cultural landmark significance at that time. Developed industrial and commercial trade has brought products from foreign countries, as well as exchanges and collisions of customs, concepts and cultures. The high-frequency commodity transactions and social interactions between local residents and foreign merchants have injected rich and colorful cultural life into the ancient town. Ancient towns in history have never been simply geographical spaces, but humanistic spaces that carry the life of the city and the memories of citizens. The ancient town records the prosperity and fashion of the past, and also nurtures the local lifestyle. Traditional buildings such as the waterside courtyards with white walls and black tiles in the south of the Yangtze River, the simple stilted buildings in the Western Sichuan style, the wok-eared walls and arcades in the Lingnan, and the cave dwellings in Shaanxi, together with the aboriginal people who have lived here and their lifestyles, together constitute the tradition of the ancient town. Cultural space is also an important tourist resource gathering place. Data show that 80.7% of the ancient town scenic spots are national high-level tourist attractions above 4A level, of which 13.2% are 5A level scenic spots.

Ancient towns are also tourist destinations shared by hosts and guests. Ancient towns provide a bustling business environment and a relaxing leisure space for the market where people have lived for generations. With the advent of mass tourism, ancient towns are attracting people from foreign countries to relax and enjoy a slow-paced leisure life with their quiet and natural ecological environment away from the hustle and bustle of the city, rich and colorful historical and cultural heritage, and the happy life of local residents. According to a survey conducted by the China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), 93.4% of the respondents have been to ancient towns, and 37.7% of the respondents have visited ancient towns more than twice in the past two years. 27.1% of the respondents believe that the leisurely living atmosphere is the most attractive factor for ancient town tourism, and 23.4% and 20.7% of the respondents believe that the architectural style and local specialties of the ancient town are important factors in choosing to travel to the ancient town. Nearly half of the respondents believe that relaxing and experiencing the slow life in the ancient town is the main purpose of traveling.

The culture that we always think about

and ubiquitous business

Ancient town tourism has shifted from early sightseeing to a balance between sightseeing, leisure and vacation, and from focusing on the protection of architectural style and the inheritance of local culture to a balance between tourist sharing and community development. The government and public sectors are paying more and more attention to listening to the voices of local residents and respecting their right to development. They should see the accumulation of years from the residents of the ancient towns and the future from foreign tourists. Whether it is the new development concept of innovation, green, coordination, openness and sharing, or the practical exploration of sustainable development of ancient town tourism, it is not an easy task. We can learn from the tourism development experience of foreign ancient towns such as the Cinque Terre in Italy, the Black Gold City in Brazil, and the Kinu River in Japan, but we should also base ourselves on China's national conditions and travel conditions, adapt to local conditions, and adapt to the times to promote the high-quality development of ancient town tourism.

The production practices, life and leisure of the inhabitants, the exchange and mutual learning of foreign cultures, and the historical accumulation have given birth to different types of ancient towns, such as the northern courtyard type, the northwestern residential type, the Jiangnan water town type, the Hui style ancient village type, the Sichuan and Chongqing Shu style type, the Hunan and Guizhou style type, the Lingnan ancient style type, and the Nanzhao ancient village type. 95.7% of the country's ancient town scenic spots are distributed in the areas east and south of the Hu Huanyong Line. The six provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan and Yunnan, with 14.5% of the country's land area, have gathered more than half of the country's high-level scenic spots and ancient towns. Ancient villages, ancient towns, and ancient cities have become an important support for the development of regional tourism, showing strong vitality and broad development prospects.

Above the landscape is life. As mass tourism enters a new era of all-round development, tourists are more eager to experience local culture in depth. In most cases, what tourists are really interested in is the unintentional moss in the corners of the ancient town, the fireworks of the local residents' breakfast, the cultural flavor of children going to school, parents having jobs, and grandparents being taken care of, rather than the deserted ancient buildings and artificially aged bluestone slabs. Without the original residents, the ancient towns that carry lifestyles, religious beliefs, and festival customs will lose their fresh carriers. An ancient town with only empty-nesters and stray dogs as companions is unlikely to have a future. Only by retaining the original residents who have a deep sense of belonging to the local area can the original cultural background of the ancient town be vividly displayed, and tourists can feel the unique charm and cultural value of the ancient town that is different from other places. We also noticed that due to the loss of original residents, the pressure of investment recovery of rental and sales merchants, and the abnormal performance of local governments, the tourism of ancient towns has shown trends of product homogeneity, over-commercialization, and short-term interests to varying degrees. More and more tourists believe that there is a serious homogenization phenomenon in domestic ancient towns. "Antique buildings + shops + snacks" has almost become the standard configuration. All they think about is culture, and all they see is business, which has seriously affected the cultural ecology, quality of life and sustainable development of the tourism industry in the ancient towns.

The residents of ancient towns are the guardians, inheritors and disseminators of traditional culture and folk customs, and they occupy a core position among the stakeholders of ancient town tourism. If their interests cannot be effectively protected, the high-quality development of ancient town tourism will be out of the question. Ancient town tourism will have a real future only if and when local residents are willing to participate and have the ability to participate in the entire process of ancient town tourism planning, development, operation, management and innovative research and development, have a heartfelt sense of identity with ancient town tourism and assume the responsibility of infrastructure construction and public service improvement. Local governments and ancient town tourism development agencies adhere to the people-centered tourism development concept, steadily promote the creative inheritance and innovative development of excellent traditional culture such as ancient town history and culture and intangible cultural heritage, and also carry forward revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture, create modern civilization, and cultivate new kinetic energy such as science and technology, culture, art, and fashion, give full play to the creativity of young people, accelerate the construction of a modern tourism system, cultivate strong tourism towns, and promote the steady and long-term development of ancient town tourism in the new era.

Remember your memories

See what we see

No matter how many economic functions and cultural imaginations we give to the ancient town, it is first of all the living scene and growth space of the aboriginals who have lived here for generations. Houses are for living, convenience stores are for convenient life, small bridges and flowing water are for transportation, and the long bluestone street witnessed the youth and love of grandparents. It is precisely because of these strong fireworks and ubiquitous cultural flavors that the ancient towns are like lights swaying in the wind, illuminating the starry sky of history and remembering your memories. History has repeatedly proved and will continue to prove that only the high-frequency production, life and consumption of local residents are the source of the vitality of ancient town tourism. The aboriginals cannot be relocated just because of the development of tourism, otherwise the ancient town may just be an ancient architecture museum and cultural specimens. This is also the underlying logic of our love for the ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Xitang, Xiashi, Nanxun, Zhouzhuang, Qibao, and Mudu, because of their host-guest shared lifestyle and their embedded development model.

Ancient town tourism in the new era should let tourists see the cultural heritage and let residents see the future of creation. The experience of world tourism development shows that any tourist destination that makes local residents feel happy and can attract tourists from foreign countries to visit has perfect infrastructure, public services and business environment. Most ancient towns have been preserved because they have been marginalized in the process of industrialization, lost their influence on the regional economy, and lost their influence on young people. Although Luo Dayou was so sad in "Lugang Town", "Taipei is not my home", but he can never go back to the town? It's simple. A space with only beautiful mountains and rivers and prosperous memories but no development opportunities cannot retain young people. The so-called "leaving home will cause homesickness, staying in the countryside will only cause worries" is this truth. In order to promote the rebirth of ancient towns and the high-quality development of the tourism industry, foreign culture, creativity and art should be selectively introduced to create a unique contemporary culture. Capital, technology and entrepreneurial teams should also be introduced to attract high-quality employment with high-level economic activities and high-quality living space. From the Xitang Liangrang Hotel, a new landmark of Jiangnan water town art, to the literary and artistic masterpiece "Flowers on the Road" that showcases the "literary, foreign and down-to-earth" atmosphere of Ximo's hometown in Haining, they are all classic examples of the rebirth of ancient towns.

In the endless journey, talents are the most beautiful scenery and the most active element of cultural creation. It is hoped that more ancient towns will give full play to their cultural advantages, attract cultural enterprises, literary and artistic workers, and tourism entrepreneurs from home and abroad to settle in the ancient towns and participate in tourism development with a more open attitude, and attract more cultural workers and literary and artistic enthusiasts to visit or even live there for a long time through institutional innovation. Only by letting the power and warm light from the outside shine into the ancient life can there be endless vitality and attraction. Otherwise, even if the big red lanterns are hung high every day, how many people would be willing to visit? Not to mention long-term residence. To this end, it is necessary to play the role of tax regulation, encourage the original residents to develop homestays, catering, shops and cultural experience new formats with their own homesteads and idle houses, encourage literary, technological and tourism workers to stay, make them new residents of the ancient town, and steadily promote equal rights with the original residents.

Remembering the memories of the original residents of the ancient town, seeing the future seen by tourists from other places, the quiet and deep life, and the endless culture, this is good.

Author | Dai Bin Editor | Liu Xin Source | China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) Please indicate the author and source for reprinting