In the northeast corner of Fangzhuang Fangqunyuan, the corner of a restaurant used to be transformed, and on October 15 last year, it was transformed into Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center. Nowadays, the surrounding residents always like to come to the Sanlian Taofen Bookstore to read and buy books, watch free art exhibitions at the "Ke" Art Center on the second floor, and listen to concerts and watch charity performances at the Yifang Theater on the third floor...... Since its opening eight months ago, Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center has served more than 80,000 readers.
"The smell of books at the door of my house is getting stronger and stronger"
Fangzhuang Art Center is located in the northeast corner of Fangqun Garden in Fangzhuang, with a pure white three-dimensional structure of the building façade and a low wall of red brick texture, forming a collision between modern and simple. The interior space of more than 5,300 square meters includes the Sanlian Taofen Bookstore on the first and basement floors, the "Ke" Art Center on the second floor and the Yifang Theater on the third floor.
At four o'clock in the afternoon of June 19, on the first floor of the Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center, 65-year-old Mr. Liu was holding a copy of "Russian" and reading it with relish. Mr. Liu is an old acquaintance here, and in the words of the staff, he has come here every day to read books since it opened, rain or shine.
Mr. Lau is a resident of Fong Sing Yuen District 3 and is less than a five-minute walk from his home. "I used to go to the Capital Library, but since it opened, I've moved here and come back at noon and at night." Mr. Liu said, "I feel that the aroma of books at my doorstep is getting stronger and stronger. ”
Towards five o'clock, a large number of parents with their children after school poured in to pick up books or cultural and creative products. Ms. Guo is a resident of the neighborhood, and her four-and-a-half-year-old child is now carefully picking up books. "We come here a lot, on the one hand, because there are a lot of books that he likes to read, and he likes to come; On the other hand, there are not many bookstores in the neighborhood. Ms. Guo said.
Cheng Ran and Liu Feitong, who have just graduated from primary school at Puzhen School, are also regular customers of the bookstore, where they like to pick up books on politics and history.
There is also a coffee shop inside the bookstore that offers readers pour-over coffee, tea, salads, burgers, pasta, risotto, and more. Many readers choose to study and prepare for exams here.
"We have specially designed a staircase with sockets on the first floor for readers to read and rest, and there is also a reading area for 50 or 60 people on the basement level, hoping that more residents can have a good reading experience here and let the fragrance of books infiltrate this land." Peng Yanshu, the director of the "Fangfang Bookstore" project of Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center, introduced.
Since its opening, Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center has served more than 80,000 readers, more than 3,000 people in the WeChat group of Yifang Book Club, and readers have more than 1,000 comments on Dianping, Xiaohongshu and other platforms. A total of 49 in-store activities were held, of which 32 were public welfare activities, including book launches, cultural and art lectures, chamber concerts, off-campus classes, and intangible cultural heritage handicraft experiences. The activity of benefiting the people with old books and new knowledge culture has been carried out since April, covering a total of 6 points in parks, scenic spots and communities, among which the Wanping old book tribe has been operating normally since May 1. There were 2 public welfare special sessions at the Party Market, and all the proceeds were donated to the pension canteen and the Children's Foundation.
"Let fine art come into the homes of ordinary people"
The changes that Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center has brought to the surrounding residents are not only about reading and books.
On the second floor, at the "Ke" Art Center, "Far Away: Li Xiaoke's Ink Art Exhibition" is exhibiting works by painter Li Xiaoke, such as "Ink Rhyme of Paba Temple", "Door" and "Snow in the Holy Land".
Since its opening, the "Ke" Art Center has held four high-quality exhibitions: "Legacy of the Motherland's Rivers and Mountains", "Motian Divine Realm", "Loud Image" and "Far Away", all of which are free art exhibitions, with an average of one to two hundred visitors per day.
On the third floor, the One Side Theater has held dozens of events so far. Including New Year's concerts and spring and summer music seasons held by well-known musicians such as Lu Siqing and Yu Yuanchun; public welfare performances held by famous drama artists such as You Benchang and Liu Xiurong; 27 popular science lectures held by Chen Jingrun Science Foundation. 62 socialization activities have been held or are being scheduled, such as the release of the white paper on urban renewal in Beijing, the Huimin performance season of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and the Beijing-Mongolia cooperation performance season.
In addition, the "Yifang Night School" has also recently opened classes, offering courses such as photography, traditional Chinese medicine, painting, and life tea culture for residents.
"Our goal and original intention of this project are twofold, one is to bring elegant art into the people's homes, and the other is to make reading a way of life." Peng Yanshu said, "Through our efforts, I feel that this goal is not far away. ”
"More than 40 urban renewal projects have made Fangzhuang young again"
Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center is a key project of urban renewal in Fangzhuang Street, and many scenes such as Sanlian Taofen Bookstore, "Ke" Art Center and "Yifang Theater" have largely made up for the blank spot of cultural consumption in Fangzhuang.
"In order to match its white architectural style, we painted the surrounding buildings in white to make them look more coordinated." Zhou Wen, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of the street, introduced that in the operation process of "Yifang Bookstore", the street also made full use of the resources of the jurisdiction to let many important activities, such as the release of the white paper on urban renewal in Beijing, be held in the Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center.
In Fangzhuang, there are many urban renewal projects like this - Fangzhuang Cinema has been transformed into a family pension community in Fanghuali, with multiple spaces such as pension restaurants, small theaters, tea rooms, and art exhibitions to make up for the shortcomings of community pension services; Fangzhuang Sports Park has been renovated and upgraded, making comprehensive use of aboveground and underground space, creating an all-age-friendly sports consumption space while releasing more parking space; Promote the renovation of 670,000 square meters of old residential areas, and explore the experience of forming a garden-style community renewal and transformation; The first phase of the Vitality Street Renovation Project takes the "River of Time" as the intention, and improves the slow traffic system, green landscape and lighting of the Pufang Road commercial block; revitalize the underground space of Wumart, introduce a special food street to promote consumption upgrading; Transform the original Carrefour Market into a special catering and consumption complex......
"We fully tap the potential of public space, sort out the inefficient or idle space in each community, and establish more than 40 dynamic projects in Fangzhuang urban renewal around five categories of projects: residential, industrial, facilities, public space, and comprehensive area." Zhou Wen said, "Through these projects, the '40-year-old' Fangzhuang has become younger again. ”
Source: Fengtai Times