In the new year, urban renewal continues to explore new growth points. In Zhongshan, Guangdong, a century-old street, after renovation, has not only given every historical memory a new stage, but also turned old flavors and stories into thriving businesses.
The recent New Year's Day holiday marked the first since the completion of the first phase of renovations on Sun Wen West Road in Zhongshan. Over three days, this 500-meter-long old street received over 650,000 visitors, boosting consumption in the entire street and surrounding commercial area by over 60 million yuan. Why was it so popular? A reporter noticed an interesting phenomenon on the old street: while the renovated arcade buildings along the street were transformed into unique shops, the most prominent ground floors were not used for selling goods. One pastry shop showcased its century-old history and craftsmanship on the ground floor, while another restaurant transformed its ground floor into a space displaying Nanyang (Southeast Asian) culture.
Turning cultural influence into commercial growth, the reporter found that merchants along this old street were all doing just that. Even single-story shops were half display cases and half merchandise. Of the 187 shops on the street, 70% were doing business related to culture. The 25 new shops that opened during the New Year's holiday all had cultural and creative products, offering food, entertainment, and more, attracting many tourists to keep buying.
Behind the success of turning historical culture into a thriving business lies the meticulous craftsmanship of the old street in constantly revitalizing the city's memory. At the outset of the renovation of Sunwen West Road, a "one building, one policy" file was established for more than 200 buildings. New technologies such as dry ice peeling were used to restore the historical texture of the buildings, and exquisite details such as arcade patterns and gable plasterwork were restored. A total of approximately 20,000 square meters of street and alleyway upgrades and approximately 75,000 square meters of building repairs were completed.
Now that it's been repaired, it must be used and passed down properly. To preserve the historical flavor of the old street, the local government has specifically formulated architectural style and appearance guidelines to attract businesses that match the original business formats of the old buildings, ensuring that the historical imprint is unbroken.
Tian Xiangyou, Director of the Xiangshan Ancient City Protection and Revitalization Center in Zhongshan City: After the renovation of this building, we hope to restore it to its original hotel format, so that tourists visiting here can also experience the unique historical vicissitudes and profound memories of this street. There are many other buildings like this, and we are revitalizing them according to this principle.
Currently, with the requirement to "strengthen the effective protection and living heritage of historical and cultural cities, blocks, villages and towns" being included in the "15th Five-Year Plan" recommendations, old streets like Sunwen West Road are further accelerating their revitalization. The second phase of the Sunwen West Road renovation project is currently underway, with local authorities planning to expand the renovation of the area to surrounding regions, transforming it into a larger-scale cultural hub and consumer cluster.
Xu Chengbing, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Shiqi Subdistrict, Zhongshan City: In the next step, while preserving the historical layout of mountains, water and city, we will make good use of cultural consumption, so that the historical and cultural blocks can become a powerful engine for promoting urban cultural heritage and economic development.
