Promoting Culture, Tourism in China
To promote its culture and boost tourism, a city in South-west China decided to renovate an ancient market, thereby attracting an average of 15,000 tourists each day. Solomon Elusoji reports
Liu Yizhen has an appetite for the past. A sombre, simple man in his late twenties, he is not afraid to leave the comfort of his home to seek it. Last November, he took his regular annual leave from his finance work and set out from Jinlu province in North-east China, where he lives, for Sichuan province in the South-west. “I want to explore Chinese history,” he says, “I want to know more about my country’s past.” On this trip, he took his wife with him.
While in Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital city, Yizhen visited China Lane, a famous street in Chengdu composed of three parallel alleys (Wide Alley, Narrow Alley and Well Alley). It is believed that China Lane is where a stranger can go to and grasp the essence of the city’s culture in all its rawness, undiluted.
“I am not expecting anything precisely,” Yizhen, sporting a dark leather jacket and blue pants, says as he navigates the busy shops on the streets. He had just finished lunch nearby – which was comprised of spicy traditional Sichuan cuisine – and was taking a stroll with his partner, inspecting the staggering volume and variety of merchandise all around them. “We are here to have a taste of the culture and of the food.”
Centre of Culture
China Lane is a boisterous heaven, a tightly knit coven of Chengdu culture. The narrow streets, with ground made of smooth, rectangular marbles, are hemmed in by shops displaying colourful souvenir, teahouses, bars, bookshops, high-end restaurants, and an avalanche of stands hawking street food. There are also several services such as ear-cleaning and entertainment facilities like opera and theatre houses.
The lane, which is also known as Jinli Street or Kuanzhai Lane, has existed for hundred of years, when it emerged as a trading centre. In 2008, the street re-emerged with a new identity after undergoing heavy renovations and restorations and was opened to the public. Today, it is one of Chengdu’s historical and cultural reserves, together with the Daci Temple reserve and Wenshu Monastery reserve.
Xu Xiansong, a middle-aged Tibetan entrepreneur who came from Anhui province, said it was the promise of Chengdu streetfood that lured him to the street. “Then I will like to go to a bar,” he said, with a modicum of boyish enthusiasm. “The culture is important, there is a special feeling that people get when they come here,” Chen Jin, a local government official added.
Peng Dong works for a cultural company Ji Yi Si Chuan. On the day he spoke to this reporter, he was manning a stand for a calligraphy exhibition, ‘Memory of Sichuan’, being held on the street. Chinese characters printed on large posters were given away, as a mode of promoting the calligraphy culture.
“This place is a centre of culture,” Dong, who is 23, said. “And our job is to share the culture of the city with those who gather here from different places. The essence is about sharing and letting more people know about our culture.”
The street hums with life; crowded but not dangerous. Chinese of all ages and gender shuffle along, some carrying with them bowls of food, eating, reflecting joy.
Tourism
Tourism has become an important contributor to the domestic economy in China since the beginning of reform and opening in the early eighties. Today, the country’s tourism market is one of the biggest in the world.
According to data from Statista, it was estimated that the number of domestic trips in China would increase to about 2.38 billion trips by 2020, indicating an increase of over 50 per cent compared to the number of trips made within China 10 years ago.
The total revenue of Chinese travel and tourism industry amounted to 3.94 trillion yuan as of 2016, up by 15.2 per cent compared to the previous year. The industry also contributed 2.1 percent to China's gross domestic product (GDP) and provided around 22.5 million jobs.
There are many reasons for this exponential growth. The emergence of an affluent Chinese middle class and an easing of movement restrictions for locals and foreign visitors are both supporting this travel boom. But the infrastructure development of tourism sites such as China Lane can also not be discounted.
Constant Innovation
Deng Peng, a marketing official at the street’s management company, told this reporter that the biggest challenge in running the street was the constant need to innovate. The management company, which is under the Chengdu local government, proposes different activities and events according to different seasons. In spring, for example, they often organise tea parties. And there are several headline events to mark special dates like the Chinese New Year and Christmas.
“The idea of the street is to promote ‘tianfu’, which is ancient Sichuan culture,” Peng said. “We have done a lot, but we have to continue to innovate.” The numbers have not been bad. During the past one week national holiday in China, Peng said the street welcomed more than 500,000 people. On an average day, some 15,000 visit. “Last year, it was about five million roughly,” he said.
Apart from organising events, the company has tried to introduce novel structures on the street, such as a modern bar that has the capacity to hold poetry readings and discussion sessions. A 24-hour bookstore, where you can sip tea while flipping pages has also been built. “We want people to enjoy themselves and try to slow down and enjoy the slow place in Chengdu,” Peng said. “We want to give people a different kind of experience.”
It is a job that gives Peng, who is from Chengdu, some sense of fulfilment, as he feels more connected to the culture, the tradition. “Every day when I finish my job and have some spare time, I can take it all in,” he said. “I am happy I can do something to promote it to more people. For me, it is a kind of self-achievement.”
The total revenue of Chinese travel and tourism industry amounted to 3.94 trillion yuan as of 2016, up by 15.2 per cent compared to the previous year. The industry also contributed 2.1 percent to China's gross domestic product (GDP) and provided around 22.5 million jobs