The ancient river called Weishui River is originated from the mountainous area of middle and southern part of Shandong and by passing the City of Weifang to the north finally flows into the Bohai Sea. In the course of thousands of years of history, the Weifang people on the banks of the Weishui River have passed down countless precious cultural heritage. In the new era, the local CPC Weifang Committee and Weifang Municipal Government, inheritors and related parties regard the innovative development of cultural heritage as an important mission. With the concept of “+ Modern Life”, the protection and inheritance of Weifang cultural heritage is showing great vitality.
On the last day of July, the inheritors of Yangjiabu Wood-plate New Year Paintings, Weifang Walnut Carvings, and Zhucheng School of Guqin in Weifang came to Weifang Shihuyuan Cultural District at an early time. This day is the day for the oral defence of the recruitment of the "Shihuyuan Intangible Heritage Space and Weishui Intangible Partner Program" projects.
"Shihuyuan Intangible Heritage Space and Weishui Intangible Partner Program" is jointly initiated by Weifang Culture and Tourism Bureau and other related stakeholders. The goal is to build 30 intangible heritage project IPs through policy support in the next 3 years. The project is integrated with modern Internet, new media live broadcast, AR/VR technology and other normalized communication mechanisms and content output platforms.
Wang Yiyun, Director of the General Office of Weifang Municipal Intangible Heritage Protection Center, introduced that the local government selected the intangible heritage projects through the form of oral defence to enter "Shihuyuan Intangible Heritage Space" and signed a cooperation agreement with the projects selected. In the later period, through policy subsidies, specialized services, new media data support, and interactive inheritance subsidies, the effective transformation and enhancement of the cultural value, market value and social value of the projects will be realized.
Integrating into modern life is the only way to protect cultural heritage. In recent years, Weifang has taken advantage of the trend of increasing concern for cultural heritage in various sectors of society, and has actively played a policy-guided "Catfish Effect", aiming to make the intangible heritage and cultural relics, which were formerly "like ladies in the boudoir not acquainted with the outside world", to be face to face with the public.
Since the establishment of the first non-state-owned museum in the City of Weifang in 2014, the number of non-state-owned museums in Weifang has increased to 32 in the past five years. The total number of collections is about 11,400 pieces (sets), and the number of visitors per year exceeds 300,000 person-time. However, in the course of operation, some problems have gradually emerged, including the lack of policy support for government procurement services, the lack of funds for the operation of the premises, and the lack of professionals.
In order to further mobilize the enthusiasm of social forces to participate in the protection of cultural heritage, the "Opinions by Weifang Municipal People's Government Office on Promoting the Development of Non-State-owned Museums" was issued in April this year. The document focuses on the land, funds, personnel and other difficulties faced by local non-state-owned museums and has introduced a number of targeted support measures.
The policy is to protect and escort these museums. To make the cultural heritage truly "alive", it is also necessary to draw closer to the people.
Now in Weifang, the "Project Torch" has been carried out for three years. This is a special initiative for the primary and secondary school students in the city to contact the intangible heritage projects: the cultural, tourism, education departments jointly set up a training base in a number of schools, intangible heritage inheritors invited to enter the school to open school-based curriculum, and relevant units jointly compiling and printing intangible heritage teaching materials, and etc.
In the Youth Road Primary School in Weicheng District of the City of Weifang, which offers a peasant painting course, the annual campus exhibition of peasant paintings by primary school students attracts a large number of students and parents. Many parents believe that, compared to children's paintings, learning peasant paintings can enrich children's imagination and enhance their cultural recognition to their hometowns.
The "Project Torch" not only allows intangible heritage to enter the campus, but also explicitly encourages and supports schools to extend the intangible heritage education class to various cultural venues at all levels. By the beginning of this year, more than 20 cultural centers, art galleries, and museums in Weifang have established cooperative relationships with local schools, becoming off-campus classrooms where children and cultural heritage are at a zero distance.
Once upon a time, many folk artists on the banks of the Weishui River walked along the streets and lanes, carrying forward the cultural heritage of Weifang with the skills handed down from ancestors and the persistent spirit of craftsmanship. At the moment, these cultural heritages are helping local people to get rich and increase their incomes with their unique historical connotations and human values.
Entering Wangjiazhuangzi Village, Fangzi District, the City of Weifang, the archway with the "No. 1 Village of Chinese Kite Industry" is particularly eye-catching. It is the largest Weifang kite production base in China. It produces more than 80 million kites annually and has an output value of over 200 million yuan.
"Weifang kites are valuable cultural heritage left by the ancestors. Only by constantly adapting to the aesthetic needs of modern people can we go further." Wang Tieyuan, Secretary General of the Kite Industry Association of Fangzi District, told reporters that with the favorable policies by the reform and opening up in the past more than 40 years, the Weifang kite industry in Wangjiazhuangzi Village is getting more and more prosperous. Nowadays, many young people in the village have opened online stores at home, and online sales have become the main channel for Weifang kites to go to the outside world.
In Linqu County, the local "Linqu County Traditional Crafts and Intangible Heritage Expo" will be held from this year on. The goal is to promote the establishment of regular fixed booths in major scenic spots and public places through the operation mode of innovative cultural heritage sites to achieve integration of culture and tourism.
During this year's "May 1st" holiday, a businessman who runs a small commodity wholesale business in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, travels to Linqu County. In the central square of Linqu County, he saw the red-silk-inkstone booth by the inheritors. After a detailed understanding, he decided to purchase a batch of red-silk-inkstone products worth 80,000 yuan to sell in Nanjing.
Inheritance and protection expand social benefits, and innovation and development create economic benefits. Weifang has strengthened the existence of cultural heritage throughout the urban and rural areas with feasible measures and practical attitudes.
Party Secretary and Director Tian Suying of Weifang City Culture and Tourism Bureau said that with the new opportunities of the integration of culture and tourism, Weifang will reorganize and re-examine the cultural heritage resources of the city from this year, respecting the dominant role of intangible heritage inheritors and cultural heritage protectors. By studying the cultural consumption needs of modern people, the cultural heritage on the banks of the Weishui River has become a "potential stock" for the transformation from the old to the new economic growth drivers.
Reporter: Su Rui
