heading east of the forbidden city: why young people love beijing's dongcheng district
2024-09-18
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in the golden autumn of beijing, the bell and drum tower square is bustling with people playing shuttlecock, performing folk music, and looking for old books, all filled with the laughter of young people. more than 700 years ago, the echoes of morning bells and evening drums, pigeon whistles, insect chirping, and hawking also reverberate in the same space. looking east along the central axis where the bell and drum tower is located, you will see a place with the strongest cultural atmosphere - beijing's east city.
as the core bearing area of the national cultural center, beijing dongcheng has 4 world cultural heritage sites, 14 historical and cultural blocks, and 384 immovable cultural relics. not long ago, beijing's central axis was successfully applied for world heritage status, and 12 of the 15 heritage elements are located in dongcheng. walking on the 41.84 square kilometers of land, every step is full of history, and cultural relics are scattered everywhere.
the cultural network has been re-woven. in dongcheng, there are 37 museums, 40 theaters, 190 physical bookstores, and 225 items on the intangible cultural heritage list. the number of physical bookstores per 10,000 people ranks first in the country. on average, more than 10 performances are held in dongcheng every day, and cultural life is within reach.
culture is the soul of dongcheng. the long-standing ancient capital culture, the rich and profound red culture, the distinctive beijing culture, and the booming innovative culture are all rejuvenated here.
the beauty of ancient and modern culture nourishes young people
a coordinate witnesses the change of the times. located on the back street of the national art museum of china, the 77 creative park was formerly the beijing offset printing factory. it was renovated in 2013 with the theme of drama, and the old workshop was transformed into a new theater. there are no fixed stepped seats in the theater, but they can be adjusted at any time according to the needs of the performance. the novel immersive performances are well received and sold out. according to reports, more than 270 performances were staged here in the past year, and 70% of the audience were young people aged 25-35.
the beijing drama rehearsal center in the park is known as the "hengdian" of the drama world. many private drama troupes in beijing come here to rehearse. the transportation here is convenient, and the rent is only about half of the market price. the purpose is to support the growth of young drama troupes. the dramas rehearsed here will start touring beijing and even all over the country.
this year, 77 creative park has become a popular stop on the citywalk route. many young people from far away asked if they could store their luggage there.
put down your luggage and set off, and you will reach the "golden triangle of culture" in dongcheng: the forbidden city - wangfujing - longfu temple. the area is densely populated with historical and cultural resources, and after the urban renewal, it has a more beautiful blend of ancient and modern times. relying on the "east of the forbidden city" co-creation plan, cultural resources and various industries are linked across borders, forming a chain and becoming the city's "cultural living room".
in the evening, melodious music and the sound of emotional script readings came from the "meihou sishi" courtyard, attracting young people carrying rackets and shopping bags to stop. this is the jingshan street citizen cultural center, known as "the most lively courtyard in beijing."
here, 21 cultural activity spaces such as the beauty talk hall and the beauty clothing hall are scattered around. they are places for leisure for the elderly, a summer playground for children, and night schools for young people after get off work. the more than 1,000 public cultural activities held every year are very popular among citizens.
citizen zhang shuang took the initiative to sign up for the recitation of the script of "agamemnon". she is not a professional in the field of drama, but she has a great passion for cultural activities. it takes about an hour to take the subway from home to here. zhang shuang comes here two or three times a month. she has experienced the activities such as horse-head fiddle performance and intangible cultural heritage handicrafts held in the courtyard. zhang shuang said that this is her "cultural supply station" that allows her to get away from her daily work and release stress.
in fact, "meihou sishi" is no longer just a public cultural service venue at the doorstep of the community. dongcheng district has calculated that the activities here can extend to people 5 kilometers away.
yang xinyuan, born in the 2000s, is a member of the "meihou sishi" operation team. he is attracted by the open working environment and vibrant cultural atmosphere here. the team is mostly composed of young people like him, who integrate public culture with community governance and brainstorm to plan an event. yang xinyuan, who has a design background, can always draw inspiration from it.
dongcheng, a fertile cultural soil, provides nutrients for the growth of young people with ideals.
being a cultural youth in dongcheng
"beijing is a cultural center, but there is no shop selling paper." beijing guys yang bo and cui zhenshuo started their own business and chose the niche field of "paper". they went deep into xinjiang, tibet, yunnan and other places to "search for paper", collected nearly 500 traditional handmade paper samples from 17 provinces and regions, and produced the "chinese handmade paper sample book", hoping to systematically preserve these precious cultural relics. they popularized unpopular knowledge through the official account, held offline experience activities, and told the story of paper to more people.
the paper shop has moved several times, but it is still in the alleys of dongcheng district. some customers are amazed, "there are so many types of paper from all over the world with such interesting names." others envy from the bottom of their hearts, "it's cool to do what you like for a lifetime. and it's so meaningful."
an industry insider who has worked in dongcheng for many years observed that many cultural companies that choose to create content in dongcheng are passionate and idealistic, which is inseparable from dongcheng’s innate profound cultural temperament.
dongcheng is also making every effort to support such "cultural cells". on the one hand, dongcheng district optimizes the business environment, and most cultural industry parks provide enterprises with government public services such as industrial and commercial taxes, helping them to run less errands. on the other hand, dongcheng also provides a platform for small and micro enterprises to showcase their products. at the end of 2023, dongcheng proposed the "manager plan", and paper shops representing paper culture were selected, in addition to jade culture, rice culture, and porcelain culture.
according to the person in charge of relevant departments, the first batch of managers are concentrated in the fields of intangible cultural heritage and handicrafts, and the company will explore the introduction of managers in the fields of literature and film in the future. "these are the core areas of the cultural industry, and they are very dependent on the cultural literacy and management capabilities of the leading figures or teams. we discover them and support them with systematic and market-oriented means to enable them to grow rapidly and run out of the track. new ones emerge every year, gradually forming a vibrant cultural ecology."
with culture as the background, cities continue to innovate
what kind of support do cultural enterprises need most? dongcheng district has conducted a special survey.
in terms of funding, in 2016, dongcheng district established a special fund to support the development of the cultural and creative industry, and clearly stated that from 2016 to 2020, the district’s fiscal budget will allocate 100 million yuan annually for this special project; in 2019, it issued the "wenjing plan" to help cultural enterprises develop stably and healthily through various forms such as rewards for leading enterprises, support for high-growth enterprises, and subsidies for key projects; in 2022, the wenjing industry fund will be established to focus on encouraging and cultivating new cultural formats.
"these awards represent government recognition, which will encourage more financial institutions and social forces to pay attention to these small and micro enterprises." said a relevant person in charge of dongcheng district.
in order to solve the problem of cultural enterprises being asset-light and having difficulty in financing, in 2021, eight financial institutions including the beijing wangfujing branch of the industrial and commercial bank of china in the district became specialized cultural finance organizations to reduce the financing costs of cultural enterprises as much as possible. in 2023, dongcheng district was named one of the first national demonstration zones for cultural and financial cooperation in the country, and continued to increase policy efforts.
this year, dongcheng district and the beijing regulatory bureau of the state financial supervision and administration bureau pioneered a "white list" mechanism for high-quality cultural enterprises, linking evaluation results with bank credit and government support policies; and jointly with the beijing branch of the people's bank of china, launched the country's first online "cultural financial product supermarket", where cultural enterprises can quickly screen out the financing solutions that best suit them based on different amounts, terms and industry needs.
at present, the problem generally reflected by enterprises is that it is difficult to open up new markets. dongcheng has set its sights on overseas markets. since being recognized as a national cultural export base in 2021, dongcheng has actively promoted cultural enterprises to go overseas and provided more opportunities for display on the international stage.
relying on the function of beijing's international exchange center, dongcheng district provides enterprises with opportunities to "go overseas" in major foreign affairs activities. dongcheng district has signed a cooperation agreement with chinese schools in austria to set up a cultural overseas liaison station to connect the needs of overseas chinese schools for chinese cultural products and cultural education back to china. dongcheng district also plans to cooperate with china export & credit insurance corporation to provide credit insurance for overseas enterprises to give them more confidence.
dongcheng has been offering cultural talent training courses for many years. last year, the courses were divided into two directions: cultural finance and cultural export. more than 30 people from various fields such as park operations, content creation, and financial institutions participated. the training courses not only enhanced their professional knowledge, but also promoted exchanges and cooperation among cultural talents in different fields.
build a nest to attract the phoenix. at present, there are 542 cultural and related industry units above designated size in dongcheng district. in the first half of 2024, the income of cultural and related industries in dongcheng district increased by 17.2%, ranking first in beijing.
in the golden month of september, the 2024 beijing cultural forum is about to open, and the dongcheng cultural month activities are being held. shidai guild hall and huanggang guild hall are the latest to appear. as the second batch of signed guild hall cooperation projects, they will drive the original places to participate in the revitalization and utilization of the guild halls and connect the beijing-di cultural corridor. metaverse application scenario projects such as digital longfu temple and the "east of the forbidden city" urban cultural interaction platform are accelerating their implementation, and the cultural golden business card is constantly being polished. dongcheng has embarked on a path of urban innovation and development with culture as the foundation, background, and driving force.
according to the "dongcheng district cultural industry high-quality development action plan (2024-2026)" released this year, in the next three years, dongcheng will focus on implementing four strategies: revitalization and utilization of cultural resources, innovation in cultural and financial cooperation, digital transformation of culture, and integrated upgrading of cultural consumption, so as to transform rich cultural resources into momentum for industrial and economic growth.
culture is something we use every day without noticing, and it nourishes things silently. the spirit of "respecting culture and striving for excellence" has permeated a city and inspired everyone. chen xinyue from the jinfan drama troupe of beijing no. 166 middle school loves drama. for her, drama is like a memory box that preserves her emotions during that time and inspires her to think about real life.
chen xinyue likes to watch plays and visit niche museums in dongcheng. culture has been her companion throughout her childhood, and she also wants to become a disseminator of culture in the future. "the best way is to learn it and inherit it."
china youth daily and china youth network reporter zhang yi source: china youth daily
(source: china youth daily)
