Xiong’an new area, a “city of the future” bearing “Millennium plans and national affairs”, has now entered an important stage of undertaking the function relief of Beijing’s non-capital and the simultaneous promotion of large-scale development and construction.
Behind the fiery construction scene, a “cultural building” is also being built simultaneously. In the planning and construction of xiong’an new area, a comprehensive survey of history and culture will be carried out simultaneously, and scientific protection will be carried out.
“Millennium Plan” and Millennium Context
Since its establishment more than four years ago, xiong’an new area has implemented 177 key projects with a total investment of over 600 billion yuan.
With the rapid development of infrastructure, in villages and fields, there is also a team racing against time. Archaeologists continue to trace their roots, leaving important materials for the continuation of Xiong ‘an’s historical context.
The key to a new city’s success is to inherit the historical context and pay attention to the protection of historical relics and features. “Persisting in protecting and carrying forward the excellent Chinese traditional culture and continuing the historical context” is one of the important contents of xiong’an new area’s planning and construction.
Nanyang Site, Nanyang Village, Rongcheng County, is the largest national key cultural protection unit in xiong’an new area. Shortly after the establishment of xiong’an new area, a high-standard joint archaeological team organized by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage was ushered in here.
In May 2017, Hebei Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (then Hebei Institute of Cultural Relics), together with the Institute of Archaeology of China Academy of Social Sciences, the Palace Museum, the National Museum and other units, set up the xiong’an new area Joint Archaeological Team, upholding the awe of historical relics, and starting the cultural relics protection and archaeological work in xiong’an new area.
Walking into the xiong’an new area Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology Workstation adjacent to Nanyang Site, cultural relics workers stood at the front line. A high-hanging map outlines the archaeological map of Nanyang site for more than four years.
The archaeological team carried out an archaeological survey of more than 40 square kilometers, and found the “Da Nanyang” site settlement group with Nanyang site and Liangmatai site as the core. The cultural relics lasted from the late Neolithic Age to the Song and Jin Dynasties, and the cultural development lasted for nearly 3,000 years. The archaeological culture developed continuously, and the inheritance track was clear.
“After archaeological excavation, it is basically determined that the main cultural remains of Nanyang site should be two Warring States city sites, with the main cultural connotation of Yan culture from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Han Dynasty.” Lei Jianhong, the leader of the archaeological team and the associate researcher of Hebei Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, introduced that the discovery of the city site and the pottery pieces of Wen Tao, the “Yi Shi” in the Warring States Period, provided important clues for finding the “Yi Shi” in the southern cities of Yan State in the middle of the Warring States Period.
Hebei has been called “Yanzhao” since ancient times. According to historical records, Yan moved its capital five times during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. There is an important task in the archaeology of Xiong ‘an, that is, to further search, sort out, explore and confirm the origin and development of Yan culture which has injected the temperament of “generous elegy” into Chinese civilization.
Carrying splendid civilization, inheriting history and culture, and maintaining the national spirit are precious heritages left by our ancestors. Zhang Wenrui, president of Hebei Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that as one of the areas with the densest ancient cultural relics in Hebei, xiong’an new area has a large number of cultural relics, which are buried deeply and span a long time, so the early archaeological investigation is very important.
Working in groups with villages and towns as units, the joint archaeological team conducted a systematic archaeological survey of the planned area of 1,770 square kilometers in xiong’an new area, and registered 263 cultural relics. Completed the archaeological exploration and trial excavation of 50 ancient sites and tombs in Qibu District, with an exploration area of 2.135 million square meters, which provided an important basis for the protection and utilization of cultural relics in the new district.
In addition to the deep historical accumulation, there is also a deep red brand here. Walking into the memorial hall of Baiyangdian Yanling Team, panels, photos and cultural relics tell the scenes of people in the lake area fighting against the enemy without fear of sacrifice.
“Yanling team, is a magic, to no shadow, to no trace. A thousand marshes of reed ponds are used to fight the battlefield, and the pole is lifted to fight the ghost soldiers … “This ballad, which records the brave performance of Yanling team during War of Resistance against Japan, is still sung in Baiyangdian area.
Xiong’an new area has made clear the goal of starting the area in 2022 to show its embryonic form and image. According to the plan, by the end of 2022, the “Four Beams and Eight Pillars” in the start-up area will all be completed, the skeleton of the traffic network will be formed, the express passage through Beijing will be opened, and the public service facilities such as education, culture and medical care and the ecological landscape system will basically be formed. Cultural relics everywhere have become more vivid and clear through archaeology, which makes this “city of the future” and the Millennium context complement each other. In the future, a history museum with Xiong ‘an characteristics will vividly tell the Millennium story here.
“Light of Wisdom” and Beautiful Homesickness
Tower cranes are standing in the construction site, vehicles are roaring, roads are spacious, roads are clean and green at the completion site … In Xiong ‘an, apart from seeing this “the largest construction site in the country”, the digital intelligent city of Xiong ‘an on the clouds that people can’t see is also being carried out simultaneously. However, behind what everyone can’t see, every time a building is built in the new district, a digital building will be built on the digital platform. In reality, even if a street lamp is changed, it can be displayed. Every building is calculated, and the shipped materials are directly assembled.
While building a city of wisdom, Xiong did not forget to keep his past.
Early in the morning, in front of “Pengshan Residence”-“Jin Yupu’s Old House” in xiong’an new area Country Park, people who come here to punch in and do morning exercises are gathered. Everyone is talking and laughing, and the atmosphere is lively.
Nanzhao Village “Jin Yupu’s Old House” has a history of about 120 years, and it is one of the “homesickness protection sites” in xiong’an new area. The primitive temperament of blue bricks and gray tiles in buildings is not far from the green, intelligent and modern new community in Rongdong District.
“Homesickness means that you will miss it when you leave, and it is the local expression of historical and cultural heritage.” Li Dan, head of the Culture and Tourism Group of xiong’an new area Public Service Bureau, said that the new district has entered the stage of large-scale construction, and for the rural people, homesickness is a real existence in sight.
In 2018, xiong’an new area set up a special action leading group and a special work class of “Remembering Homesickness”, innovatively put forward the protection concept of “Homesickness Cultural Heritage”, and carried out a comprehensive census.
After in-depth investigation, a number of nostalgia remains bearing the collective memory of the people in the new district were registered, and stubs were filed. According to statistics, at present, there are more than 2,600 material homesickness protection points registered in Xiongan security domain.
Xin Gongshun, the team leader of homesickness of xiong’an new area Public Service Bureau, said that during the construction of the country park, there was a conflict between the project construction and the location of “Jin Yupu’s old house”. They adopted the living protection policy, and incorporated the reconstruction of the old house site into the planning and design of the Xingtai Exhibition Park project area of the country park. Based on the original architectural pattern and building materials, they integrated local elements, forming a unique architectural style with unique and peaceful regional characteristics.
On the west side of the country park, the ancestral temple of Yang Jisheng, a righteous man of the Ming Dynasty, was protected. Yang Sihe, the 14th generation grandson of Yang Jisheng and a villager in Beihezhao Village, Rongcheng County, said that his ancestor Yang Jisheng was listed as one of the “Three Sages of Rongcheng”, and he was admired from an early age. Although the village is gone now, the villagers are waiting to move back to their new homes, but descendants of the Yang family can still come to worship regularly.
During the construction of Group E in Rong District, 15 ancient trees with a history of more than one hundred years were listed in the catalogue of “Homesick Trees”. China Railway Real Estate Xiong ‘an Company set up a professional team to locate trees one by one, refine the coordinates, and make a policy for each tree. Five “homesick trees” located in front of the community service center were retained in the original site, and the other 10 trees were scientifically transplanted to the folk park.
The community service center of Rongdong E Group, which will be delivered soon, includes four functional areas: fitness center, cultural center, service center and pension center. It is the place where the masses will gather in the resettlement area in the future. “When I found this old tree, I found my home and my childhood memories.” Wen Zhanmin, a villager in Nanwenying, Rongcheng County, said that their village was demolished in 2019, and the old locust tree of his family remained in the original site.
Zhang Shuanglong, deputy director of xiong’an new area Public Service Bureau, said that in the construction of xiong’an new area, the general principle is that old trees should not be moved, ancient buildings should not be demolished, and ancient memorial archways should not be moved. For old trees and objects that really need to be moved, we should also find suitable places, so that new cities can have old places, and people can remember their homesickness. Such protection is not only a long-term plan for the sustainable development of the city, but also a necessary action centered on the people.
Rapid urbanization and scientific protection
In the process of rapid urbanization, how to strengthen the protection and utilization of material cultural heritage and stimulate the innovative vitality of intangible cultural heritage is an era proposition that needs to be answered.
In an interview in xiong’an new area, the reporter learned about a term called “protective demolition of homesickness heritage components”, that is, the homesickness heritage that does not have the overall retention value, such as old brick carvings, bluestone slabs, old bricks, etc., is dismantled by a professional demolition team to save for future construction.
Fishing boats, fishing nets, fishing forks … In the warehouse of homesickness and old things in Anxin County, there are not only traditional fishing gear and farm tools with unique Baiyangdian characteristics, but also a large number of carved old wooden doors and windows, pillar top stones, bluestone slabs and other building components.
Liu Haozheng, director of Anxin County Cultural Protection Institute, is busy recording a batch of newly put-in building blue bricks. Liu Hao said that in the future, appropriate areas can be selected to reasonably reproduce and display related nostalgia memories, so that tradition and modernity can coexist. Every brick and tile of past lives has a detailed record, and they will certainly come alive in the future.
White Lake is known as “one lake of water, one lake of silver”; An inch of reed, an inch of gold “reputation. Residents who have lived here for generations have used reeds to make paper, weave mats, weave baskets, make curtains and make reed crafts.
Yang Bingjun, the inheritor of reed painting’s intangible cultural heritage in Hebei Province, is a native of Anxin County. He learned reed weaving skills from his mother since childhood. In Yang Bingjun’s view, the establishment of xiong’an new area has brought unprecedented opportunities to reed painting. His works, which reflect the construction sites and landmark buildings in xiong’an new area, have won a good reputation in the market, and also promoted the employment of the surrounding villagers.
“I hope to develop in protection and protect in development. By spreading the style of Xiong ‘an to all parts of the world in reed painting, the traditional culture of Xiong ‘an has become a bond and a window for the world to know about Xiong ‘an. ” Yang Bingjun said.
In the large-scale land requisition and relocation, more and more villages become urban communities. Faced with this situation, xiong’an new area is building a “cloud hosting” by digital means, guarding the ancient civilization with the power of science and technology, and illuminating the “city of the future” with the fire of culture. Xiong’an new area set up a special team to record the old trees, old houses and people’s lives in xiong’an new area by means of video, photos and VR, and set up a “digital homesickness” cultural platform. People will be able to intuitively feel past lives in their countryside through the Internet in the future.
“Dialect is a local accent and another cultural symbol.” Song Shaojun, deputy dean of Yanzhao Institute of Culture, Hebei University, said that they have completed the symbolic and digital research on the pronunciation of dialects in Xiong ‘an three counties, and are focusing on building a database of smart geography and culture in the naming fields of communities, communities and roads in xiong’an new area, trying to build a cultural atlas of Xiong ‘an.
At present, the new district is preparing to build two museums to preserve the memories of farming, fishing and hunting, and at the same time, it is planning the protection and inheritance project of traditional villages in water towns, so as to protect and inherit the village features and cultural landscape of the original water towns.
In the future, in xiong’an new area, people will be in financial island, headquarters area, innovation square and other characteristic industries and innovation areas, but when they turn the corner of the building, they can also find folk houses and ancient trees …
Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Fengshuang Zhang Tao Gao Bo Li Jiwei