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preface
The Old Summer Palace, as a large-scale royal garden in China's Qing Dynasty, is a masterpiece of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign gardening art at that time, and can be called one of the treasures of human culture.
But after the devastation of modern wars, this former royal garden is only ruined, telling the glory of the past.
From the late Qing Dynasty to the early days of the People's Republic of China, countless people proposed the idea of rebuilding the Old Summer Palace, but in the end they were discouraged by the huge budget of the reconstruction.
However, in 2016, in Hengdian, Zhejiang Province, a new Yuanming Palace covering an area of more than 7,000 acres was officially announced.
To everyone's surprise, this new garden will be built by an old man in his 80s...
With unique insight, Hengdian was founded
The old man's name is Xu Wenrong, the founder of Hengdian Group.
Xu Wenrong was born in 1935 in Xindong Village, Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, and his childhood was both fortunate and unlucky.
Fortunately, before he could understand something, the flames of war that had swept through most of China had subsided.
Unfortunately, when he was 3 years old, his parents were forced by the war and the family was in a difficult situation, so the family moved to Hengdian to find another way.
So in the heart of young Xu Wenrong, if he can eat a bowl of white rice every day, it will be the happiest day in the world.
Because in his home, it is not easy to eat enough, and there are only two meals of white rice a year, which is supremely delicious in his heart.
Xu Wenrong's family is known for its poverty, and as a young man, he was often ostracized by other children around him because of poverty.
They would always laugh at Xu Wenrong's lice-grown hair and the torn pants that would never be replaced.
Such a poor family naturally has no way for Xu Wenrong to read and read. But fortunately, he himself is very smart, and always takes advantage of the time of herding cattle, eavesdropping and stealing learning outside the village classroom.
Although he did not learn much, Xu Wenrong still mastered the basic literacy and hyphenation and calculation, because he was eager to learn but could not learn, which led to Xu Wenrong's strong thirst for knowledge later.
When Xu Wenrong was a little older, his father went outside to work as a hawker in order to subsidize the family's life, and the family's life improved a little.
This also made Xu Wenrong understand since he was a child that if you want to get rid of poverty, you must have the courage to try.
The turning point in Xu Wenrong's life was in 1950.
When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out that year, 15-year-old Xu Wenrong wanted to join the army and serve the country, but he was brushed off due to malnutrition and height standards.
Within two months, Xu Wenrong was selected to work at the county supply and marketing cooperative.
In the supply and marketing cooperative, Xu Wenrong fully demonstrated his talent for speaking sales, and was promoted to deputy director of the office within two years.
Later, due to some changes, Xu Wenrong resigned and began to learn from his father to do some small business, until he was almost 30 years old, he began his first business in his life.
In the mountainous areas of Xu Wenrong's hometown, the land is barren and there is a shortage of fertilizer.
So he traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai, collecting "toilet sand" that no one wanted in Shanghai, and he used this fertilizer to exchange grain with the locals in his hometown, and then sold the grain.
But soon, his first venture encountered a big crisis, Xu Wenrong was reported for speculation, not only was all the money he earned confiscated, but even he had to flee to other places to escape the struggle.
By the time Xu Wenrong returned to his hometown of Hengdian with the wealth he had accumulated outside, he had reached the age of standing and began to contribute to the public undertakings in his hometown.
In 1966, 31-year-old Xu Wenrong was elected secretary of the Hengdian brigade.
Later, he tried one after another, opening factories in many different fields, trying to drive the economy of his hometown.
But these industries are small fights, and what really made Xu Wenrong on the rich list was the magnetic factory he opened in 1980.
In the second half of 1981, Xu Wenrong hired experts to develop permanent magnet ferrite magnets, and microwave oven magnets sold well throughout the country, which also promoted the economic development of Hengdian.
However, with the continuous expansion of business, a difficult problem gradually came to Xu Wenrong:
The villagers of Hengdian have become rich, but the villagers who have become rich have no healthy cultural life.
Poor and rich for a long time, coupled with the general low cultural level of the villagers, the small Hengdian has bred a lot of unhealthy atmosphere.
In order to promote the healthy cultural development of the entire town, Xu Wenrong decided to transform Hengdian and make Hengdian a nationally renowned cultural tourism town.
Hengdian has no natural tourism resources, it doesn't matter, Xu Wenrong is determined to create tourist attractions by himself.
In the face of ridicule from the outside world, Xu Wenrong built many tourist attractions in the Republic of China, wanted to build Hengdian into another small Shanghai of the Republic of China, and built many old-school Shanghai buildings.
However, these tourism projects failed to attract many tourists, but attracted some of the crews of the Republic of China opera, which gave Xu Wenrong a new inspiration.
In 1995, in order to celebrate the return of Hong Kong, director Xie Jin prepared to shoot the film "Opium War".
Xie Jin attaches great importance to this film, and is very dissatisfied with some existing film and television cities, in order to seek a more realistic set of Guangzhou in the Republic of China, he rushed around to find a filming location.
And Xu Wenrong was worried that he couldn't open the popularity of Hengdian tourism, and he opened his mouth to contract a street in Guangzhou that Xie Jin asked for filming.
And promise that it doesn't take a year, just give him three months, and he will give Xie Jin an original Nanyue Guangzhou.
Xu Wenrong's actions were very fast, he set up more than a hundred construction teams regardless of the cost, clearly distributed the streets and buildings of the Republic of China, and even bombed a mountain near Hengdian to vacate the site.
Xu Wenrong spent a lot of money to buy special green tiles and stone slabs in the Republic of China era, as long as they can be used, even if they are stone slabs in the cemetery, he will accept them all.
Three months later, Hengdian rose up a quaint Republican street.
This street made Hengdian begin to become famous in the country, and many tourists who wanted to experience the characteristics of the Republic of China even came to Hengdian to travel and take photos from far away.
And the fame of Minguo Street made Xu Wenrong see the prospect of making a film and television base.
So two years later, when Xu Wenrong heard that the famous director Chen Kaige wanted to build a new Qin palace in order to shoot "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin", he rushed to Beijing non-stop to discuss this matter with Chen Kaige.
As a result, there is the magnificent Qin King Palace covering an area of 800 acres in Hengdian behind.
With these historical buildings being perfectly reproduced in front of Xu Wenrong, these cultural buildings and treasures deeply touched Xu Wenrong's heart.
He began to plan in his heart that he would restore all the traditional buildings and art of ancient China, so that modern people could also see the cultural architecture of their ancestors with their own eyes.
Recreating the Old Summer Palace, the patriotic heart is fierce
At present, we are very familiar with the name of Hengdian, and many people even come to Hengdian to travel in order to meet their idols by chance.
However, when they walk on the antique streets, they can't help but marvel at the carved beams and paintings here, as if they have traveled through time and space and come to ancient times.
And all this is inseparable from Xu Wenrong's painstaking management behind the scenes.
In order to attract more film and television crews to Hengdian to shoot and promote the tourism development of Hengdian, Xu Wenrong made a shocking decision in 1999:
All film and television crews are filming in Hengdian, all of which are free.
This decision caused a shock within the Hengdian Group, but Xu Wenrong firmly refused to continue to charge.
The outside world is talking about it, and even thinks that Xu Wenrong is crazy.
Only Xu Wenrong himself knows that in order to further open up the popularity of Hengdian and let it surpass several other film and television bases, free is the way to go.
Nevertheless, we cannot ignore that Xu Wenrong is also a businessman and has cultural feelings, but he cannot completely ignore income.
Xu Wenrong focused on Hengdian's supporting service facilities, not only opening up investment, allowing all kinds of chain hotels, shops, and restaurants to settle in Hengdian, but also setting up a special Hengdian tourism department, setting up tour guides, immersive costume experiences and so on.
Soon, crews all over the country were attracted to Hengdian for free, and Hengdian's fame further expanded, and the number of tourists also increased sharply.
Compared with the money obtained from renting and building buildings, these supporting facilities allow Xu Wenrong to earn more.
This also proves from the side that Xu Wenrong's strong man broke his wrist and gave up the loan fee, which was a wise move.
In August 2001, the 66-year-old Xu Wenrong announced his retirement, apparently he is no longer involved in the management of Hengdian business affairs, but in fact has been paying attention to the development of Hengdian Film and Television City.
Xu Wenrong, who left the shackles of business and was fascinated by culture, gradually built a plan in his heart, that is, to rebuild the Old Summer Palace.
What kind of place is the Old Summer Palace?
It is the most famous royal garden in China, integrating ancient Chinese garden skills and handicraft culture in one garden, and also carrying a heavy history of China, which is an extremely special cultural symbol of the mainland.
But Xu Wenrong believes that China is now prosperous and powerful, and a brand-new Old Summer Palace can not only show foreign countries that China is rich and strong, but also better spread culture.
After all, the Old Summer Palace is known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens", and the traditional architecture and handicraft skills in it are dazzling even today.
But at the same time, Xu Wenrong also hopes that the dilapidated Old Summer Palace can be preserved to remind people of the past history. So he wanted to replicate a Old Summer Palace in his hometown.
At the time of this idea, Xu Wenrong had already retired. But he has always been a character who dares to do what he wants, even if he has left Hengdian Group, the project can only rely on his own personal fundraising, and he still refuses to give up.
The project was too big and the bank would not give a loan, so Xu Wenrong asked his old friend to borrow it and took his own coffin book out.
Later, he was reported for illegal land use, and he collected his own materials to complain. When Xu Wenrong reached his old age, he pieced together 20 billion.
Although he still felt that it was not enough, he knew that his age was no longer exhausted, and in order to see the new Old Summer Palace in his lifetime, he immediately held a press conference.
However, Xu Wenrong's idea is good, but not everyone can understand it.
On February 18, 2008, 73-year-old Xu Wenrong announced his plan to build the New Old Summer Palace, which instantly caused an uproar.
As this cultural icon is about to be rebuilt, two very different voices are beginning to spring up.
One group of people believes that the Old Summer Palace is a treasure of China, and now that China's national strength is strong, the country should restore the Old Summer Palace, which can not only show the strength of a great country, but also let modern children see its demeanor.
The other category of opposition is loud, representing the views of many opponents, including the media, academics and the public.
They attach more importance to the historical significance of the Old Summer Palace and do not want someone to tamper with and subvert it casually.
On the one hand, because many garden skills have been lost in the war, on the other hand, it is also hoped that people can not forget the national shame when they see the ruins of the Old Summer Palace.
Not only did all kinds of media and reporters flock to the city, the outside world never stopped, and even the project was quickly stopped by the government.
Xu Wenrong, who is already a rarity, feels extremely sad, and his efforts for this project are far greater than any project in his life.
In the past 15 years, regardless of his aging body, Xu Wenrong has visited the Old Summer Palace in Beijing many times, on-site investigation and measurement, observing the drawings of the Old Summer Palace left behind, and finding experts to try to restore the ancient architectural techniques of the Old Summer Palace.
Xu Wenrong used his greatest sincerity to make the most complete preparations, and he also expected that he might face doubts from the outside world, but he never expected that he would be stopped by the authorities.
Xu Wenrong believes that rebuilding the Old Summer Palace will not only spread culture, but also solve the local employment problem, and he expects that when a park project is completed, at least 35,000 people will be employed.
Xu Wenrong couldn't understand why such a good thing that benefited the country and the people was stopped.
Under the extreme sadness and indignation, Xu Wenrong even thought of going abroad to build the New Old Summer Palace.
In fact, when he revealed this meaning to foreign countries, many countries did contact Xu Wenrong, hoping that he could go abroad to build a replica of the Old Summer Palace.
However, Xu Wenrong eventually refused these invitations, saying that the Old Summer Palace belonged to China and should not appear on foreign soil.
Xu Wenrong has always refused to give up. After many negotiations and negotiations, Xu Wenrong was allowed to borrow from the Old Summer Palace architecture, but was not allowed to replicate one by one.
Xu Wenrong, who took a step back, has new expectations for his new Yuanming Garden, which he hopes will contain modern service facilities in addition to ancient exquisite architecture and garden technology.
Under the integration of ancient and modern, it can not only inherit history, but also transcend history and be given new meaning by the times.
In May 2012, the construction of the Hengdian Yuanming New Garden, which covers a total area of more than 7,000 acres, began.
In 2016, at a cost of 30 billion, in only 4 years, all the scenic gardens were completed one after another, finally fulfilling the dream of this 80-year-old man.
The new Yuanming Garden built by Xu Wenrong mainly focuses on the flower and grass garden, so it is also known as the Ten Thousand Garden, with a total of 4 parks and 100 gardens.
In this new Yuanming Palace, garden buildings from all eras and different classes are collected, from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China, from royalty to merchants.
One of the richest elements of the Old Summer Palace is the royal complex.
Although there is no way to perfectly replicate the Old Summer Palace, Xu Wenrong has found another way to enhance the viewing of the New Old Summer Palace, that is, to plant exotic flowers and plants from different countries around the world, and strive to achieve beautiful scenery in all seasons.
At the same time, in order to further attract tourists, Xu Wenrong also specially joined a "Dream of Red Mansions" park, called Xinchang Spring Garden.
The New Changchun Garden, mainly based on the Grand View Garden depicted in "Dream of the Red Mansion", began to open to the public in 2015.
On the one hand, this park can better promote Chinese classical culture and the four famous works, on the other hand, it also has its own famous garden effect, which can attract more tourists.
At the same time, all the gardens, to varying degrees, have been modernized.
In addition to a large number of shops with classical shapes, the park will regularly hold a variety of garden fairs and temple fairs, and is equipped with many world-class amusement programs.
It is worth mentioning that the Spring Garden part of this new Old Summer Palace was opened to the public on the occasion of the 155th anniversary of the destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, which has great patriotic commemorative significance.
Today, 6 years have passed since the completion of Hengdian Yuanming New Garden.
An endless stream of tourists will come to Hengdian from all over the country and even countries around the world every year to swim in it and feel the strong film and television culture of Hengdian.
End
In the old age of his life, Xu Wenrong finally completed his ideal.
In 30 years, he has transformed Hengdian from a poor and remote country that lives on farming into a strong economic tourism town and a strong film and television town in the country.
The Hengdian Group he founded has solved the employment of tens of thousands of local people.
In the face of the flowers and applause rolling from the outside world, Xu Wenrong always insisted that he was just a farmer, and his achievements today could not be separated from the help of the times and relatives and friends around him.
What he wants to do in his life is to give back to his hometown Hengdian as much as possible, so that the people of Hengdian can live a good life and run to a well-off life.
As an older generation of businessmen, Xu Wenrong has truly achieved the first to get rich and then to get rich.
While making money by himself, he does not forget to revitalize his hometown and give back to the society, his sense of social responsibility is really admirable!