Exterior view of Xiaoyaotou Village. (Courtesy of Zhang Jianming, director of Taiyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
Driving east from Taiyuan City, it was not long before we entered Dongshan, and a village with northern characteristics came into view. Antique traditional courtyards, the sound of the guqin around the beams, tourists wearing Hanfu for a group photo... People can't help but stop and admire.
The place in front of you is called Xiaoyaotou Village. Speaking of the changes in the village, Li Lin, the 71-year-old village party secretary, was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. He recalled that in history, the village opened a lot of coal kilns because of the abundant coal production, and it was a well-known coal-producing village, "although it can fill the stomach by digging coal, the environmental damage is serious, and the quality of life of everyone has not been able to go up." ”
With the government's emphasis on environmental protection work, since 2005, the coal mines in the village have begun to shut down, and the surrounding enterprises that do not meet environmental protection requirements have also been gradually removed... However, although the environment has improved, the village collective economy has lost its source, the villagers have no income, people sigh and sigh all day, and the whole village is dead.
At that time, Jia Zhiming, who had just become the director of the village committee, was at a loss in the face of the lifeless xiaoyaotou village in front of him: what could he do to lead the village out of the predicament? The development programme has been drafted several times and has not been conclusive. In this way, the embarrassment of the village continued for many years, until the two non-hereditary heirs moved in.
This is a tool for making guqin. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Feifei)
In 2015, two non-genetic heirs rented two yards in the village and moved the studio over. Their entry began to attract some peers to come to exchanges, injecting a long-lost popularity into the almost "empty nest" small kiln head village.
This subtle change was captured by Jia Zhiming. He began to think, there are so many empty courtyards in the village, why not attract more non-genetic heirs to settle in, forming a scale effect?
This idea was supported by superior leaders, who believed that Xiaoyaotou Village had convenient transportation and better preservation of village style, and was a cultural "jade" that could be well built.
"Over the years, most of the intangible cultural heritage projects have been scattered in the private sector, and the living conditions are not good. Our original intention was to create a place to protect intangible cultural heritage projects, so that traditional handicrafts can live in a dignified way. Zhang Wensheng, deputy director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Xinghualing District, Taiyuan City, said.
Soon, with the support of governments at all levels, the renovation project and contract signing of the village appearance were carried out in an orderly manner, and by the time the town opened in 2018, a total of 21 non-hereditary heirs were attracted to settle in.
Walking into today's Xiaoyaotou Village, you will walk through the traditional courtyards with unique styles, simple and thick Traditional Qing-style furniture, exquisite Jia's clay sculptures, and the endless sound of guqin... Immerse yourself in a feast of culture.
Zhang Hao, a non-hereditary heir, is making a guqin. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"After settling in Xiaoyaotou Village, the government has given substantial help in policies and fees, and often organizes various activities, and our influence has increased significantly, and our business conditions have become better and better." Zhang Hao, a non-hereditary heir, said that the average price of making a guqin was 70,000 or 80,000 yuan, and now it has almost doubled.
Zhang Jianming, director of the Taiyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, said that the establishment of the intangible cultural heritage town is not only of great benefit to the protection and publicity of intangible cultural heritage projects, but also helps to learn from each other, but also helps to improve the creativity and form a fission effect.
Zhang Hao, a non-hereditary heir, is playing the guqin. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
The "butterfly change" of Xiaoyaotou Village has also greatly changed the spiritual outlook of the villagers. Li Lin said that in the past, people's entertainment activities were to play mahjong and visit the door, but now, adults lead their children to watch the teachers teach without any problem, women also learn embroidery and paper-cutting, and the "cultural flavor" in the village is getting stronger and stronger.
Today's Xiaoyaotou Village has begun to "go out of the circle". On weekends, there is an endless stream of people who come to visit and play, which drives the local villagers to increase their income. "The income can be more than 100,000 yuan a year." Ma Yuexian, a villager who runs a homestay, said that he is 72 years old, and if he wants to farm, he can't do any work, and by opening a homestay, life is getting better and better every year!
Jia Zhiming added that for villagers who move out, the average income of renting yards alone can reach 30,000 yuan, and the collective income of the village also exceeds 600,000 yuan.
"With the continuous improvement of the appearance of the village and the entry of more intangible cultural heritage projects, we will expand more content such as cultural research and rural tourism in the future, and build Xiaoyaotou Village into a cultural 'highland' for rural revitalization!" Jia Zhiming said. (Reporter Xie Yuan)