“The Liangzhu ruins are a holy place that demonstrates the five thousand years of Chinese civilization history and are a rare and precious treasure. , We must protect it!” In July 2003, Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, visited the Liangzhu Site in Yuhang District, Hangzhou City to investigate “You don’t want to live! What if someone hears it?” .
In July 2019, the Liangzhu Ancient City ruins were included in the World Heritage List. It demonstrates the five thousand-year history of Chinese civilization to the world with sufficient physical evidence and solid academic support.
In the past five years, the Liangzhu ruins have taken “inclusion as a cultural heritage” as a new starting point, actively explored new ways to protect the ruins, and written a new chapter in cultural inheritance.
Exploring: Promoting new breakthroughs in archeology and research
In the early morning, in the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park, several archaeological technicians were drilling soil with Luoyang shovels Layer, observe the soil core samples taken out, and look for archaeological clues deep in the stratum based on the color changes of each section of the soil core.
“We have completed a ‘big job’ this year, and it is also a ‘small job’.” Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology Liangzhu Ancient City and surrounding areas waterWang Ningyuan, the leader of the systematic archaeological team, said that in the past five years, they have completed a survey of 100 square kilometers around the ancient city ruins in accordance with the basic principle of drilling a hole every 5 meters, and have discovered a total of nearly 350 ruins, and more are expected to be added in the future.
This is a panoramic view of Hangzhou Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park taken on July 4, 2024 ( drone photos). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
Before the ancient city of Liangzhu was built, where did the ancestors live? About 2 kilometers south of the Liangzhu Ancient City ruins, the archaeological team discovered the Beicun ruins, which provided new information for studying the early social development and class differentiation of Liangzhu and exploring the background of the rise of the Liangzhu Ancient City.
How big is the water conservancy system outside Liangzhu Ancient City? Archaeologists have previously discovered 11 dam sites. In recent years, they have used multidisciplinary archaeology to discover more than 10 Liangzhu dams. These large-scale projects reflect the strong social mobilization ability of the ancient Liangzhu country and are important evidence that the ancient Liangzhu country entered a civilized society.
Liangzhu jade is exquisite, where is it produced and processed? In Deqing County, not far from the Liangzhu ancient city ruins, the archaeological team discovered the Zhongchuming ruins. It is the largest jade-making workshop site group during the Liangzhu Culture period in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
This is the cultural relic excavated from the Liangzhu site on display in the Liangzhu Museum (2024 Photographed on April 18, 2018). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yu
The laboratory is also an “important battlefield” for Liangzhu archeology. At the Liangzhu Site Archeology and Conservation Center, Song Shu, a post-90s generation, is carefully piecing together animal bones unearthed from the ancient city. “Food is the first priority for the people.” Zoological archeology can not only answer the interesting question of “what kind of meat did Liangzhu people eat?” but can also help study the economic and living conditions of Liangzhu society five thousand years ago.
“Multidisciplinary archeology has been a powerful tool for Liangzhu archeology in recent years. We have 21 researchers engaged in the fields of animals, plants, geology, environment, water conservancy, Research work in 18 directions such as surveying and mapping.” Wang Ningyuan said, for example, that the water conservancy archeology work not only found more Liangzhu dams, but also achieved “experience export” and made important contributions to the water conservancy archeology work in the Yangtze River Basin.
Xiang Ming, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that in the past five years, the archaeological work in Liangzhu has continued to deepen, providing a richer source of information for the project of exploring the origins of Chinese civilization. material. “We need to explain the ‘source’ and ‘flow’ of Liangzhu culture clearly, “What are you talking about, Mom, baking a few cakes is very hard, not to mention Caiyi and Caixiu are here to help. “Lan Yuhua smiled and shook his head. Let the world know more about Liangzhu’s contribution to Chinese civilization.”
Reporter from Hangzhou Liangzhu Heritage Management Area Management Committee It will be learned that in recent years, the research and interpretation of Liangzhu cultural value has been continuously deepened, and more than 600 kinds of scientific research collections and popular reading materials have been published. At the same time, the local area is also working hard to build an important platform for international cultural exchanges and cooperation. In December 2023, the first “Liangzhu Forum” co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government will profoundly clarify the unique value of Liangzhu culture and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
Protection: Building a high-quality three-dimensional security system
“What is she spilling?” At the South City Wall Ruins in Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park, several tourists asked curiously when they saw the staff using watering cans to sprinkle things on the wall.
On July 4, 2024, tourists visited the South City Wall Ruins Exhibition Point in Hangzhou Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
“This is a specially developed pure natural plant essential oil.” Gao Haiyan, a staff member of the World Heritage Monitoring and Management Center of the Liangzhu Ancient City Site in Hangzhou, said that it It is a “skin care product” tailor-made for Liangzhu. It is jointly developed by the Monitoring Center and the Cultural Relics Protection Materials Laboratory of Zhejiang University. It can inhibit the growth of moss and microorganisms.
You may never be able to go to Liangzhu. “Let’s get along well in the future…” Pei Yi looked at his mother with a pleading look. The main building material of the ruins is soil, but the local climate is cold in winter, hot in summer, humid and rainy, which will cause cracking, collapse, powdering and other diseases to the ruins. “The protection of earthen ruins in a humid environment is a world-class cultural preservation problem. The common practice is to backfill after archaeological excavation, but in this case the public cannot see the appearance of the ruins.” Sun Haibo, director of the monitoring center, recalled, “In the construction of ruins parks At that time, we retained some sections of the ruins, but we also posed a difficult problem for ourselves – how to allow the audience to see the appearance of the ruins clearly while also protecting the ruins? ”
Over the years, the Liangzhu Site Management Department has continued to cooperate with many universities and scientific research institutions across the country to research ways to “extend life” for the Liangzhu Site, and conduct multidisciplinary consultations to solve the problem of “protection of earthen sites in humid environments.” “This is the core issue of the protection of Liangzhu ruins.
In July this year, the monitoring center opened the country’s first southern humid environment earthen site protection laboratory, with a total area of 1,500 square meters, divided into 7 laboratories and There are multiple supporting spaces such as specimen room and expert research room.
In the “Chemistry Laboratory”, Zhang Bingjian, a professor at Zhejiang University Cultural Relics Protection Materials Laboratory, told reporters that the task here is to study various chemical materials needed to protect heritage sites. ; In the “Earth Site Construction Technology Laboratory”, Professor Yuan Junping’s team from Hohai University imitated the ruins soil based on its structural components, and used the imitated soil to provide experimental materials for disease prevention and control research.
On July 8, 2024, researchers monitored the World Heritage Site of Liangzhu Ancient City in Hangzhou The management center’s wet environment soil conservation laboratory conducts experiments. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Yuan
In addition to multidisciplinary consultation, the protection work of the Liangzhu ruins has also been carried out. Digital empowerment. In the monitoring hall of the monitoring center, the staff clicks the mouse and real-time images of different points are displayed on the big screen in real time.
said Sun Haibo. , using the newly developed “Liangzhu Site 5000+” digital intelligence application, the Liangzhu Site has formed an enhanced protection model of “digital real-time monitoring + grid dual supervision + spatial planning control” “For example, some sites are outside the heritage park. , we set up an electronic fence for it to monitor it in real time. ”
There are drones in the sky, full-time patrol teams and police dogs on the road, and amateur cultural conservators in each village… Today, the Liangzhu ruins have built a complete set of A three-dimensional security system of “civil defense + physical defense + technological defense + institutional defense”
“Living”: strengthening the two-way interaction between heritage protection and economic development
“There are barren hills on the ground and a myriad of things underground.” This is the first impression given by many ruins when they first arrive at the Liangzhu Ancient City ruins. Confused, looking at the mounds, grass, jungles, rivers…how to truly appreciate the glory of 5,000 years ago?
Operation of Liangzhu Ancient City Heritage Park? Zheng Jia, the person in charge, said: “In order to make the ancient city ‘alive’, we have thought of many ways, and we feel that the most effective one is digital presentation. By reproducing the appearance of the ancient city of Liangzhu, it helps the audience understand the value of the Liangzhu ruins more intuitively and deeply. ”
On July 4, 2024, tourists visited the Mojiaoshan Palace ruins in Liangzhu Ancient City Heritage Park, Hangzhou. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
Mojiao Mountain is the palace area in the ancient city of Liangzhu. The former palace has long disappeared. However, on the way to climb Mojiao Mountain, tourists only need to scan the AR QR code to see the production and production of Liangzhu people on their mobile phone screens. A series of scenes such as living, building palaces, holding celebrations, etc.
“The Forbidden City in Beijing is located in the center of Beijing, and the palaces in Liangzhu Ancient City are also distributed in the middle. There is a very wonderful cultural connection. “Looking around the ruins and then looking at the virtual palace on his mobile phone, Yang Siping, a tourist from Beijing, was thoughtful.
The Xiao Mojiao Mountain platform in the Mojiao Mountain ruins in the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park in Hangzhou, taken on November 7, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yu
Through the interpretation of many digital technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and large language models, the cultural essence of the Liangzhu ruins has become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. At the Hangzhou Asian Games held last year, from the mascots and torches to the opening and closing ceremonies, “Liangzhu elements” have become important cultural symbols.
Currently, Liangzhu Cultural and Creative Industries has developed more than 600 products in 11 categories. The Aesthetics Alliance has launched more than 700 independently developed and co-branded products, with sales exceeding 100 million yuan.
In Pingyao Town, which is adjacent to the Heritage Park, it passed the “later application for World Heritage.” With the continuous renovation and improvement of “Era”, the old streets in the town have been transformed into intangible cultural heritage settlements, gathering projects such as jade carvings, paper umbrellas, pottery, kites, lanterns, etc., attracting cultural and creative enterprises to settle down, and tourists flocking in.
Over the years, part of the land transfer fees of Liangzhu New City has been used for the protection of Liangzhu ruins. Now, driven by the cultural brand of Liangzhu ruins, the development of Liangzhu New Town has begun.The digital cultural industry has also developed rapidly, with more than 800 cultural companies settled in the city.
On July 4, 2024, a tour bus carrying tourists drove in Liangzhu, Hangzhou Inside the Ancient City Ruins Park (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
At present, Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou City are planning and constructing the “Liangzhu Cultural Corridor” at a high level, aiming to further promote heritage protection and economy Develop two-way interactions. This corridor runs through Liangzhu Museum, Hangzhou National Edition Museum, Liangzhu Ancient City Heritage Park, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and other cultural landmarks. It integrates cultural heritage protection and modern economic development and will become a new engine for high-quality development.
Wang Shu, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Liangzhu Site Management District in Hangzhou, said that the management department is building a comprehensive “professional communication” for the Liangzhu Site +Mass Communication+International Communication” communication system, continue to explore innovative strategies for the protection and inheritance of Liangzhu ruins, and comprehensively polish “Five Thousand Years of China” , for any bride, it is like a slap in the face.
Text reporters: Wu Huanqing, Fang Yibo, Feng Yuan
Video reporters: Wang Yiwen, Li Tao
Poster design: excellence
Coordinator: Leng Yanyan, Wan Qianyi, Cen Yunpeng, Song Weiwei, Jin Yi, Wang Nuo, Zhou Yongmin, Zhao Lulu