"The old road is being seen by more and more people because of its history, culture, and characteristics, coupled with the opening of the subway, government planning and network publicity, it can be said that the time and place are favorable, and the accumulation is a matter of course."
"Eating", connecting the past and present lives outside the old way, is not only loved by Chinese tourists, but also by foreign tourists who follow "China Travel"
More and more young people are taking a fancy to the new opportunities and potential contained in the old way, and are devoting themselves to the new economy and new forms of business to stimulate youth and vitality
Reporter of "Lookout" Newsweek
Harbin at night is quiet and quiet. The banks of the Songhua River are full of people, and the shops along the river are brightly lit.
At ten o'clock in the evening, in the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District located in Daowai District, Ma Wenyu, the person in charge of the Big Mud Beer Museum, habitually looked at this century-old block, which was crowded and lively, and he was quite gratified.
"A few years ago, I stayed by the window, took a fifteen-second video on the street and sent it to Moments, there was no figure, and I was ridiculed by my friends and said, 'Isn't this a still picture', and now 'Erbin' is on fire and the neighborhood has changed, can we not be proud?!" He opened the conversation, his face filled with joy that could not be hidden.
The cultural accumulation of a hundred years of history, the architectural style of the combination of Chinese and Western, the inheritance of time-honored market snacks, and the rapid agglomeration of major new business formats...... With the popularity of "Erbin" ice and snow tours and summer vacations, Daowai District, known as "a thousand-year-old cultural context, a century-old Daowai" and a "museum without walls", ushered in a peak of passenger flow.
As the opening place of Harbin, Daowai District is located in the east of Harbin, adjacent to the south bank of the Songhua River, and across the Binzhou Railway from Daoli District. The district has jurisdiction over 22 subdistricts and 4 towns, with a total area of 618 square kilometers and a population of about 800,000. According to a data from the cultural and tourism department of Daowai District, in the summer vacation just ended, the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District received an average of 50,000 tourists per day, and reached 60,000 on weekends, hitting a historical peak. In the first half of this year, the turnover of the accommodation industry and the catering industry above designated size increased by 5.8% and 25.3% year-on-year respectively.
When culture is prosperous, the country is prosperous, and when culture is strong, the nation is strong. Yang Hui, secretary of the Daowai District Party Committee, told reporters that focusing on the in-depth integration and development of culture and tourism, Daowai District took the initiative to integrate into the construction of a national historical and cultural city, comprehensively strengthened the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, and joined hands with experts and scholars in the fields of history, culture, and architecture to focus on the local history and culture, dig deep into the resource endowment, enrich the layout of the format, stimulate consumption potential, and continuously improve the cohesion, communication and influence of characteristic cultural tourism, adding fresh footnotes to the wonderful "Chinese story" and creating a majestic "chorus of Chinese civilization" A beautiful symphony.
Songguangli Creative Bookstore located in the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District Photo by Yang Siqi / This magazine
Cultural tourism under the flow is out of the circle
Harbin, which means "drying net" in Manchu, was once a small fishing village. In 1898, the planning and construction of the China Eastern Railway made Harbin a hub and construction center, and rapidly rose to become an international commercial port. In the local area, there is a saying that "there is Fujiadian first, and then there is Harbin", and many researchers regard Fujiadian as the origin of urban culture.
Fujiadian is located in the Daowai District on the east side of the Eastern Railway, and the locals call it "Old Daowai". As early as 1890, Fu Baoshan and Fu Baoshan brothers, who were from Deping, Shandong, opened a big car shop and a small pharmacy here, and since then it has been called "Fujiadian", and later changed to "Fujiadian".
Li Ronghuan, president of the Harbin Chengyuan History and Culture Research Association, said that because it is outside the annex of the Middle Eastern Railway, Fujiadian has not been classified as a foreign sphere of influence, so it has become a gathering place for Chinese residents. Immigrants from Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and other places have come here to join relatives and friends, invest in partnerships, and set up shops. By the beginning of the 20th century, Fujiadian became an important commercial center in Northeast China.
Ethnic industrialists and businessmen who are not only old-fashioned are hard-working, but also relatively open-minded. Following the example of the "foreign buildings" in Daoli District and Nangang District, that is, the "foreign building complex" on the central street today, they were determined to build their own "small western-style buildings".
"Chinese Baroque" is synonymous with the image of East and West, Chinese and foreign combinations: "front face" is Baroque style, "deep into the depth" is a traditional Chinese courtyard, adding traditional Chinese elements to European architecture, so it has become a unique architectural style.
After 100 years, today's Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District retains the largest and most well-preserved Chinese Baroque architectural complex in China, with a unique shape, simple and elegant.
"The lively scene here is like a flowing picture of the Qingming River" – a comment on social media platforms that made Ms. Meng, a Beijing citizen, feel excited. In the summer, she and her lover and son took the high-speed train to Harbin and took the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District as the first stop of the "Erbin" Citywalk.
Ms. Meng said that every time she goes to a city, instead of checking in some online celebrity stores, she is more willing to feel the local cultural customs and market atmosphere, and touch the texture of life. When the ancient buildings in the video were clearly presented in front of her, the first thing that brought her was shock.
"The appearance adopts a European silhouette, which has a unique style; The fine tasting is full of Chinese charm, exquisite and smart. With the layout of the Chinese-style courtyard and the Western-style house as the skeleton, the courtyards are intricately connected, and the ancient carvings are bats, gourds, longevity peaches, peonies, grapes, etc., which symbolize the meaning of blessing, Lu, longevity and auspiciousness, which are amazing. She wrote this paragraph on her Weibo.
Architecture is solidified history. Like Ms. Meng, regardless of men, women and children, tourists in the neighborhood can always find resonance here when they stop, take pictures, and take commemorative photos, and many tourists wear princess dresses to unlock the joy of travel photography.
"There are more shops and more people in the neighborhood, is this still the 'old way' I know!" After a few years, Ms. Qiu, who had returned home from the south to visit relatives, visited the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District again, and called it "the boss of the change". "Little Bear Balcony", creative "Bread Tree", "I Love Chinese Baroque" photo wall...... Like a newcomer, she checks in one by one, and also makes video recommendations to friends from other places.
It is not only the style of the old neighborhood that has been renewed, but also the concept of cultural tourism development. Yang Lili, director of the Daowai District Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, said that to seize the opportunity period for tourists to climb brought about by the "Erbin fever", Daowai District has stepped up its layout to guide the "tourism, entertainment, food, shopping, appreciation" and other fields to continue to "new", and new cultural and tourism consumption scenarios such as creative catering, theme bookstores, and theme museums have been continuously expanded.
Today, this block includes three streets, Nantoudao Street, Nanerdao Street, and Nansandao Street, which are mainly developed by antiques and traditional Chinese medicine, catering, and cultural and creative design industries. According to statistics, since the beginning of this year, a total of 47 new merchants have been added to the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District, such as cultural and creative products, tea, catering and other formats, and well-known drinks such as Bawang Tea Ji and Luckin Coffee have settled in the block.
"Effective customer flow is the core of opening a store, and I have visited Baroque many times, and I think it is popular and marketable." Mr. Yu is a franchisee of branded teas, and compared to entering the mall, the store he has invested in the block is quite large, divided into two floors, and the entire second floor is a guest rest area. The store has been in operation for more than 3 months, and the market is in line with expectations.
This is a microcosm of Daowai District's cultural plastic brigade and brigade Zhangwen. "Erbin" is on fire and the old road is popular, witnessing the innovation and development of a century-old urban culture in the inheritance.
On the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, the 1919 market of Wutong Shipping Wharf, featuring the "restart of the century-old port", was launched. The four theme projects, including "opening the river" in spring, "visiting the river" in summer, "watching the river" in autumn and "playing in the river" in winter, aim to open up the water tourism transportation of the Songhua River and create a tourist distribution center suitable for all seasons. Cultural and creative formats such as the Shipping Cultural and Creative Museum, the Shipping Research Base, the Space Capsule River View Book Bar, and the Trunk Bazaar have injected new vitality into the city's "night economy".
"The old road is being seen by more and more people because of its history, culture, and characteristics, coupled with the opening of the subway, government planning and network publicity, it can be said that the time and place are favorable, and the accumulation is a matter of course." The words of Yang Fuchang, the inheritor of Qiuguo walnut carving, an intangible cultural heritage of Heilongjiang Province, expressed the voices of many outsiders.
Bird's-eye view of Daowai District Courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Daowai District Committee
The context of ingenuity continues
On July 1, Daowai District ushered in a new cultural exhibition hall - Fujiadian City History and Cultural Relics Museum was completed in the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District, which was founded by Song Xingwen, a scholar of Harbin urban history, and is a museum dedicated to collecting and displaying the humanities and history of old Daowai.
"Putting these old objects and old historical materials back into the old building is like sending them home. I want to recreate the original scene so that more people can understand the story of the old way. Song Xingwen said that this is his original intention to establish the museum, and it also carries the cultural responsibility of his generation.
"It's really like when I was a kid." In the "Our Old Time Cold Drink Hall" not far away, banana popsicles, cream popsicles and other childhood memories of the "post-80s" and "post-90s" are full of old-fashioned TVs...... The interior of the store is very nostalgic, and many tourists are instantly brought back to their childhood.
Walking through the neighborhood, craftsmen in robes and melon skin hats sit on the side of the street, holding a tin pot filled with syrup in their hands to "splash ink", and in an instant, a realistic sugar painting is "baked".
As an important birthplace of Northeast folk culture, Daowai District has nearly 100 types of folk culture and intangible cultural heritage in 10 series. Traditional skills such as straw weaving, dough molding, silhouettes, cross talk, and candy blowing are gradually displayed on the old street and rejuvenated.
When it comes to food, there is an old saying in Harbin, which is called "eating outside the old way". In the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District, Nanerdao Street, which is full of food, is a must-visit "flavor street".
Eat a piece of "Lao Dingfeng" dim sum, pack a pork rib bun and smoked sauce, and then listen to a storytelling drum in the garden...... There are a large number of "century-old brands" and famous restaurants with old roads, which satisfy the taste buds of domestic and foreign tourists.
Legend has it that in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, a young man named Zhang Ren came to Harbin from Tianjin and opened a steamed bun shop. Because of the thin skin and large filling of the buns, it is famous far and wide, and "Zhang Baopu" has established itself outside the old road.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, half an hour before the opening of the door, the waiting area outside the "Zhang Bao Shop" store was already full of diners. "Everyone, please come in!" With the greeting of the waiter, more than 40 tables on the upper and lower floors of the store were instantly full.
"The number of visitors to the store has doubled compared to the past, and tourists from outside the store account for the vast majority." Wang Li, manager of "Zhang Bao Shop", said that the average daily sales of steamed buns in the summer store reached 4,000, an increase of 20% over the same period last year, and the average waiting table for dining in the store was about 30.
Not only "Zhang Bao Shop", queuing for a seat has become the norm in the entire block. According to the data, the passenger flow in the block is mainly concentrated in the two "rice mouths" from 11 o'clock to 12 o'clock and from 17 o'clock to 19 o'clock, and a series of "time-honored" restaurants such as "Lao Dingfeng", "Li's Smoked Sauce" and "Liuheshun" have ushered in an unexpected jump.
In order to integrate food and architecture, many restaurants have placed dining areas on the street and in the courtyard. Tourists enjoy the architecture and food at the same time, recalling the historical situation and lingering in the fireworks of the world.
In the neighborhood where the "old taste" gathers, the two creative restaurants of the Red Gate Imperial Banquet and the Iron Pot Stew under the Tiger Mountain under the Red Society Catering Group have been stationed in September last year and early this year. Experience ancient folk customs such as watching big operas and visiting markets, and it is fun to "cross" in disguise.
"With the upgrading of consumption, what people need is not only a meal, but also a novel experience with culture and scenes." Xu Haifan, general manager of the restaurant, said that the two restaurants settled in Daowai because of the cultural heritage and consumption potential here, integrating traditional culture, historical stories and high-end catering to achieve the effect of "one plus one is greater than two". Since its opening, the passenger flow has been full, far exceeding expectations, and it has become a new cultural tourism check-in place.
"Eating", connecting the past and present lives outside the old way, is not only loved by Chinese tourists, but also by foreign tourists who follow "China Travel".
Visitors from the United Kingdom, Jie Kai, dressed in white Hanfu and wearing a black official hat, immersed themselves in ancient Chinese court banquets, etiquette, amusement and so on. "I usually like to watch Chinese TV dramas, experience the ancient scenes in TV dramas here, taste a lot of Chinese food, and feel like I have traveled back to China a long time ago."
People here feel more and more that the old Taoist is not only the outer road of outsiders, but has become a stage for China to show its cultural self-confidence and a window for the world to understand China.
A limitless future in creativity
In recent years, Heilongjiang Province has regarded creative design as one of the four emerging industries, Harbin City has clearly put forward the development vision of "Creative Design Capital", and Daowai District has relied on its unique resource endowment to do enough "creative articles" in cultivating new quality productivity.
In January this year, Yu Bing, the curator of the Harbin "post-80s" bookstore, set his sights on the Chinese Baroque historical and cultural district. The Chinese Baroque Creative Design Center renovated by her was put into operation, and the creative bookstore "Songguangli" opened for business. In winter, there is a background wall of "Northeast Homespun", and in summer, creative street signs such as "Northeast Revitalization Depends on Me" are erected, constantly stirring up the emotions of young consumers.
"As a native of Harbin, I want my hometown to get better and better than anyone else. Harbin is home to 48 colleges and universities and about 700,000 college students, and finding good ideas that young people are interested in will surely stimulate new potential for cultural tourism consumption. Yu Bing said.
Nowadays, it has become a new "cultural living room" in the block, which not only attracts many domestic cultural scholars to visit, but also successively launches theme exhibitions such as "Visiting Doors", "Northeast Revitalization No. 2 Factory" and "Bu Vegetable Market", and has also become a stop for tourists to check in and buy special souvenirs.
The popularity has increased, and the attraction of young talents to return to their hometowns to start businesses has also increased. Since last year, Yu Bing's cultural and creative platform has attracted two "post-95" returnee college students to join. She hopes that outstanding young designers will gather in "Erbin", continue to develop various cultural and creative products, and innovate and launch consumption scenarios, which not only show history and culture, but also meet market expectations, and realize the two-way flow and virtuous circle of business and culture.
The old houses in the neighborhood are silent, and the descendants who visit them are giving more new meaning to time and space.
A wisp of fine sand and a pair of skillful hands, Sophia Church, Harbin Grand Theater and other city landmarks leap onto the "paper". This year marks the eighth year that Xue Yiheng and his studio have moved to the Chinese Baroque Historical and Cultural District, and he has been documenting the changes in the city with the sand in his hands.
"Even when it's difficult, I don't think about leaving the block, because I'm always convinced that it's going to be hot." Xue Yiheng is a "post-85" who began to start a business with sand painting as an element after graduating from university.
In the past few years, the sand painting business has been continuously upgraded, and cultural and creative products such as "sand painting + lighting", "sand painting + aromatherapy" and "sand painting + music box" have come out one after another and have been welcomed. Last winter, the "Xianglong Nafu" Ice City commemorative medal created by him appeared in major media and attracted the attention of tens of millions of netizens. In the first half of this year, in-store traffic increased by 30% year-on-year.
Feng Deyu, member of the Standing Committee of the Daowai District Party Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department, said that more and more young people see the new opportunities and new potential contained in the old Daowai, devote themselves to the new economy and new business forms, and stimulate youth and vitality. They rewrite the appearance of the old neighborhood, and also write their own wonderful.
In the alley of No. 33 North Sandao Street, Songguang Cinema has left a good memory for the old Harbin people. In order to resurrect cultural genes, Daowai District has vigorously attracted investment, integrated cultural resources, and launched 10 cultural theme projects such as cross talk clubs, big stages, and film and television production studios. Every spring, summer and autumn, traditional performing arts activities such as Pingju, Quyi, and Northeast Duo Turn are also launched.
On weekend evenings, the Starlight Crosstalk Theater was packed. The actors put on performance coats and performed on stage, and there was no shortage of "post-90s" and "post-00s" in the audience. "Twenty or thirty yuan a ticket, eat some melon seeds, drink some tea, listen to cross talk, and the 'class taste' is swept away." Citizens who often come to listen to cross talk say.
"Today's cultural investment will become tomorrow's sunrise industry." Li Hanlong, deputy secretary of the Daowai District Party Committee and head of the district, said that from tepid to continued popularity, the first and second phases of the Chinese Baroque have been operating smoothly, and the third phase of the project is advancing, which will renovate 80 courtyards and 207 characteristic buildings, and strive to create an urban tourism consumption and night culture gathering area.
According to the plan, the renovation of the block will follow the concepts of "one floor, one policy", "reversibility" and "minimal intervention", and adopt the restoration method of "repairing the old as the old", so as to retain the historical information of the building to the greatest extent and maintain the integrity of the block. The renovated block will run through modern facilities - water and water supply, heating, network, fire protection, barrier-free and intelligent monitoring, etc., with complete facilities and convenient use, which will not only improve the quality of the block and public services, but also make the historical customs last for a long time.
Hu Yanxiang, head of the Chinese Baroque Work Class, said that in the future, Daowai District will further establish a Harbin traditional business and cultural experience center, deeply excavate the entrepreneurial spirit and integrity contained in the century-old commercial stores, and refine the entrepreneurial stories and entrepreneurial spirit of more national industrial and commercial people for future generations to learn and inherit.
Continue the cultural context of the city and look forward to a better future. At present, people are moving forward in the cultural tourism fever and investment fever. Some combine intangible cultural heritage skills with ice and snow culture to launch refreshing cultural and creative products; Some seized the opportunity to register new product trademarks to continuously improve market awareness and market share; Some of them hurried to decorate and prepare for the upcoming Asian Winter Games......
Full of love and expectation, not far away, will be a new road full of flowers and vitality.
Source: Xinhua News Agency