A Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which connects the traffic between the north and the south, connects thousands of towns. On this treasure belt, Tangqi, an ancient town in Linping District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is located on the main road of the waterway, inheriting the Millennium civilization, such as a bright pearl embedded in the southernmost tip of the Grand Canal. The unique water market in Tangqi Town is full of historical and cultural flavor, and the splendid non-legacy culture has gained new vitality in time, which is becoming more and more prosperous.
In Tangqi Town, the history of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing is very long. Qingshui Silk Mian, which originated from Tangqi, is named after its clear water. It is the top grade of silk Mian, and it was well-known in the Tang Dynasty. In 2008, Qingshui silk floss was listed in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, and in 2009, it was listed in the list of representative works of human intangible cultural heritage as part of “China traditional sericulture and silk weaving skills”.
Due to the high production cost of handmade silk floss, Qingshui silk floss once declined. Yu Caigen, the representative inheritor of the national non-legacy project, insisted on running Qingshui Silk and Cotton Workshop by himself, and trained a number of inheritors through apprenticeship. In 2020, Linping District newly identified two young district-level representative inheritors, which optimized the age structure of the inheritors of the project and laid the foundation for the protection and development of the project. In addition, the relevant departments communicate with local silk and cotton production enterprises, encourage them to develop related cultural and creative products and non-legacy derivatives, further integrate them into the construction of beautiful countryside, and promote the income of sericulture farmers and silk and cotton production farmers.
In 2014, the Grand Canal was successfully applied for heritage, which brought new development opportunities to the ancient town of Millennium. In the past seven years, Tangqi has shown its profound historical background and cultural charm to the world by continuously exploring the protection, inheritance and utilization of the excellent traditional culture of the Grand Canal. “Tangqi Town has dug deep into the Grand Canal culture with local characteristics, and has achieved a number of intergenerational inheritance and rescue protection of intangible cultural heritage by applying for the intangible cultural heritage list, introducing market forces and holding various activities.” The relevant person in charge of Tangqi Town Government introduced.
In 2020, Linping District successfully entered the list of Zhejiang provincial-level cultural heritage ecological protection zones with the theme of cultural heritage of the Grand Canal. Under the background of the construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park, Linping District has successively carried out the cultural gene decoding work, the 24 solar terms tour series brand activities, the evaluation of the survival of non-legacy projects and the inheritance activities of representative inheritors, and improved the construction of non-legacy databases. The site of Yujiashan Ruins Park and the non-legacy museum covering an area of 3,000 square meters have also been established. By raising funds from social forces, a number of non-legacy experience bases, workshops and exhibition halls have been built.
With the help of the development of the tourism resources of the Grand Canal, Linping District has further promoted the creative transformation and innovative development of the Grand Canal’s intangible cultural heritage. It has provided a broader space for the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage by opening up boutique tourist routes with intangible cultural heritage, planning intangible cultural heritage fairs, cultivating intangible cultural heritage at night, and developing intangible cultural heritage.
“I swear: I will volunteer to be a volunteer for the cultural protection and inheritance of the Grand Canal …” On June 11th this year, 100 volunteers for the cultural inheritance of the Grand Canal made a pledge to protect the Grand Canal at the edge of Guangji Bridge in Tangqi Town, which also kicked off the series of activities of “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” and “Linping Unforgettable Season” in 2021. During the non-legacy season, the non-legacy shopping festival, the legendary story telling contest of “Youth’s Non-legacy” and the Grand Canal Cultural and Creative Design Contest show the charm of the Grand Canal in many aspects, and realize the protection of the Grand Canal “seeing people, seeing things and seeing life”.
“The creation of cultural heritage ecological protection zones is a systematic project. 2021 is a crucial year for the promotion of the Grand Canal Cultural Heritage Ecological Protection Zone. We will go all out to create the Grand Canal Cultural Heritage Ecological Protection Zone according to the plan, and strive to build it into a model project for the protection, development and utilization of cultural heritage. ” The relevant person in charge of Linping District Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau said.
Zheng Na