Ancient village new realm

From June to August, Hunan Daily launched a special report on Hunan’s famous cultural villages, “Cultural China Tour: Ancient Villages in Time”. 9 reporters went to the ancient villages in Hunan, deeply excavated and interpreted Chinese traditional culture, and presented inheritance and development, nostalgia and hope through pictures, texts and videos, vividly showing Hunan’s efforts and responsibilities in deeply implementing Xi Jinping’s cultural thoughts and bravely shouldering the cultural mission of the new era.

We followed the Yang clan members into the “Sizhi Hall” in Dayuan Village, Shaoyang, and inherited the ancestral precepts of “Sizhi refused gold and passed on the family with innocence”; stopped at the old street of Dongshi Village, Yiyang, which was one li long, and listened to the noise of people and horses on the Tea Road; followed the bluestone road in front of the ancient kiln site of Fengshupo in Weishan Village, Zhuzhou, and felt the lingering warmth of the thousand-year kiln fire.

Capture the details of life and show the simple folk customs. There is no need to paint the details of life in bold and vivid colors, but to be delicate and vivid. The key is to get into the things and objects that accompany the villagers day and night. We recorded Peng Shuzhen from Shuangfeng Village in Xiangxi leading everyone to dance the waving hand dance while beating the drum; we captured the scene of Li Yilin, the old branch secretary of Zhongtian Village in Hengyang, guiding the children in the village to practice calligraphy; we chatted with the villagers of Yutou Village in Huaihua in the drum tower and enjoyed the leisure time.

Focus on rural cultural tourism and awaken poetry and distance. Hunan’s ancient villages have a long history. Relying on natural landscapes and humanistic endowments, they have a natural advantage in empowering rural development through the integration of culture and tourism. Our camera is aimed at the high-speed train whizzing past Banliang Village in Chenzhou, telling tourists that they can explore here along the Wuhan-Guangzhou Line; we introduce the Mud Washing Festival of Gou Lan Yao Village in Yongzhou to readers, inviting everyone to come here to surround the stage, taste food, and enjoy performances; we recorded the cat cafe in Zhang Guying Village in Yueyang, so that young friends can feel that the ancient village is not conservative, but a coexistence of heritage and fashion.

These villages with their own characteristics are not only the benefits of history, but also the inheritance of culture, and the fruits of the people of Sanxiang who insist on reform and opening up and build beautiful villages. Hunan Daily reporters traveled across mountains and rivers, using both pen and camera to tell the world that Hunan’s blueprint for beautiful countryside is continuing to become a reality.