News & Events

Ancient Town Research and Planning: An Interview with Liu Jie from the School of Design  From the  People's Daily 2019 Article “Pilgrimage to One Hundreds Counties for Cultured Tourism：Coming to Anyang, and the Coming of Cultured Tourism”

People’s Daily Preface: For the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the People’s Daily is starting a 2019 Pilgrimage to One Hundred Countries for Cultured Tourism series. The first stop is Jiangsu’s Anyang District in Taizhou prefecture.  Together we will explore the road taken by Anyang over the past 70 years, the most recent ten years of work in the county, and the planned direction for the future 20 years. 

To do this, eight experts participated in a live-broadcast program by the People’s Daily on the questions of concentrating the development of  the cultured tourism industry. One of the eight was Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s very own Liu Jie, assistant to the school of design’s dean, doctoral advisor, and director of the Shanghai Center for Research into Timber Architecture.  

Dialogue:

People’s Daily: Professor Liu as an expert in architecture, I think that you must observe an ancient town from the perspective of a scholar and expert. This being the case, in the two days you have visited Anyang, did the area make you feel anything new?

Liu Jie: Firstly, I want to discuss my overall impression of this area. I have come to the Taizhou region three times, but this is the first time I have come to the ancient town of Qintong. When I first left the car, I felt the overall natural environmental was especially good and an example of a wetland abounding with nature. I beheld a site of a large lake and river, and appreciated a vast expanse of water with low density architecture

In the past I have traveled to many small towns. After visiting the ancient town of Qintong, my opinion is that it is not the most exquisite of them all, but it has its own unique characteristics. The first impression Qintong gave me was “peaceful.” It seems it exists according to the rhythm of ancient life—slow and leisurely. The townspeople have an authentic slow life, and it is in this context that many details of traditional Chinese life can emerge.  Therefore it can be said, this town has been preserved by both its abundant natural resources and by its slow rhythm and by remaining traces of history.

There are sites, there is rhythm, there is history. And on top of that there is a story. As a result when I look at the Meeting of Boats Festival here, I feel very good. Combining Qintong’s ancient town, its lake, and its Meeting of the Boats Festival, then there is a story. As a result, the natural environment here, its people, its stories all serve as a sort of space, and the material of “theater” can come after. To do this there needs to be a good director.

People’s Daily: 2019 is the first “Year of Chinese Culture and Tourism.” At the same time as we develop tourism and develop culture, we must also consider how we can innovate … Director Zhang Linhua just suggested that Anyang’s ancient town can produce a few fine products. Can you give some recommendations for how Anyang can develop in the future?

Liu Jie: Firstly, we can catalogue the ancient town’s architecture, cultural and literature, and consider if there may be some suitable cultural products or supplementary products.

Today when we were walking, we discovered some characteristic architecture, which is not quite the same as the river towns of the areas south of Yangtze River (the area of Jiangnan), and which are not similar to the large manors of the north. The ancient village of Qintong has its own things and material. It has a history of large dwellings and its own architectural technique. When we visited the three walled courtyard (sanheyuan) Li House today we discovered that many bricks bore the traditional brands of carpenters， such as, “The Liu Family Brick Kiln,” or other names.  

They also have what they call here “double axe heads” and “double yue” axe heads. We can go to find relevant experts or ethnographers to clearly understand why this is the case. This process is not necessarily one that produces a story, but it will reveal the historical situation here. Tourists are good, but visiting scholars are also good. Everyone who came here today hopes that we can understand the true situation here from an expert perspective.

If this step is done well, we can do a few innovative things. This innovation includes planning, design, and more. Design includes the renovation of existing architecture, and it can also include the building of new architecture outside the ancient town. In addition to this, design can also include products for tourists, and extend to a few broad designs. On a large scale, an example of architecture, on a small scale, a Visual Identity System. In this way, I think that the ancient village of Qintong can develop and be planned in a scientific, organized, and organic way. And this shouldn’t stop at the level of preservation. Party Secretary Wang’s team must be invited to do this all well. We can first research the traditional culture here,  first work on a smaller level, and then after agreeing on a future plan and goal, we can invite experts here again to make a good, lively, and future looking plan. 

Therefore I think that in a such a large economical area as China there is a great developmental potential in this area, especially as the Yangtze River Delta Area does not have a similar unique cultural area…We can connect the Meeting of Boats Festival to the palace, to the Dragon Boat races conducted in the Song Dynasty. There is also a Song Dynasty painting which portrays a scene similar to that of the festival here (the Jinming Chiduo Biaotu 金明池夺标图). I think there is a related history and culture that existed here that connects all the way up to the level of the emperor as well as to that of the people. The time of this interaction can be deduced here. We can research this culture, and based on the forms derived we can endow the findings with modern material, and invite artists to participate.  We don’t only need to invite Chinese artists, but we can also invite those from abroad, and make this the site of an international conference. In addition we can make models of Song Dynasty imperial antiques, and recreate the craft of ancient boat building.  

We should make the Meeting of Boats Festival a key part of Anyang’future development. Imagine for a second when in 2020 the Shanghai-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge is completed, and one can take the coastal high-sped rail from Shanghai, and arrive here in only an hour. This is a node and an opportunity. If Qintong Town has good material, then the number of future tourists cannot even be estimated.

Translated by Abraham Zamcheck