At the end of the third national cultural relics census, there were over 840 cultural relics registered in our city. Recently, the key review work for the “Three Popularizations” cultural relics in the province has begun – is Zhoushan’s cultural relics safe after a leisurely decade?
Geographical location, preservation status, cultural relic level… “is a cultural relic verification work book that records the changes that have occurred in various cultural relic sites in Zhoushan in the past decade using text and on-site photos.
Ten years ago, at the end of the third national cultural relics census, more than 840 cultural relics in our city were registered and recorded. Over the past decade, some of these cultural relics have been coexisting harmoniously with local residents, while others have disappeared forever.
Recently, the key review work for the “Three Popularizations” cultural relics in the province has been launched, and the Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology has led a team to verify the latest situation of the “Three Popularizations” cultural relics in the designated areas of our city. The reporter accompanied the cultural relics inspection team to investigate the preservation status of some cultural relics in our city.
In the past decade, some immovable cultural relics have been damaged or even lost
A few clothes being dried, and a basket of dried pine flowers used to make green pancakes, added a strong sense of life to this ancestral hall.
One afternoon, a cultural relics inspection team arrived at the Yuan family ancestral hall located in Ma’ao, Dinghai. On the walls of the ancestral hall, there is a sign hanging with the phrase ‘generally immovable cultural relics’. This square red building still retains many old wooden carvings and colored paintings, while the newer red coating and hand-painted door gods on the main entrance indicate that it has been renovated in recent times.
Ren Jiguo, Deputy Director of the Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology, introduced that in Zhoushan, many “immovable cultural relics” are still part of family or personal life, such as ancestral halls, ancestral temples, and residential buildings. These “cultural relics” live together with people, and while people protect and restore them, they also give people a historical charm of life.
Unfortunately, over the years, some cultural relics have always been damaged or even lost.
In an open space next to the Beihai community in Dinghai, a large area of land with vegetables is presented in front of the cultural relics inspection team. According to the cultural relics census records, there were originally two ancient dwellings not far apart in this area. At this point, these two houses were completely gone.
The preservation status of a nearby Song Dynasty kiln site is also not optimistic. This kiln site is located in a very secluded area that requires walking through a small section of dense shrubs and bamboo forests, and climbing to the top of the wall to overlook the inside. This area, which was supposed to be a kiln site, has now been replaced by loess, construction waste, and bricks. The staff of the inspection team told reporters that the surrounding area is still in a closed state, and the specific damage to the kiln site needs to be inspected separately before further judgment can be made.
The cultural relics inspection team presented several sets of comparative photos spanning a decade to the reporter. In some of the photos, the residential buildings in cultural relics sites were completely different from ten years ago, with some of the main walls broken and turned into ruins, while others were extensively renovated to become “modern buildings”. “.Most of these residential buildings are on the brink of disappearance due to the renovation and other actions of the homeowners, and some are in disrepair and dilapidation due to their age… “said the staff of the inspection team with regret.
Slow down the disappearance of cultural relics and continue to write historical stories
There are over 840 recorded cultural relics in Zhoushan, and according to the verification results, dozens of them have gradually disappeared over the past decade. Ren Jiguo told reporters that these disappeared cultural relics need to be reported for cancellation after this review.
Open the city’s cultural relics record book, and in the “immovable cultural relics” list, the proportion of “generally immovable cultural relics” that have not yet been classified as cultural protection units is very high. They are a fundamental component of China’s immovable cultural relics resources, and together with cultural relics protection units at all levels, they form the overall immovable cultural relics resources. However, in certain periods in the past, due to the lack of clear protection standards, many immovable cultural relics have disappeared forever under the influence of natural disasters and construction activities..40000 previously registered immovable cultural relics have disappeared, with an average annual disappearance of approximately 2000.
In 2017, the National Cutural Heritage Administration issued the Notice on Strengthening the Protection of Immovable Cultural Relics that have not been approved and announced as cultural relics protection units, requiring that the protection and management of ordinary immovable cultural relics in the process of urbanization should be effectively done. At the end of 2021, the National Cutural Heritage Administration issued the Interim Provisions on the Protection and Management of Immovable Cultural Relics that have not yet been approved and announced as cultural relics protection units, further strengthening the protection of such cultural relics.
With the introduction of relevant regulations and the improvement of people’s awareness of cultural relics protection, the speed of this’ disappearance ‘has significantly slowed down, “Ren Jiguo told reporters. In recent years, our city has strengthened the construction of local cultural relics protection teams, and increased the inspection process of cultural relics protection units for various engineering constructions that may include cultural relics, to avoid damaging immovable cultural relics.
An amateur cultural relics inspector from the cultural relics inspection team told reporters that in recent years, local cultural relics protection teams have regularly conducted daily inspections of immovable cultural relics in their jurisdiction to identify safety hazards and prevent them from being damaged. After years of in-depth inspections, people have become increasingly interested and emotional about those cultural relics. Sometimes when they hear old people nearby talking about past events and legends related to cultural relics, they will write them down one by one. “The cultural security officer said,” I hope that in the coming ‘ten years’, these cultural relics will’ survive ‘and continue history and culture