Zhang Zhi'an is a professor and former dean of the School of Communication and Design of Sun Yat-sen University, and the vice president of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Development Research Institute of Sun Yat-sen University, a national high-end think tank. In July 2011, he bid farewell to Fudan University, where he had been studying for 9 years and teaching for 5 years, and joined Sun Yat-sen University as a new Guangzhou native. As a young scholar after the 70s, he is active in thinking and has a wide range of tentacles, and enjoys a high reputation in the media, academics, business and political circles in Guangzhou. It is precisely because of this kind of grounded extensive exchanges, coupled with the cross-cultural life experience from Jiangnan culture to Lingnan culture, that he has a deeper observation and understanding of Guangzhou.
After living in Guangzhou for 10 years, what he feels most deeply is that Guangzhou has the most comfortable sense of distance between people, and there is also tolerance for all kinds of people from material to conceptual. In his view, if China's young people want to achieve the three basic goals of "having a house, having something to do, and having a belonging" in first-tier cities, Guangzhou is undoubtedly the best choice. As a media scholar, his advice on the image of Guangzhou is to realize the transformation from a modern city to a noble city.
Zhang Zhi'an
Its people
He spent ten years reading the three levels of Guangzhou
Zhang Zhi'an divided his understanding of Guangzhou into three stages. From 1997 to 1998, many students from the Department of Journalism of Fudan University came to Guangzhou to investigate, and the object of research was Guangzhou Daily, the first newspaper group in China. After the investigation, the students shared the situation of Guangzhou Daily and Guangzhou Newspaper, which made him extremely impressed by the innovation and vitality of Guangzhou Newspaper. At that time, Guangzhou Daily also donated money to renovate the data room of the Department of Journalism of Fudan University, and gave each dormitory a copy of Guangzhou Daily. Since then, Guangzhou Daily has not only paid attention to Guangzhou, but also to major news from all over the country, with special editions on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and a large number of international reports. Based on Guangzhou to see China and the world, there is a very broad vision, which is my direct understanding of Guangzhou's openness and inclusiveness. The second stage was after graduating from undergraduate, from 2000 to 2001, he worked as a public relations manager on eBay, often having the opportunity to travel to Guangzhou. At that time, I felt that the city was very comfortable and livable, full of fireworks. The third stage was when I was doing my doctoral dissertation, I came to Guangzhou in 2005 to investigate, and lived in Jinan University during the summer vacation, feeling the life in Guangzhou while researching.
However, he felt that he really knew guangzhou or worked here for 10 years. "I am probably one of the most journalists who deals frequently with the government, the media, academia, and business." Because I often give lectures to entrepreneurs, give press training to government departments, and organize activities with the media, there are many opportunities to go deep into the front line to deal with all walks of life, and I have more inner observation and deeper experience for the city.
Before coming to Guangzhou to work, Zhang Zhian has been living in Zhejiang and Shanghai, talking about the differences between Jiangnan culture and Lingnan culture, he gave an interesting example, the same as a teacher, in Fudan University students called him "you", but after arriving in Guangzhou, they found that students called teachers "you". Zhang Zhian believes that behind the title is the difference between the two cultures, Shanghai pays more attention to the formal sense of respect between teachers and students, while in Guangzhou, the relationship between teachers and students is more equal. This cultural difference is also reflected in the dress, Shanghai students are more exquisite, while Guangzhou students are more casual. He believes that the sense of ceremony on important occasions is very important, but in most cases, the lack of ritual is comfortable. "So, it's comfortable to get along with students in Guangzhou, but to be honest, it's a little bit of pressure because you don't know when students will 'challenge' you, question you or argue with you."
Sigh morning tea is the opening statement of the aesthetics of Guangzhou people's life. @Visual China
For how to read Guangzhou, Zhang Zhian combined his personal experience and believed that there are three levels. The first layer is the life experience, because people are most concerned about food, clothing, shelter and transportation. "I do a lot of research on gastronomy. If you ask me about the different levels of restaurants near CUHK, I can make a map of food. Friends from other places come, I have a Guangzhou hospitality route map, one-day version, two-day version, three-day version, including a 40-minute simplified version of Sun Yat-sen University, a one-and-a-half-hour standard version and an in-depth version of the tour route of more than two hours. So my own understanding of the city is from the perspective of my own living comfort. ”
The second layer is work interaction. Because of his work relationship, he has close ties with the government, enterprises, universities and the media. "I tried to turn myself into a most down-to-earth scholar. In my work, I deal with government officials in Guangzhou and feel that they are very pragmatic and low-key; the scholars in Guangzhou are also more pragmatic and humble, very tenacious; the media in Guangzhou have always maintained a sense of crisis and constantly rushed forward; and the enterprises in Guangzhou have the power to grow vigorously. The interaction at work allowed me to deepen my understanding of the spirit and culture of the city. ”
The third level is learning to think. "I have participated in many forums and symposiums, and I have also visited many places in Guangzhou, which has prompted me to have more understanding and thinking about the present and future of the city, and I have more identification with the city."
Zhang Zhian believes that these three levels, life experience makes him feel more comfortable, work interaction increases the sense of identity, learning and thinking increases the insight into the city, only multi-level can truly perceive and understand the city.
A boy overlooks the city from Baiyun Mountain. (File photo) Photo by Chen Youzi, all-media reporter of Guangzhou Daily
Its words
Young people in Guangzhou can basically achieve "housing, things to do, and belonging"
Guangzhou Daily: If you use keywords to summarize the characteristics of Guangzhou, which ones will you use?
Zhang Zhi'an: The first is the sense of distance. I feel that one of the most comfortable feelings in Guangzhou is the best sense of distance between people and people. Everyone has a lot of emotional interaction when they meet, but they usually don't bother each other, and the social interaction in the circle of friends is also very comfortable. I think behind this best sense of distance is Guangzhou's well-developed civil society. In addition to having the greatest respect for personal self-development and self-pursuit, it also connects the emotional relationships between people in the city.
The second is inclusiveness. Including tolerance at all levels, there are class tolerance, cultural tolerance, economic tolerance, values tolerance and so on. The most inclusive of the first-tier cities is Guangzhou, and this inclusiveness is real. Guangzhou has the lowest housing prices, the lowest cost of living and the most development opportunities in first-tier cities. Guangzhou has a developed manufacturing industry and a modern service industry of different formats, which provides the best opportunity for those who want to struggle and work hard in first-tier cities. At the same time, Guangzhou also has the advantages of the integration of the Pearl River Delta, the coordinated development of Guangzhou and Shenzhen and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with Guangzhou as the center and hub scattered outward, providing young people with the opportunity to take root here. If China's young people want to achieve the three goals of "having a house, having something to do, and having a belonging" in China's first-tier cities, Guangzhou is the most likely to achieve it.
Guangzhou's inclusiveness is not only in the material survival and development of accepting you, but also in the concept, everyone is very willing to accept new entrants. My own experience is that when I meet a newcomer, if the Guangzhou people think that his level is higher than his own, he will say "you are very good"; if he feels that the level is similar to his own, he will say "we will cooperate together in the future"; if the other party's level is worse than his own, he will also encourage "no problem, surely you can do well". Guangzhou people can accept visitors from all over the world with this mentality, so that everyone can live in harmony and develop together here.
Guangzhou Daily: Guangzhou gathers three newspaper groups across the country, the media is a very important part of reading Guangzhou, as a media researcher and observer, how do you think about the Guangzhou media, what kind of influence does the media have on the formation of Guangzhou's urban temperament?
Zhang Zhi'an: The intrinsic connection and influence between Guangzhou media and guangzhou's urban spirit are most importantly reflected in two aspects: The first is innovation. Since the 1990s, Guangzhou Daily Newspaper Group has had many nationally renowned innovative initiatives; Yangcheng Evening News Group has been reflected in industrial expansion and deep cultivation of cultural fields; and Nanfang Daily Newspaper Group has more embodied ideological innovation. Media innovation is highly correlated with the dynamism of the city itself. The second is social governance, where the media uses its various roles to promote the social governance of cities. Influencing in the record and promoting in supervision is the role that the media in Guangzhou has played for a long time. The media is deeply involved in urban governance, so that citizens have more opportunities to participate in the development of the city.
Guangzhou Daily: As a gateway for foreign exchanges, Guangzhou has been committed to the dissemination of the city's image in recent years, what suggestions do you have for how to tell the story of Guangzhou?
Zhang Zhi'an: Guangzhou's external propaganda and urban communication have done a very distinctive job, because there are resources and stories to tell, and there are also channels and means to disseminate, and the Canton Fair and the "Read Guangzhou" International Conference are all good starting points.
As for how to further innovate, I think the first is to pay attention to the pluralism of communication subjects. The cultural experience and social dissemination of the joint participation of multiple subjects are becoming more and more important, and Guangzhou should guide ordinary Guangzhounese in Guangzhou, Guangzhounese who go out, as well as opinion leaders who have a relationship with Guangzhou, and foreigners who have lived in Guangzhou and are concerned about Guangzhou to tell the story of Guangzhou. The second is to increase interactivity. Now that there is more dissemination or release, there are relatively few dialogues and debates, and it is more important to strengthen the dialogue and interactive experience. In this regard, Guangzhou is already doing, such as inviting foreigners to Guangzhou for the festival, but the number of people is limited after all, so it is necessary to create more experiential communication scenes. Third, it is also very important that the image of the city should be transmitted from the modern city to the noble city. Every city is moving towards modernization, with more and more developed high-rise buildings, more and more prosperous industries, more and more dynamic digital economy, and more and more convenient life. However, the continuous exploration of the spread of the spirit and values of the city is the noble transmission. What really moves people is always those spiritual and value-level things, and our urban image dissemination should show that Guangzhou is a noble city, not just a modern city.
Guangzhou Daily: Guangzhou has always been an open capital with frequent talent exchanges, what are your messages and warm tips for the "new Guangzhou people" who will live and work in Guangzhou in the future?
Zhang Zhi'an: Three sentences. First, I must tell the other party in a high octave tone and earnest way, believe in yourself, as long as you want, you must have a way to stay. The second sentence, must continue to work hard, for the city but also for themselves. Only by contributing to the development of this city can you have your own returns and make it possible to settle down here. The third sentence, Guangzhou has a very good climate, a very beautiful riverside greenway, many delicacies, in Guangzhou must learn to enjoy every day.
Citizens buy New Year flowers. Photographed by Chen Youzi, all-media reporter of Guangzhou Daily
Interview Notes
Focus and love
Let him read Guangzhou thoroughly
Listening to Zhang Zhi'an talk about Guangzhou cuisine endlessly and like a number of family treasures, you will feel that this so-called multi-field cross-border "multi-habitat scholar" seems to miss the food industry. In fact, among his many titles, one is actually a senior consultant of the Guangdong Gastronomy Culture Exchange Association. From his casual list of twenty or thirty high-, medium-, and low-end restaurants, he can easily list a list of restaurants, which is obviously not a waste of time. Without really going deep into the streets with your feet, without really tasting it with the tip of your tongue, it is difficult to do so easily.
After living in Guangzhou for 10 years, the time is not very long, but Zhang Zhian's understanding of Guangzhou is deep enough, and food is only an entrance for Zhang Zhian to understand Guangzhou. He read the real secret of Guangzhou and the process of becoming a gourmet, that is, focus and love. No matter what he does, he always invests great enthusiasm and energy, as he himself says: "I hope that I am not only an observer and researcher, but also a practitioner, an explorer, never setting limits on myself, pragmatically doing it, and then constantly pioneering." 」 "Studying new media, he personally practiced, made nearly 200 videos a year, and received more than 20 million hits and readings; studying the role of the Internet in urban governance, he participated in the construction of multiple think tanks, hoping to solve practical problems through research results and promote social governance." As he said to the people of New Guangzhou: "Only by contributing to the development of this city can you have your own returns and you can make a living here." This may also be the logic of our understanding of Guangzhou, and then love Guangzhou and dedicate ourselves to Guangzhou.
Text/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Tan Min
Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Lin Jing