Citywalk is on fire, why is the city worth strolling?

Meet up with two or three friends, stroll through the city streets, see the old buildings, browse the special shops, order a cup of coffee or taste authentic local snacks... During this time, Citywalk became a new favorite of young people.

"Citywalk" means "City Walk", participants walk on a unique urban route, explore with their feet, go deep into the fabric of the city, breathe close to the city, and feel the unique temperament of the city.

As more and more people are fascinated by "city walks", we can't help but ask, what makes cities more fascinating?

01

See Culture

In Beijing, a popular route for city walks can't avoid hutongs. Walking deep in the hutongs, you can learn about the quaint history of old Beijing, feel the steaming life of the Beijing people, and linger in a variety of food and creative shops, where the layers of history unfold.

How does Beijing protect hutongs and make the city remember? In recent years, Beijing has intensified the renovation of old cities and innovated transformation methods. In 2017, the Beijing Urban Master Plan (2016-2035) was approved, clarifying that the old city can no longer be demolished, and that everything should be guaranteed through vacated and restorative construction.

In some old towns, residents can voluntarily choose to "go or stay", and those who move out live in buildings with modern facilities; Residents are retained by using vacated space to improve living conditions and equipping them with modern kitchens and bathrooms. The interior of the house has been renovated very modernly, but the courtyard outside the house cannot be changed at will, and the antique floor tiles, gray tiles, and red doors have been restored to their original appearance. After the repair and protection of "embroidery kung fu", the Jinghua charm of "old alley secluded house quiet tree" has returned.

In addition to hutongs, the magnificent route of Beijing's central axis is not to be missed. The cultural heritage of Beijing's central axis stretches from the Drum Tower and Bell Tower in the north to Yongdingmen in the south, running through the old city of Beijing with a total length of 7.8 kilometers, and is known as the "soul and backbone of the old city of Beijing".

In 2011, Beijing proposed the application of the central axis. Over the years, the protection of Beijing's central axis has continued to advance, with ancient buildings being repaired and courtyards being renewed. This year, the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Application Report has been submitted.

In Shanghai, the "Wutong District" is a must-visit for lovers of city strolls. "Wutong District" is not an administrative area of Shanghai, but a well-known neighborhood where plane trees are planted and suitable for walking and leisure.

Sycamore trees, historical buildings, garden houses, and small shops, strolling among them, you can feel the cultural heritage of Shencheng the most.

How does Shanghai keep the romance and tone of the "Wutong District"? Let's take the Wukang Building as an example.

The Wukang Building was completed in 1924 and completed two protective repairs in 2009 and 2019. In 2020, the Wukang Building block underwent another "micro-update", and the next was "embroidery kung fu".

This "micro-update" carried out the optimization of the comprehensive pole of the signal light, the removal of redundant poles, and the concealment of the external unit of the air conditioner. In particular, people used to take a beautiful photo with the building as the background, and could only wait for the gap of the red light and the gap of pedestrians to hurriedly press the shutter, in this "micro-update", the best shooting point has been expanded and upgraded, so that everyone can enjoy shooting.

Renovations and "micro-renewals" like this are taking place everywhere in the Wutong District and other historical and cultural districts in Shanghai. In terms of policy, Shanghai issued relevant documents to clarify the city's management requirements for construction projects involving preservation and protection, strictly plan, demolition and construction management, strictly control the demolition of historic buildings, and further improve the management system for the preservation and protection of historic buildings.

In terms of renovation efforts, Shanghai has actively promoted the overall repair of Caoyang Village in Putuo District, the repair of excellent historical buildings in Hengfu Style District in Xuhui District, the repair of all public housing projects directly under the management of Jing'an District, and the renovation of old bungalows in Yuyuan Road Style District in Changning District to improve the living conditions of the masses on the basis of retaining the style.

△The former residence of Xia Yan after restoration

The old street ancient city carries the memory of the city. Up to now, 141 national historical and cultural cities have been announced, more than 1,200 historical and cultural districts and 61,900 historical buildings have been designated. Recently, the "Urban and Rural History and Culture Protection and Utilization Project Specification" was officially released, which will be implemented from December 1 this year, setting national standards for the protection and utilization of urban and rural history and culture.

From Guangzhou Yongqingfang to Fuzhou Sanfang Seven Alleys, from Guangdong Chaozhou Ancient City to Shanxi Pingyao Ancient City, from Xi'an City Wall to Suzhou Pingjiang Historical and Cultural District... It has become the consensus of cities everywhere to do a good job of "embroidery efforts", protect ancient buildings, old houses, and old neighborhoods, guard the urban context, let the city leave memories, and let people remember homesickness.

02

See nature

For city strolls, some people prefer to feel the history and culture of the city, while others prefer to enjoy the green waters and mountains of the city.

In Beijing, as well as the hutong route and the central axis route, there is also a leisure route closer to nature - along the Liangma River.

Liangma River along the river 2 lakes, 24 bridges, 18 scenery, everywhere you go is a scenery. There are also important business districts such as Sanlitun, Lufthansa, and Langang along the route, connecting hundreds of specialty restaurants and popular check-in shops.

Walking on the river bank during the day, the trees are shady, the shore is picnics, fishing, outdoor sports people, and there are people playing kayaking, paddle boarding and other water sports on the water; When night falls, the buildings on both sides of the river are lit up, and sightseeing cruises pass through the water, and the sound of water frogs is singing one after another. It can be said that whenever you come to Liangma River, you can always be infected by the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere here.

Seeing such a bright horse river, it is hard to imagine that it used to be a small ditch with a smell. How does the Liangma River change?

Over the years, Chaoyang District of Beijing has carried out comprehensive landscape and environmental improvement of Liangma River from the aspects of bank reconstruction, greening and beautification, lighting and lighting, water body treatment, animal and plant protection, etc., to create a riverside park of 800,000 square meters, building a natural winding riverbank curve and a rich and diverse waterfront landscape belt. At the same time, Chaoyang District has also established a system of river and lake chiefs, a daily special inspection system, and adopted a series of measures such as professional property management and social residents' co-governance. After various efforts, the Liangma River has become a "people-friendly river", providing a good place for Beijing citizens to be close to the water.

After swimming the Liangma River in Beijing, we will go to Fuzhou, Fujian Province to see the mountains. There is a special way to walk around the city of Fuzhou - strolling through the "Fu Road".

Fudao refers to the urban forest trail in Fuzhou, which connects the city at one end and nature at the other. Walking on the "Fu Road" is like walking on the top of the forest, shuttling through the forest, the eyes are green, everywhere is the scenery, around the mountains to see the city, the city is in the mountains.

The path of blessing is born in the mountains and rivers. There are 58 mountains in the central urban area of Fuzhou alone, but citizens once "saw the mountains but did not enter the mountains, and it was difficult to enjoy the green when they saw the green". How to carefully protect the green mountains and waters, and let the people share the joy of the mountains and rivers?

In 2012, Jinjishan Park started to build the first barrier-free mountain greenway in Fuzhou, a 2650-meter-long steel structure bridge, flying at the top of the steep slope, achieving a 360° view of the city plank road at an altitude of 80~90 meters, which is amazing. In the past 10 years, this exploration of harmonious coexistence between man and landscape has not stopped, and Fudao has ushered in version 2.0 and version 3.0 one after another.

At present, Fuzhou has a total length of 131 kilometers of mountain trails, which are closely connected with 501.7 kilometers of waterfront greenways, more than 200 traditional old streets and lanes, 379 beaded parks and 1022 street parks within walking distance. The road of blessing winds through the greenery, and mountains, water, people, and cities blend more closely.

A beautiful city must have high-rise buildings, and it cannot be without clear water and green mountains. In 2021, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on Promoting Green Development of Urban and Rural Construction, calling for promoting the green development of regions and urban agglomerations and building beautiful cities where man and nature live in harmony.

Over the years, from water body improvement to landscaping, from the construction of ecological parks to the "pocket parks" at the doorstep, looking at the whole country, cities in various places are suitable for mountains and water, so that cities can integrate into nature, so that residents can see mountains and water. Push the window to see the green, go out to see the scenery, see the flowers in all seasons, the city is in the blue water and green mountains, it is no longer a luxury, but a beautiful daily life.

03

See "Updates"

Some urban walking routes vividly show the vigorous vitality of urban renewal. From whether it is good or not, mainland urban construction has entered an important period of urban renewal, and various cities are exploring new ways to play.

In Shanghai, walking along the Yangpu Riverfront Shoreline, you will learn how the "industrial rust belt" has been transformed into a "life show belt" and "development embroidery belt".

Yangpu Riverside Shoreline is known as "China's modern industrial civilization corridor", however, with the adjustment of urban functions and industrial transformation and upgrading, traditional industries have been gradually eliminated, and the once brilliant has become a patchy ruin.

At the end of 2013, Shanghai made the decision to develop the Yangpu Riverside ecological shoreline, and a "life show belt" was launched. In 2019, the public space east of Yangpu Bridge was opened to the public. Here the waterfront is open and beautiful, it is a "net celebrity check-in place" often exposed by fashionable people, a fitness field for athletes, and a "parent-child paradise" loved by children...

At the same time, dozens of industrial remains have been ingeniously preserved. The century-old Minghua sugar warehouse has been transformed into a public service space integrating conference and leisure; Once known as the production site of "the largest soap factory in the Far East", it was transformed into the "Soap Dream Space" Baiqi Cafe; There are also many international first-line fashion brands that have successively used the century-old factory as a fashion show and the world's first place.

△The old warehouse was transformed into a landmark building "Green Hill"

The new scenery attracts the new economy, and now the coast is detailed, emerging enterprises are coming, the national university science and technology park is full of vitality, the technology exchange has been officially landed, and a number of major projects have started construction, and the Yangpu riverside shoreline has ushered in new glory.

Shanghai's Yangpu Riverfront is not alone, in Beijing, Shougang Park has been transformed into a popular landmark for hosting various large-scale events; In Jinan, the century-old Chengfeng Flour Mill will be built into Shandong's first e-sports new media industrial park; In Jingdezhen, the original Cosmic Porcelain Factory butterfly became Taoxichuan, attracting art lovers from all over the country... Countless industrial heritage has been "reborn" in urban renewal.

In the city walking route of Guangzhou, Guangdong, you can often see the figure of Yongqing Fang. Yongqing Fang offers another idea of urban renewal.

Yongqing Fang is located on Enning Road, which is the core area of old Guangzhou and the most beautiful arcade street in Guangzhou. During the late Qing Dynasty, it was the economic core of southern China. However, as the years passed, the neighborhood that had gone through vicissitudes gradually decayed.

Since 2009, a micro-renovation has continued in Yongqing Fang. Today, the revitalized Yongqing Fang has become a new cultural landmark where traditional and modern cultures blend and develop in the old town.

This is an ideal place to find the heritage of Yangcheng and the cultural context of Xiguan. After making full efforts to "repair the old as the old and build the new as before", walking in Yongqing Fang, the rich charm of Xiguan came to the face. There are historical buildings with Lingnan characteristics, such as Bruce Lee's ancestral residence, Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall, Bahe Hall, Luan Yu Hall, etc., gathering a number of intangible cultural heritage such as Cantonese opera art, Xiguan Tatong, Guangcai, and Guangxiu.

On the other hand, Yongqingfang has also cultivated a number of new formats and models. Over the years, focusing on the two goals of "art and culture highland" and "trendy life destination", Yongqing Fang has successively introduced more than 100 intangible cultural heritage brands, international restaurants, and dynamic fashion brands. The West District focuses on renewing the national brand; The East District introduces international brands, music scenes, original fashion brands, and designer brands. Yongqingfang is also committed to cooperating with excellent art institutions at home and abroad, introducing a wealth of art and cultural activities. The vibrant Yongqing Place attracts many young people who use it as a starting point for their entrepreneurial dreams.

At present, the development of urbanization in the mainland has entered the middle and late stages, and urban construction has shifted from large-scale incremental construction to equal emphasis on stock quality improvement and incremental structural adjustment. According to incomplete statistics, in 2022 alone, 571 cities across the country will implement urban renewal projects reaching 65,000.

In July this year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a notice on promoting urban renewal in a solid and orderly manner, proposing to adhere to the priority of urban physical examination, give play to the coordinating role of urban renewal planning, strengthen the guidance of refined urban design, innovate the sustainable implementation mode of urban renewal, clarify the bottom line requirements of urban renewal, and prevent large-scale demolition and construction. How to carry out urban renewal according to local conditions, we look forward to active exploration in cities around the world, and eight immortals crossing the sea and showing their talents.

City walks are on fire, and more and more people are taking to the streets to feel the beauty of the city. The next time you take a walk in the city with friends, stop for a moment and think about how many people are silently guarding the beauty of the city, and how many efforts are quietly underway.

Executive Producer/Li Zhe, Editor-in-Chief/Wang Xingdong

Written by/Xie Yujie Proofreader/Gao Shaozhuo

Part of the image source/Visual China

Some of the content is synthesized from Xinhua Daily Telegraph, Beijing Chaoyang, Shanghai Xuhui, Shanghai Yangpu, Guangzhou Liwan Release, Fuzhou Daily, etc

Responsible editor: Jia Hongwei