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If you happen to be wandering in the streets of Chengdu and want to hear a cultural story about the city, you can just read the signage and scan the QR code with your mobile phone to get a short piece of background material and video introduction of what you want to know. Such a new way of getting to know the culture and history of Chengdu came from the cultural landmark project initiated by Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Culture in 2013, which aims to awaken people’s memory of the city’s history and improve the level of its cultural recognition with the guidance of landmarks.
In the process of internationalization and modernization, Chengdu believes in “organic update”, meaning that a city shall pass on and utilize its historic memories and cultural gens, ref lect its history and culture on historic blocks and buildings, and eventually bring to life a special cultural presence and spirit of the city. In December 2013, Chengdu submitted Chengdu Construction Outline of Urban Cultural Presence, the very first one in the country. The document proposed 31 key urban construction projects in order to preserve the cultural gens of Chengdu, among which a total of 10 projects including Huaxiba, New Chengdu Library, Chengdu Grand Theatre, industrial area in east suburbs are key projects to be commenced in the next two or three years, and the other 21 are listed as reserved projects in Chengdu cultural presence construction database. In future urban space of Chengdu, there shall be more cultural and material carriers that amplify cultural presence of the city.
With a history of more than one thousand years, Han Lin Art Academy, later became Chengdu Art Academy, was the very f irst national and royal art academy of China. Now the dwelling featuring western Sichuan architectural style in the late Qing Dynasty is located on the west entrance of Kuan and Zhai Alley, incarnated with profound history and culture in its prof ile.
The story of Chengdu mayor demanding main streets to make ways for ancient dwellings of the art academy was eulogized among painters in the art academy. Back in 2004 during the reconstruction of Tongren Road, a main street was planned to be built cutting through the front yard of the art academy. A solution for the new road but destruction for the art academy which happens to be one of the very few ancient dwellings in Sichuan area that have been kept under protection through countless efforts. As such issue raised governmental attention, leaders of municipal party committee and government lead a team of experts and off icials from relevant department to the art academy and made it very clear that protecting the academy was not only about keeping the place and a few very old trees, but preserving the cultural vein of the city. Therefore the government decided to put in another RMB 20 million of investment for cultural protection. Painters at the academy were deeply moved.
As one of the 23 histor ic and cultural towns of Chengdu, Tangchang town has a history of more than 1300 years, where Liang’s courtyard, the best preserved and largest courtyards, is located. Decoration and carvings of the houses ref lect a variety of elegant quality and typical characteristics of buildings from Qing Dynasty in Chengdu area. The architecture is also a model of western Sichuan building style and is of high historic, cultural and scientif ic value.
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