The book "China Solutions: 100 Stories of Industrial Heritage Conservation and Update" tells the transformation and reuse of a group of representative Chinese industrial heritage. Through rational transformation, these industrial heritage sites are popular with tourists, retain industrial memory, promote urban development and community integration, and create higher economic value. How to better understand the future direction of cultural tourism in the transformation of industrial heritage? How can industrial tourism development in small towns take advantage of its strengths and avoid its weaknesses? How can the transformation of industrial communities in large cities make all parties happy through community participation? Han Han, author of "China Plan" and vice president of the Jingyuan Planning and Design Institute of Wuhan University, was interviewed.
Integrate industrial heritage into future urban development plans
Yicai: The "China Plan" raises the issue of the similarities and differences between the East and the West in the value of industrial heritage, and this comparison of values is an important basis for us to talk about the transformation of industrial heritage and the development of cultural tourism today. There are not only cultural differences, but also the influence of industrial and urban and rural development. What are the biggest features of China's industrial heritage transformation?
Han Han: At present, the most important value in the protection and renewal of the mainland's industrial heritage is the presentation of Chinese-style modernization, which is the core of the mainland's industrial heritage value system. China is a latecomer country, and the mainland's modernization is largely reflected in industrialization. After more than 100 years of modernization, we can look back and see that the cultural heritage that witnessed the modernization process for more than 100 years is, of course, mainly industrial heritage. This is an important value reference for us to understand China's industrial heritage today, the value basis for the protection and reuse of industrial heritage, and an important prerequisite for telling the story of China's industrial heritage.
Yicai: Just as the value of industrial heritage and local cultural value are inseparable, the relationship between industrial heritage protection and urban renewal is also deeply related. Industrial heritage cultural tourism projects are well done and often become a landmark of a city. You mentioned in your book that the transformation of the Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant into the Guanggang Central Park is likely to become the force that will dominate the formation of the new central area of the city in the future. Can you take Guangzhou as an example to talk about the relationship between industrial heritage protection and urban development?
Han Han: Taking Guangzhou as an example, the experience of industrial heritage protection and renewal is mainly reflected in these aspects. First, Guangzhou has a large number of waterfront industrial heritages, such as Taikoo Cang. Built in 1904, Taikoo Cang Pier on the banks of the Pearl River is now an "urban living room" that integrates a marina, exhibition space, and dining venues. Such renovations are important for dealing with similar industrial heritage, and the reuse of waterfront industrial heritage is currently a problem all over the world, and only a few European cases have done relatively well, such as the headland port area in southern Rotterdam in the Netherlands and the Albert Dockyard in Liverpool in the United Kingdom. For southern countries, Guangzhou's experience is very important, and I think it is possible to extend it to the whole country and even other regions.
Second, the reuse of Guangzhou's industrial heritage is closely in line with urban planning and has a very distinctive urban development characteristic. Guangzhou is an important industrial city in mainland China, and its experience can provide reference for many industrial cities. In the decision-making process of industrial heritage reuse, Guangzhou is the first to incorporate industrial heritage into the future development planning of the city, which is forward-looking.
Third, the deep integration of the protection and renewal of Guangzhou's industrial heritage and community participation, and the need to pay attention to the construction of people's cities, are also worth learning.
Yicai: Due to the historical needs of industrialization and "third-line construction", the mainland has laid out various industrial bases in both urban and rural areas. In recent years, when planning for transformation, industrial projects in large cities face different situations than projects in the central and western regions and in small towns and rural areas. There are even some remote industrial towns that have shrunk or been abandoned. The degree of attention paid to different categories of industrial heritage sites varies greatly. How do you think the industrial heritage of small cities or "third-tier" areas can attract more attention?
Han Han: The reuse of such industrial heritage should first focus on excavating characteristics. At present, the domestic demand for our domestic tourism is very large, especially micro-tourism and micro-vacation are prevalent, and there is still a large market for the construction of characteristic towns. Stargazing camping, outdoor expansion, picnic night fishing, popular science research, etc., new travel needs abound.
Taking Yichang 809 Town as an example, this third-tier industrial heritage of "seclusion" in the deep mountains and old forests has today become a project with strong demonstration significance in Hubei Province and even the whole country, and has produced greater economic value. As the saying goes, "the aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys", although many "third-line" industrial heritage in the deep mountains and old forests lack location advantages, if they are transformed properly, properly managed, and needed in time, they can become the peach blossom source urgently needed by today's urban people. Finding local characteristics and making it an example of industrial heritage conservation and reuse can also become an important driving force for rural revitalization.
Yicai: In some industrial heritage projects belonging to large enterprises, cultural tourism development is a direction, and transforming into parks to attract investment and find enterprises to settle in the office will sometimes be more profitable for the owners. In your research, what are the bases for choosing what to do in the operation of industrial heritage conservation renewal projects?
Han Han: In the cases we have studied and paid attention to, the industrial heritage of super-large state-owned enterprises or the transformation of industrial zones and living quarters into parks is based on very diverse decision-making grounds, and the decision-making process is also very complex, not only considering a series of practical issues such as the value and location of the heritage itself, employee placement, and return on profits, but also the relationship between the second-level enterprises under the state-owned enterprises, and the cooperation and competition relationship with city-related enterprises. Sometimes there are also considerations for personnel changes, business and local relations, and so on. Each such transformation is actually the result of a multi-party game, which is not necessarily optimal, but must be the result of a balance of power. This is one of the conclusions of our observations.
It is difficult to say which solution is the best, and perhaps what we think is the best and most in line with the principles of industrial heritage protection, renewal and reuse may not work in this enterprise. Moreover, all major decisions on major matters have a special deliberative principle, which is unlikely to be like the work of cultural relics protection, which is relatively single-minded and based on the decision-making of one department. Enterprise decision-making also includes joint party-government meetings, boards of directors and some major matters that need to be instructed by higher-level departments such as the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and some transformations also need to consider the preservation and appreciation of state-owned assets, social stability and other issues, which are very complicated.
Community engagement is a must-go
Yicai: The first part of the book focuses on community participation, which is a hot topic in urban development at present. It is also difficult for many industrial heritage projects. The original community of the family of the factory employees, the community formed by others around the industrial heritage project, and the tourists and check-ins attracted by the urban renewal, together form multiple relationships, and sometimes there are contradictions. Are there any projects that you are impressed with and think have been remodeled better?
Han Han: Community participation is a necessary way for the protection and renewal of the mainland's industrial heritage. It can be said that a large number of industrial heritage has living areas, we engage in industrial heritage protection, renewal and reuse, and the Western industrial heritage transformation is essentially different, China must not follow the old road of Western gentrification, to take the new road of "self-gentrification", that is, to safeguard the interests of the "people" in the concept of "people's city", to satisfy the people, to respect the relationship between land ethics and people and land.
I want to emphasize that community engagement is not only the way to go, but there is already a lot of practice. We introduce some good cases in the book, such as NICE2035 in Shanghai (the transformation of the old factory community in Yangpu District into a creative community), the Datang community in Huangshi City, Hubei Province (community autonomy and red property management system in the old family area of the Oriental Iron and Steel Factory), Guangzhou Swire Xinlei Kindergarten (renovation of the old site of Chengzhitang warehouse), Shanghai Caojiadu Hengyu Welfare Institute for the Elderly (renovation of the former site of Shanghai Towel No. 2 Factory), etc., all of which show an important path for the protection and renewal of the mainland's industrial heritage to continue to generate value in the future.
However, in practice, there is currently no large-scale and systematic industrial heritage protection and renewal community in the mainland, and I have been calling for it all these years, hoping that in the process of future industrial heritage protection and renewal, one or two representative large-scale projects can appear in the process of future industrial heritage protection and renewal, which can point out the direction for future industrial heritage protection and renewal, just like the revitalization and renewal of Kashgar Ancient City in Xinjiang. The protection experience of the ancient historical and cultural cities of the mainland is richer, the start is earlier, and the results are more, and the industrial heritage protection and renewal are relatively late.
Yicai: The cultural tourism project at the core of industrial heritage, the development of industrial memory and the transformation of cultural and creative IP are an important clue. In your opinion, what is the good development direction to promote the value of industrial heritage, so that more people can empathize with industrial memory and like industrial heritage IP?
Han Han: To make people like industrial heritage, we must first lower the threshold. High-priced tickets, complicated procedures, etc. are not advisable, otherwise the industrial heritage will not be accepted and popularized. The development of industrial heritage tourism in the mainland is very recent, but in the process of research, we found that many industrial heritage sites are completely isolated from the people because they belong to state-owned assets or the internal assets of some enterprises. As a cultural protection unit, individual inheritances have to "say hello to the leaders" if they want to visit them, which is really a shame. This runs counter to the general trend of the protection and renewal of the world's industrial heritage, and does not meet the basic demands of sustainable development of the reuse of the mainland's industrial heritage. Therefore, to do a good job in the reuse of industrial heritage, first firmly establish the people's standard, break all kinds of rules, and then talk about other things.
Some of the more popular projects, such as Taikoo Cang in Guangzhou, Shipyard 1862 in Shanghai, and Liangyou Hongfang in Wuhan, are doing relatively well and therefore have sustained vitality. As far as I know, some industrial heritage items have become "secondary ruins". In addition to the external environment, a big factor is that it is separated from the people, and individual projects are now dilapidated, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they have been abandoned by the people. Therefore, the protection and renewal of industrial heritage requires both accumulation of experience and lessons.