The scenery of the northern country, thousands of miles of snow drifting. The Great Wall winds, and the golden dragon leaps.
The Great Wall has witnessed the vicissitudes of the ancient nation. In August 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed during his inspection tour in Jiayuguan: "We must do a good job in the excavation of the cultural value of the Great Wall and the inheritance and protection of cultural relics, carry forward the national spirit, and gather great strength to realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." "Entering the new era, the sons and daughters of China are writing a new chapter of high-quality development on the vast land at the foot of the Great Wall with the spirit of struggle and patriotism.
From spiritual identity to cultural tourism IP
Through the changes of the times, across mountains, rivers, water and land, the Great Wall carries the historical context of Chinese civilization and condenses the national spirit. In the in-depth integration and development of culture and tourism, "Great Wall +" allows cultural relics that have been silent for thousands of years to tell the story of the new era of "why China".
From the northeast to the northwest of Beijing, the Great Wall hovers between the mountains. The "Gyeonggi Great Wall" National Scenic Byway, with a total length of about 445 kilometers, connects the five major exhibition areas of the Great Wall National Cultural Park (Beijing Section), and radiates more than 30 high-quality tourist attractions such as Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area, Juyongguan Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall, Huanghuacheng Water Great Wall, and Simatai Great Wall.
Tourists visit the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing on October 26, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xing Guangli
The drums are bursting, the dance steps are dancing, and the original stage play "The Great Wall Builds Dreams" was staged in the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area. "Yanqing empowers new business formats with culture, promotes brand activities such as Badaling's 'Great Wall Night' to upgrade and increase efficiency, and develops 'Great Wall Gifts' cultural and creative products, so that the Great Wall culture 'live' and cultural tourism consumption is hot. Ma Honghuan, member of the Standing Committee of the Yanqing District Party Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department of Beijing, said.
This is the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing after the snow taken on December 18, 2023 (drone photo). Xinhua News Agency (photo by Liu Yu)
From visiting to experiencing, from performing arts to cultural creativity, from guarding cultural relics to building scenes...... The ancient Great Wall is becoming visible, palpable, and relatable. When people can read the national memory and spiritual bearing from the sections of walls and beacon towers, the Great Wall has also become a golden signboard for the development of cultural tourism.
Tourists play at the Great Wall of Water in Huanghuacheng, Beijing, March 29, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Chenlin
Xigou Village, Suizhong County, Liaoning Province, backed by the Great Wall of Awl Mountain, was selected as the "Third Batch of Chinese Traditional Villages List" in 2014. After the development of tourism in the local area, tourists have come to this century-old village to breathe life.
After patrolling the Great Wall, Ye Deqi, the Great Wall protector of Xigou Village, returned to his farmhouse and immediately started cleaning without taking a break. "The Great Wall has its own beauty throughout the year, and the number of visitors to our village is constant throughout the year. "When business is good, Ye Deqi's family can earn 150,000 or 60,000 yuan a year.
Protecting and developing the Great Wall is a conscious action of the people along the route. In 2021, the "Plan for the Construction and Protection of the Great Wall National Cultural Park" was promulgated, and 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities along the Great Wall will use the Great Wall National Cultural Park as a carrier to jointly explore new ways to protect, inherit and utilize the cultural relics and cultural resources of the Great Wall in the new era.
In Liaoning, the Great Wall at the Nine Gates has opened its night tour mode, with light shows, water curtain movies and other special activities; in Shaanxi, the main body of the Great Wall Museum of the Hongshixia Great Wall National Cultural Park Project (Phase I Project) has been completed, and the modern buildings of more than 4,000 square meters echo the Zhenbei Terrace not far away; in Xinjiang, the Fengsui Great Wall National Cultural Park in Wushibedili was completed and opened in April this year, and as of the beginning of December, the number of visitors exceeded 100,000......
Tourists watch a water curtain movie at the Jiumen Great Wall Scenic Area in Suizhong County, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, June 30, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Pan Yulong
"Guarding the Great Wall is to protect the roots of the national spirit, and telling the story of the Great Wall well is to inherit the torch of Chinese civilization. Wang Jianhua, deputy director of the Archaeological and Cultural Relics Protection Center of Suizhong County, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, said.
From bitter cold to livable
The place where the Great Wall is located is mostly a bitter cold place in ancient times, with rapid winds, cold water, and smoke and dust. Today, the Great Wall has been renewed, like a green link running through the east and west, and has become a livable place with clear waters and lush mountains.
On the red mountain in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, Zhenbeitai has stood since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Looking up from below, the vicissitudes of history come to the face, and from the stage, the melting greenery shines through the snow.
Zhenbeitai in the northern suburbs of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, witnesses the reversal of the Mu Us Sandy Land from yellow to green and the transformation of Yulin City (drone photo taken on September 11, 2021). In the early days of liberation, only 600,000 acres of natural forests remained in Yulin City, and the forest coverage rate was only 0.9%, forming a passive situation of "sand entering and people retreating". After more than 70 years of unremitting sand control and afforestation, all 8.6 million acres of quicksand in the city have been fixed and semi-fixed, so that Shaanxi's green territory has been promoted to Peking University. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tao Ming
In the past, the north platform of the town was surrounded by vast yellow sand. Backed by Mu Usu, one of China's four major sandy areas, the people of Yulin, who have suffered from wind and sand, began to afforestation, control desertification and ecological restoration under the guidance of the government in the 50s of the 20th century.
After more than 70 years of efforts, 23.6 million acres of lush forests and seas have bound the rolling yellow sand, and 8.6 million acres of quicksand have all been fixed and semi-fixed, and Yulin has achieved a historic leap from "sand entering and people retreating" to "green entering and sand retreating".
"I like to take a walk around Zhenbeitai and watch the scenery change with the seasons. Duan Yunfei, president of the Yulin Mayor's City Society, said that the ancients built the Great Wall with the spirit of self-improvement, and now the people along the Great Wall are determined to create a green miracle.
From the shores of the Bohai Sea and the Loess Plateau to the Hexi Corridor, the green territory along the Great Wall continues to expand. The Great Wall, dressed in green, has witnessed the development and transformation of villages.
Wuqi County, Shaanxi Province, is named after the Ming Dynasty Great Wall passing through the border. In recent years, based on the advantages of agricultural resources brought about by ecological improvement, the local government has put forward the industrial layout of "grain and vegetables in the stream, medicinal fruits in the mountains, fish and crabs in the reservoir, cattle and sheep in the farms", vigorously developed carrots, pumpkins and other characteristic cash crops, and embarked on a rural revitalization path of ecological enrichment and industrial income.
It is understood that taking the construction of the Great Wall National Cultural Park as an opportunity, in the future, all kinds of cultural relics and cultural resources and natural ecological resources along the Great Wall will be further connected, activated and optimized, and a picture of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, and coordinated development of ecology and economy will be slowly unfolded.
At the foot of the Bamian Peak in Qianxi County, Hebei Province, the Great Wall Ecological Cultural Tourism Cluster Project of the Great Wall National Cultural Park (Qianxi Section) is under construction. "We plan to build five core business formats: cultural experience, leisure and vacation, natural health care, waterfront hot springs, and agricultural research, and the more ambitious goal is to build a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei natural resort tourism destination and a model demonstration project for rural revitalization," said Qian Jianliang, director of the Qianxi County Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau. ”
From an energy-rich area to an industrial innovation zone
The Great Wall embodies the Chinese nation's spirit of unremitting self-improvement. The enduring spirit of the Great Wall inspires the sons and daughters of China to work hard for a better life and for high-quality development.
Meander west along the Great Wall to the land of northern Shaanxi. In the Shaanxi Shaanxi Coal Caojiatan Mining Co., Ltd., north of Changlebao on the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, there is hardly any trace of coal. "The company is led by digital transformation to achieve clean and efficient coal production. Lei Yajun, chairman of the company, said, "We are developing industrial tourism, coal production is not visible, and the mining area has become a scenic spot, which is a portrayal of the high-quality development of the mainland coal industry." ”
Yulin City, where Shaanxi Shaanxi Coal Caojiatan Mining Co., Ltd. is located, was once one of the important towns in the nine borders. Ma Hongge, deputy director of the Yulin Development and Reform Commission, said that as one of the important energy bases in the mainland, Yulin is exploring a green, efficient and low-carbon high-quality development path of energy and chemical industry. In 2022, the regional GDP will reach 654.365 billion yuan, and the per capita GDP will reach 180,800 yuan.
Caojiatan Smart Mine at night (taken on October 12, 2021). Through the construction of an intelligent mining system, Caojiatan Smart Mine has made the mine production process intelligent, improved mining efficiency and reduced operating costs. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Rui
Not only Yulin, but also Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei along the Great Wall are energy-rich places, and technological innovation achievements have blossomed in many places.
The spirit of the Great Wall, in the majestic buildings, beyond the thousands of miles of pictures, all over the country tells the story of the Great Wall in an innovative way, so that the spirit of the Great Wall can be passed on from generation to generation and show new vitality in the new era.
Text reporters: Cai Xinyi, Li Yanan, Wei Mengjia, Yang Shujun, Zhao Hongnan, Yang Fan, Zhao Penghao
Video reporters: Wang Hongliu, Wu Hongbo, Qu Lanjuan, Xia Zilin, Gao Ming
Poster design: Sun Yao
编辑：张虹生、李民、宋为伟、李梦娇、王浩程、郭洁宇
Co-ordinator: Zhou Yongyi