On February 10, tourists visited Tianjin Ancient Culture Street. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zishuo
Tianjin, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- During the Spring Festival, the ancient culture street, the earliest gathering place for folk customs, culture and commerce in Tianjin, was dressed in festive costumes and dotted with jubilant "Chinese red" everywhere. On the street, Gui Faxiang Eighteenth Street Twist, Yangliu Youth Painting, Guoren Zhang and other Chinese time-honored brands and national intangible cultural heritage merchants are lined up, attracting visitors from all over the world to come to visit and "check in".
On the 687-meter-long main street, there are a total of 26 time-honored brands and intangible cultural heritage shops, and these dazzling "old brands" carry the memories of the people. In recent years, with the development of the times, the old brand of Jinmen is seeking new opportunities for rejuvenation.
On February 10, tourists visited Tianjin Ancient Culture Street. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zishuo
When it comes to the woodblock prints of Tianjin Yangliu Qing, which have existed for more than 400 years, the image of a fat doll holding a red carp will appear in front of people's eyes, conveying a strong New Year's flavor. However, in recent years, Yangliu Youth Painting has gone the opposite way, making New Year's paintings no longer just "New Year's paintings".
Located in Tianjin's Ancient Culture Street, the Yang Liuqing painting shop is crowded. A father and son consult how to buy a "digital collection", and a young couple tries on a canvas bag printed with "New Year's Picture Doll" on the back.
"Last year, the sales of New Year's pictures and cultural and creative products in our stores increased significantly, and we achieved five to five openings. Yang Kai, manager of Yang Liuqing painting shop, said.
While not giving up the New Year painting market, the painting society has also developed a number of cultural and creative products relying on more than 6,000 ancient plates and more than 20,000 New Year paintings collected after decades of rescue protection. Classic elements such as "fat dolls" in people's memories have also been given new life, printed on silk scarves, pendants, and porcelain vases, and once again entered the homes of ordinary people.
The time-honored brand of "relying on the old and selling the new" seeks development in "revitalization". The renovated clay figurine shop is simple and elegant, with a long ancient charm. In the window of the flower and wood carving, there are pieces of colored sculptures that "pinch the world to live", and the subtle expressions of the characters and the smooth lines of the placket make many young tourists stop and take a closer look.
Clay figurines are one of the representatives of the field of clay sculpture in China, and were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list as early as 2006. In order to make the development of intangible cultural heritage better, as early as ten years ago, the inheritor of the clay figurine began to enter the campus to teach students traditional clay sculptures on a voluntary basis, and guide and encourage the future generation to love traditional culture and inherit cultural genes.
"Intangible cultural heritage should not wait for young people to love it, but should take the initiative to embrace a more dynamic market. Zhang Yu, the sixth-generation inheritor of the clay figurine, said that the clay figurine Zhang is trying to integrate into the growth of teenagers, and at the same time, the shining sparks of the students in the creation also bring new ideas to the traditional clay sculpture of the clay figurine.
"Culture is the soul of intangible cultural heritage, and it is a new proposition given by the times to accelerate the construction of a multi-level and three-dimensional protection, inheritance and dissemination system, and cultivate a group of new groups who love and understand traditional culture. Zhang Wenying, an associate researcher at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, who has been studying time-honored brands for a long time, said.
Tourists visit Tianjin Ancient Culture Street on February 10 (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zishuo
Different from the "new ideas" of the development of Niren Zhang, Gui Faxiang and Guoren Zhang, the "time-honored Chinese brands" enterprises that are also located on the street, have created "new selling points" through "grouping" and played "new tricks".
Walking into the "joint store" jointly created by the two old brands, all kinds of small and easy-to-carry small twist flowers, sugar and high-fiber twist flowers, as well as a variety of flavors of melon seeds and nuts are beautifully packaged and dazzling, attracting many tourists.
"Customers can buy different brands of Chinese New Year products in one place. Sun Zhuo, the store manager who has worked in the Guorenzhang store on Guwen Street for 14 years, said, "Our products are constantly innovating to adapt to the tastes of ordinary people. More and more young customers are visiting the store. ”
"Time-honored brands seek new traffic, and while inheriting cultural values, they have created greater economic benefits. Li Lu, president of Tianjin Time-honored Brand Association and chairman of Tianjin Guifaxiang 18th Street Twist Food Co., Ltd., believes.
An old street is full of wonderful. Zhang Wenying said that the intangible cultural heritage and time-honored brands on Tianjin's ancient culture street carry the skills and cultural essence passed down from generation to generation.