A street of memories thrills spectators
At the foot of the Pagoda Mountain in Yan’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, on the first day of the opening of Red Street on June 12, the number of tourists exceeded 260,000, heralding a good start for Wanda Group, the construction and management team behind the project.
It evoked, as the name implies, another time with its spaces and atmosphere. The street stirred with a collective memory shrouded in red culture. Gray roof tiles, sloping eaves and yellow mud walls harked back to a land of yesteryear.
Yan’an is most famous for its red culture, a Chinese revolutionary holy land that was once a command center of the Communist Party of China. Chairman Mao Zedong and other revolutionaries lived here and led the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the War of Liberation (1946-49).
Red Street is China’s first immersive cultural business district to undergo a red tourism makeover. It is only a 15-minute drive from the airport and high-speed rail station, and just 3 kilometers away from the Yan’an landmark Pagoda Mountain. The street is next to the shore of the city’s only water body, Yanhu Lake.
Attractions include red lecture halls, immersive performing arts theater, shooting parks, Long March trails, cave dwelling hotels, characteristic intangible cultural heritage shops and red culture presentation bases. The street was awarded and named a Yan’an Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Base and was included in the Yan’an Red Tourism Boutique Route.
Zhang Jianguo, a tourist from Southwest China’s Sichuan province, says he could hardly believe his eyes that Yan’an had changed so radically. Forty years ago, he participated in the construction of the Xi’anYan’an Railway and actually worked in Yan’an for a period of time.
“At that time this place was full of cave dwellings. Now, it is full of high-rise buildings. In the past 40 years, these mountains were bare. Now it is great to see green mountains and clear water. Red Street is definitely a must for the local people to integrate their glorious revolutionary tradition into their daily life,” he says.
Qin Wenlan, a tourist from East China’s Zhejiang province agrees. “My mother is almost 80 years old, and she has a special affection for the revolutionary holy land. As soon as we arrived at the hotel in Yan’an, the waiter greeted us warmly and entertained us with dates and apples. I am also very happy to visit here to see the place where Chairman Mao lived with my own eyes.’’
The 1.5-kilometer-long street connects five red-themed squares from Meeting Square to Victory Square, symbolizing the 13-year glorious history of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan’an. Red culture is prominent — the 148 merchants in the Red Street all operate with red cultural offerings. The management team ensured the street also offers a variety of functions, such as the Red Army Force-joining Experience Hall, Yan’an Art Museum, Red Memory Museum, Nanni Bay Production Museum, Red Coin Art Museum and the Red Wax Museum.
The large-scale immersive performance Back to Yan’an is one of the biggest highlights of Red Street. It is a Red Army situational drama created by director Zhang Dong. There are no seats in the venue and the audiences have to always catch up with heroes marching on the winding road to victory. Visitors can put on Red Army uniforms to have a more realistic experience.
The performance area is over 4,500 square meters, and it can accommodate 300 people watching at the same time. Each performance is 45 minutes long, and rolling performances are carried out according to the flow of tourists. It uses the latest scientific and technological special effects to simulate real scenes, with the city’s revolutionary history as the background. Four chapters sum up the experience — “a touching museum”, “a seed of hope”, “a windy and snowy road” and “an immortal flag”. Part of the content makes full use of high-tech such as sound and light, real wind and snow, to create a multisensory interactive experience, allowing visitors to immerse themselves and relive the glorious years.
According to Wanda, the premiere on June 12 ushered in 12,412 people to watch. A tourist from Xi’an, Shaanxi province, says after seeing the immersive show, she was deeply touched by the revolutionary spirit reflected in the story. Tears moistened her eyes.
In the interactive military practicing ground, visitors can participate in classic scenes such as tunnel warfare and defending Yan’an, the largest live ammunition shooting range in the northwestern region with 24 targets. On the first day, the training ground registered 38,924 visits.
Li Qizhong, a Yan’an resident, says he was amazed by the red buildings and landscapes of the Red Street. “From the red-themed architectural assembly building, military training grounds and Long March theme trails throughout Red Street, I can relive the hot revolutionary years. I cannot help but receive a spiritual baptism,” he says.
The Red Street Cinema, located at the end of the axis, stands out from the surrounding northern Shaanxi-style residential and commercial buildings, breaking the rhythm of low buildings and forming a beautiful skyline. Behind the Red Street Cinema is the story of the Yan’an Film Projection Team.
On Sept 28, 1939, the Yan’an Film Projection Team was established and incorporated into the Yan’an Film Troupe in 1940. The screening team of the Eighth Route Army traveled over the mountains and valleys of northern Shaanxi, sent movies to the military and civilians in the border regions, and created the “square cinema”, a unique screening experience in China.
The projection team had 4 projectors. This included the hand-cranked projector brought back by Zhou Enlai, who later became the first prime minister of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, from the Soviet Union. The projection team usually set up the screen in a spacious open-air venue. The audience brought their own stools and gathered around the movie projectors. The nearby hilly ground was also densely packed with people, and watching movies became a major attraction in Yan’an at that time.
On the first day of the opening of Yan’an Red Street, grand events were staged in turn, keeping the tourists hooked. Yanhu Lake Water Carnival aspires to create a top and quality water show. Liu He, a trapeze artist with an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, was invited to perform; professional artistic water skiing, jet skiing and other stunts were also presented to the tourists. The first Shandandan Flower Music Festival lit up the street during the night. More than a dozen bands and popular singers were specially invited to present a dynamic show.
With advanced laser projection technology, the perfect combination of light and shadow, a magnificent performance show was staged to relive classic red film and television art, and a witty fantasy children’s drama and talent contest were also a main draw in the street.
Performing arts will entertain audiences nonstop for 365 days, including in the Meeting Square the finely choreographed performance musical White Haired Girl and Yellow River Cantata. Also on show in the Victory Square will be Yangko performers in traditional dress, the vigorous Ansai waist drum, a lively and extraordinary bonfire party and the Red Street laser show.