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Dongyang’s national security unit immediately bridged the flower hall Courtesy of the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism
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He Beishan Ancestral Hall
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Changtang Xuhua Hall
In the past two months, the property owners of more than 60 old buildings in our city have successively received Jinhua historical building protection certificates. When the staff issued the certificate, they received many questions, such as “can the historical building carry out some protective renovation”, “does the government have funds to subsidize the repair”, and some citizens asked, their house has a history of more than 100 years, can it be rated as a historical building?
In recent years, citizens have paid more and more attention to the protection of old buildings, but there are questions about how to identify, how to protect and how to better protect them. A few days ago, the reporter interviewed the relevant departments of our city, and combined with some questions that citizens are concerned about, they were answered in this issue of the “Deep Reading” column.
The number is the first in the province
Regarding old buildings, we must first clarify a few concepts, some belong to cultural preservation units, and some are historical buildings.
In China, the protection and management of old buildings is mainly the responsibility of the cultural relics department (Cultural Heritage Bureau, Cultural Broadcasting and Tourism Bureau) and construction department (Construction Bureau, Natural Resources and Planning Bureau). Old buildings identified and managed by the cultural relics department are generally called immovable cultural relics buildings, mainly including cultural relics protection units and cultural relics protection points at all levels, and old buildings identified and managed by the construction department are generally called historical buildings. The cultural relics department and the construction department have some overlapping responsibilities in the identification and management of old buildings, and through coordination and agreement, they jointly do a good job in management.
According to the historical, artistic and scientific value of cultural relics, cultural relics protection units are divided into national key cultural relics protection units, provincial cultural relics protection units and county (city) level cultural relics protection units, which are respectively promulgated by the State Council, provincial and county (city) people’s governments, and implement hierarchical management. The familiar Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Gongwang Mansion, Dongyang Luzhai Ancient Complex, Yiwu Chen Wangdao’s Former Residence, etc. are all national key cultural relics protection units.
Qian Yinping, deputy director of the Cultural and Museum Department of Jinhua Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, said that once an old building is announced as a cultural relic protection unit, it is protected by the “Cultural Relics Protection Law”, and the cultural protection unit must have “four haves”, that is, there is a scope of protection, a protection mark, a record file and a management organization.
At present, the city has 38 national key cultural relics protection units, 132 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, and 801 county (city) level cultural relics protection units, ranking first in the province. Jinhua is a national historical and cultural city, with a long history and rich cultural remains, those immovable cultural relics that have not yet been approved and announced as cultural relics protection units, and have high value, will be announced as cultural relics protection sites, and the administrative departments of cultural relics of the people’s governments of all counties (cities and districts) have registered, and 1163 have been announced so far.
The national cultural relics census registration workload is huge and cumbersome, and the immovable cultural relics registered at the time of the third national cultural relics census have not yet been graded, and are called the three general registration points, and these old buildings are also protected.
Historical buildings are another definition different from cultural relics protection units..It refers to buildings and structures that have certain protection value and can reflect historical features and local characteristics, which have been determined and announced by the people’s governments of cities and counties, and have not been announced as cultural relics protection units or cultural relics protection sites.
Since 2018, there are currently 1,843 historical buildings in the city, ranking first in the province. After being declared as a historic building by the municipal government, the Municipal Famous City Famous Town Famous Village Protection Guidance Center will set up protection signs for it, and compile historical building surveying and mapping files for each place according to relevant specifications.
The city’s census and identification of historical and cultural resources is continuing. The reporter learned from the Municipal Famous City Famous Town Famous Village Protection Guidance Center that at the end of this year, the Jinhua Municipal People’s Government will publish the third batch of historical buildings in the urban area.
Who uses it is responsible
“It is necessary to properly handle the relationship between protection and development, pay attention to the continuation of the historical context of the city, respect and treat the old buildings in the city like the elderly, preserve the historical and cultural memory of the city, let people remember history, remember homesickness, strengthen cultural self-confidence, and enhance the feelings of home and country.”
General Secretary Xi Jinping said this during his inspection tour in Shanghai in November 2019. This year, the Jinhua Historical Building Protection Certificate edited and produced by the Famous Township Famous Village Protection Guidance Center recorded this passage. The certificate also includes the notice, the basic information of the historical building and the protection plan of the historic building, the requirements for use, and the architectural drawings.
Since August this year, the Municipal Famous City Famous Town Famous Village Protection Guidance Center has begun to issue protection certificates to those responsible for the protection of historic buildings one by one. This is a special “house book”, and while issuing the certificate, the staff tells the user to further standardize the use and repair of the historic building. The owner or user of a historic building shall, as far as possible, preserve and continue the original nature of use of the historic building. If historic buildings are to be protected and transformed, the consent of the municipal department in charge of housing and urban-rural construction and the cultural relics department at the same level shall be obtained.
The cost of repairing historic buildings is a concern for many people. According to the existing protection regulations in our province, the repair cost is generally borne by the owner of the historic building, and if the property owner is a poor household, the government can give a certain subsidy. Regarding the cost of repairs, the relevant regulations of the city’s local method are being formulated.
In this regard, the same is true of the cultural protection unit. According to the current relevant regulations, cultural relics adhere to the principle of “whoever manages and uses is responsible”. The reporter learned that in terms of repair funds, each county (city, district) has different levels of support according to the financial arrangements within its jurisdiction.
As part of the cultural relics, ancient houses are closest to the lives of ordinary people. “Residential buildings are afraid of moisture, fire, and termites, and inhabited houses will be relatively better protected.” Qian Yinping introduced that the residential buildings belonging to the cultural protection units within the city level have basically been equipped with fire fighting facilities, the material of the gas pipes has also been changed from plastic to metal, and the kitchen stove has been set up with fireproof boards. The document warranty is professional.When residents have maintenance needs, they can contact the local cultural protection unit and ask professionals for guidance.
In view of the protection methods of ancient houses, the cultural relics department of our city published the “Guidelines for the Protection and Utilization of Wuzhou Residential Houses”, which provides detailed guidance on the protection of more than 10 different points such as space, partition, structure, suspended ceiling, and roof.
Zheng Yimen’s new exploration
There are many cultural relics buildings in our city, and the protective utilization has become a big topic. In June 2021, the “Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall, Changqi Gong Ancestral Hall, and Chang Sangong Ancestral Hall Protection and Utilization Cases of Zhengyimen Ancient Building Complex” was rated as the third excellent case of immovable cultural relics protection and utilization in Zhejiang Province. From this case, we can see different ideas and explorations.
As early as 2001, the “first Zhengyimen ancient building complex in Jiangnan – Zhengyimen Ancient Complex” was announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The evaluation given by the province this time is: not only respecting the inherent pattern and characteristics of cultural relics buildings, but also comprehensively displaying and excavating the cultural connotation of Zhengyimen ancient buildings through the use of modern display concepts and means innovation, achieving good social benefits, and providing a new case for the rational use of wooden immovable cultural relics.
How can ancient buildings hidden in the bustling city find a way between tradition and modernity, conservation and utilization, and what new ideas can be provided for the protection and inheritance of cultural relics?
When the reporter walked into the ancient buildings of Zhengyimen, the rich historical atmosphere came to his face. The three buildings of the Zheng Ancestral Hall, Chang Qi Gong Ancestral Hall and Chang San Gong Ancestral Hall are transformed into exhibition halls, with an exhibition area of 1,300 square meters, showing the profound family history and family culture of the Zheng family. The Zheng Ancestral Hall is divided into three exhibition topics: “One Filial Piety and Three Dynasties”, “One Brick and One Tile Has Ingenuity”, and “Classics Double Wall Fame Famous in the World”, the Changqi Gong Ancestral Hall displays the “Zheng Family Norms” regulations on common wealth and food, and the Chang Three Gong Ancestral Hall displays the marriage customs of Zheng Yimen and the story of Emperor Jianwen’s escape from the dry well of Zhengyimen.
In the exhibition hall, young tourists take pictures while visiting, “It’s really nice here, you don’t need a docent to understand it.” A few years ago, there were also tourists who complained that they could not understand the historical story of Zheng Yimen without explanation. Since then, Zhang Zhiqiang, director of the Pujiang County Cultural Protection Institute, and his colleagues have begun to think about how to let ordinary people understand the ancient buildings and the history and humanities behind them, so there is now a multimedia display and intelligent interactive system, which makes the tour line smoother, increasing the fun and watchability.
In addition, careful observation can find that the display cases and shelves used in the museum are independently supported, reducing contact with the cultural relics themselves. “The display design follows the principles of minimizing interference and correctly grasping aesthetic standards, and the display wall, display cabinet, multimedia and other equipment adopt reversible decoration, taking into account the functions of fireproof, anti-theft, moisture-proof and so on.” Zhang Zhiqiang said that rational use is the best protection, but the use of cultural relics is not an easy task, “Fortunately, the state’s support for national security is not small, and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage has passed the display project plan.The budget is partially funded”.
Transform into a cultural and tourism venue
Every weekend, the sound of children’s books will be heard from the He Beishan Ancestral Hall in Houxihe Village, Luodian Town, Wucheng District. He Beishan Ancestral Hall was built to commemorate the Southern Song Dynasty physicist He Ji, and the existing building was rebuilt in the fourth year of Guangxu (1878), and was selected as the second batch of historical buildings in Jinhua City in 2018.
“In the past, the He Beishan Ancestral Hall was the ancestral hall in the village, and the facilities were relatively old. In recent years, the cultural excavation of He Ji and Mr. Beishan Four has brought He Beishan Temple to life. He Baoping, secretary of the village party branch, told reporters that with everyone’s emphasis on traditional culture, in recent years, experts and scholars from departments and universities such as the Cultural and Historical Committee of the CPPCC, the Jinhua Xiaozoulu Cultural Promotion Association, Zhejiang Normal University and the Jinzhengyuan came to the village to help excavate and promote He Ji’s science and sort out the development and inheritance of the Jinhua School, adding a thick cultural connotation to the He Beishan Ancestral Hall.
Last year, through the “One Case, One Discussion” Beishan Academy Renovation Project, the village won part of the support funds, plus the village collective capital investment, the He Beishan Ancestral Hall was repaired, and a number of functional areas were divided to display the cultural inheritance of Mr. Beishan Si. At the same time, the village also cooperated with social forces to restore Beishan Academy and open a lecture hall of Chinese culture, which attracts many tourists to visit and study every weekend and holidays.
This practice in Houxihe Village coincides with the “Opinions on Encouraging and Supporting Social Forces to Participate in the Protection and Utilization of Cultural Heritage Buildings” issued by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in July this year. The opinions pointed out that the daily management and maintenance of cultural relics buildings is difficult, and the protection tasks are large and wide-ranging, and it is necessary to mobilize the participation of the whole society. Social forces may, through social welfare funds, full funding, cooperation with the government, etc., use cultural relics buildings to open public cultural places such as museums, exhibition halls, art centers, rural book houses, local cultural centers and thematic cultural activity centers, or open tourism and leisure service venues such as homestays, inns, tea houses, etc., in accordance with the requirements of the Guidelines for the Opening of Cultural Relics Buildings (for Trial Implementation), so as to better meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the people.
Changtang Xu Village, Yuandong Township, Jindong District, is a large village with more than 1,600 people, with many cultural relics and historical buildings. Xu Zuoyi, secretary of the village party branch, said that in order to facilitate unified management and repair, the village transferred the property rights or use rights of old buildings from farmers through purchase and lease, most of which are old houses.
After unified restoration, these old houses have a new identity and function, and are used as agricultural halls, drama intangible cultural heritage museums, home care centers and veterans’ clubs. Among them, the Changtang Xuhua Hall of the municipal cultural protection point was built into the Yuandong Red Hall with the support of the Jindong District Cultural and Tourism Bureau, displaying the historical stories of Yuandong Red and is the red tourism education base of Jinhua City.
As the old houses in the village continue to transform into cultural tourism venues, Changtang Xucun has begun to consider how to attract more tourists and add a fire to rural revitalization. This became the old building protection again.The next development of protective utilization.
Reporter Sun Yuanyuan Tang Xuyu Text/Photo by Huang Lu/Cartography