Panyu, as an ancient place with a history of more than 2,000 years, has been a county since the Qin Dynasty, and its land contains rich historical and cultural heritage. Therefore, it is an important task full of challenges to scientifically and effectively protect and restore these precious historical heritages to ensure that their historical information and cultural values can be effectively transmitted. In accordance with the relevant national, provincial and municipal cultural relics protection regulations, Panyu District has carefully formulated comprehensive cultural relics protection and repair guidelines. This guideline aims to pass on these cultural heritages, revitalize Panyu's historical heritage, and continue to tell ancient stories to people.
In 2023, Panyu District announced the third batch of registered and protected cultural relics units, of which the number of immovable cultural relics is as high as 763, which ranks first among all districts in Guangzhou. These immovable cultural relics, including ancient buildings, ancient tombs and other types, are scattered in 15 towns and streets and 120 administrative villages or communities in Panyu District, which together constitute the rich and colorful cultural landscape of Panyu District. In particular, the number of cultural relics in Shilou Town, Shawan Street and Hualong Town is particularly rich, and these precious cultural relics not only witness the historical changes of Panyu, but also carry profound cultural connotations, adding endless charm and a sense of heaviness to this ancient land.
Guarding the historical imprint and cultural roots
In Panyu, a land with a long history, the restoration of cultural relics guards the imprint of history and the roots of culture. Recently, Xu Xuesong, a member of the Party Group of the Panyu District Culture, Radio, Tourism and Sports Bureau, director of the Cultural Relics Office, and director of the Panyu Museum, talked about the principles and importance of cultural relics repair in an interview with the Panyu District Government Network.
Xu Xuesong pointed out that the restoration of cultural relics is a key and meticulous work. When dealing with immovable artefacts, the core principle is "minimal intervention". This means that the restoration process strives to maintain the original appearance of the cultural relics and preserve their historical charm and cultural imprint to the greatest extent. Each artifact is like a teller of history, and they carry a rich story and cultural connotation. Therefore, in the process of restoration, we should not only pay attention to the operation at the technical level, but also deeply understand the humanistic care contained in the cultural relics, and give these priceless treasures full respect and protection.
Cultural relics are mainly divided into two categories: movable and immovable according to their characteristics. Movable artifacts, such as exhibits in museums, can be moved, but they also carry the weight of history. The immovable cultural relics, such as ancient ruins, ancient tombs, ancient buildings, etc., are deeply rooted in the urban and rural areas, mountains and forests and fields of Panyu, which are the witnesses of history and the inheritors of culture. These immovable cultural relics not only witness the vicissitudes of Panyu, but also carry a profound cultural heritage, adding endless charm and a sense of heaviness to this land.
The restoration of heritage is not an easy task, and it must follow strict norms and supervision. Xu Xuesong introduced that repairing cultural relics requires professional skills and delicate operations, and any rash move may cause irreversible damage to cultural relics. Therefore, according to national, provincial and municipal cultural relics protection regulations, the restoration work must be carried out by professionals or teams with professional knowledge and technology. They need to submit a repair plan and professional assessment in accordance with the prescribed procedures, and go through strict review and approval by the relevant departments before the repair work can be officially carried out.
Seven core principles must be strictly followed during the restoration process: preservation of pristine state, ensuring authenticity, maintaining integrity, minimal intervention, preserving cultural traditions, employing appropriate conservation techniques, and emphasizing disaster prevention and mitigation. Among them, "maintaining the original state" is the top priority of the protection of cultural relics and monuments. This means that the unique value and style of cultural relics and monuments formed in the long history should be truly and completely preserved, and their historical and cultural environment should be effectively maintained, so that cultural traditions can be continued.
Ingenuity guards and inherits
In recent years, Panyu District has been like a careful craftsman in the protection and repair of cultural relics, brushing off the dust of many precious cultural relics with his hands, so that they can regain their dazzling brilliance.
Since 2014, Panyu District has carefully organized the restoration of more than 200 cultural relics. Among them, those ancestral halls that carry profound historical heritage are not only the inheritance of clan culture, but also the guardians of Panyu's historical memory. After some repair, they seem to have traveled through time and returned to the glory of the past, which has been widely praised by all walks of life and highly recognized by higher departments.
Among the many repair cases, the Shanshitang in Shilou Town is undoubtedly a bright pearl. This ancient ancestral hall, which was built in the Ming Zhengde period, has been baptized by wind and rain for hundreds of years, and was once dilapidated. However, under the careful planning and organization of the cultural relics department of Panyu District, the renovation project of Shanshitang was successfully carried out. After multi-party coordination and in-depth research, the project was successfully completed in 2015. Today's Shanshitang has not only repaired the damaged part, but also retained its original historical style, and has become a model work for the protection and repair of cultural relics in Panyu District.
In addition, the Dai ancestral hall complex in Chishan East Village, Shilou Town, is also eye-catching. There are a total of 14 immovable cultural relics here, 12 of which are Dai ancestral halls. These large-scale and majestic ancestral halls, with exquisite wood carvings, brick carvings and calligraphy murals, show the wisdom and ingenuity of the ancients. Under the active publicity and guidance of the Panyu District Cultural Relics Office, the Dai clan in Chishan East Village has enhanced their awareness of cultural relics protection, spontaneously raised funds and actively participated in the renovation of the ancestral hall. With the joint efforts of both sides, a number of renovation projects have been successfully implemented, among which the ancestral hall of the Dai clan in Chishan East has been promoted to the cultural relics protection unit of Guangzhou, injecting new vitality into the protection of local cultural heritage.
These successful restoration practices not only demonstrate the active exploration and remarkable achievements of Panyu District in the protection and restoration of cultural relics, but also highlight the unity and cooperation spirit of the government, ethnic groups and all walks of life in the protection of cultural relics. Through the successful model of government-led, clans-led and social participation, Panyu District will continue to promote the in-depth development of cultural relics restoration, so that every nostalgia can be preserved and every memory will glow with new brilliance.
Shilou Town Shanshitang (Panyu Fusion Media Data Map)
The public participates in supervision and jointly builds a barrier for the protection of cultural relics
As the backbone of cultural relics protection, the public plays a pivotal role in the protection of cultural relics. Through the construction of the "three-level joint guarantee" system, Panyu District has successfully attracted extensive public participation and effective supervision, and built a solid barrier for the protection of many precious cultural relics.
Since the third national cultural relics survey in 2008, Panyu District has gradually established a three-level cultural relics protection system of districts, towns and streets, and villages. In this system, the public is not only a participant, but also a supervisor, jointly promoting the in-depth development of cultural relics protection. As a territorial management agency, Zhenjie has set up full-time cultural relics protection supervisors and part-time information officers to conduct regular and irregular inspections and supervision of cultural relics within its jurisdiction to ensure that potential cultural relics safety hazards can be discovered, reported and dealt with in a timely manner.
In addition, Panyu District has also actively introduced social forces to participate in the protection of cultural relics. Through the establishment of cultural relics protection service workstations and ancestral hall cultural research associations and other institutions, more social resources and professionals will be attracted to devote themselves to the protection of cultural relics. The participation of these social forces not only provides more human, material and financial support for the protection of cultural relics, but also makes the protection of cultural relics a cause of common concern to the whole society, forming a good atmosphere for everyone to participate in and supervise.
Activation and utilization of cultural relics to inherit wisdom
In the early morning in Jiucheng College, the crisp sound of children reading books reverberates in every corner of the campus; on holidays, Daling Village in Shilou Town welcomes bustling tourists; in Shawan Ancient Town, some children stop in front of the former residences of He Xiaojing and He Hong martyrs to listen to those heroic stories.
In order to awaken the vitality of cultural relics, Panyu District is well aware of the importance of revitalization and utilization, and has always been committed to attracting more social forces to participate in it. They have always adhered to the concept of "the participation of the whole people in the protection of cultural relics and the sharing of the results of protection", and innovated the implementation of the model of government supervision subsidies and independent use by owners. This model not only ignites the enthusiasm of the grassroots people to participate, but also promotes the harmonious coexistence of cultural relics protection and revitalization.
The former residence of He Xiaojing and He Hong, martyrs on Shawan Street
Jiucheng College
It is understood that by the end of 2023, 18 projects in Panyu District, such as Jiucheng Academy and the former residence of He Xiaojing and He Hong, have been successfully selected as typical cases of cultural relics protection and utilization at the provincial and municipal levels, and remarkable achievements have been made. These projects not only give new vitality to cultural relics and inherit rich historical wisdom, but also actively explore and try diversified forms of cultural relics activation and utilization. Some of the projects have become popular tourist attractions, attracting tourists to come in droves; some have been transformed into patriotic education fronts, providing valuable learning resources for young people; and some have been turned into activity centers for traditional folk culture and art, palaces for art exhibitions, and bases for public welfare activities, adding new colors to the cultural life of the people at the grassroots level and injecting new vitality into the building of spiritual civilization in rural areas.
Shawan Ancient Town
At the same time, Panyu District skillfully combines the protection and utilization of cultural relics with economic development, and with the help of favorable opportunities such as the creation of the "National All-for-One Tourism Demonstration Zone" and the rural revitalization strategy, the national key cultural relics protection units in Panyu District, such as Yuyin Mountain House, Shawan Ancient Town, Daling Village, and Lianxi Village Ancient Buildings (Lingnan Impression Garden), have been deeply developed, forming a pattern of cultural relics utilization that connects the dots and connects the lines into the surface. This not only promotes the vigorous development of the rural tourism industry and the surrounding economy, but also provides a broader space and unlimited possibilities for the activation and utilization of cultural relics.
Text/Picture Panyu financial media reporter Deng Fang