Ningbo Municipal Government
Ningbo Municipal Government
09/18/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/18/2023 00:03
The path of revival for a thousand-year-old village
Performance of Traditional Chinese Harp Music from "Age of Prosperity" (Image provided by Jiangshan Town Government)
As you step into the millennium-old village of Zoumatang, located in Jiangshan Town, Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, you're greeted by lush vegetation, clear streams meandering through the village, the chorus of cicadas, and graceful lotus flowers swaying in the breeze. The village is abuzz with visitors, and its popularity shows no signs of waning.
With its distinctive horse-head walls and lotus ponds, this village in the Jiangnan region, known as the "Number One Village of Jinshi Scholars in China," is a picturesque scene straight out of a Chinese poem. Nestled within this idyllic setting are cafés that infuse the countryside with a touch of vitality. Fashionably dressed young people flock to this ancient village, wandering through its narrow lanes, frequently clicking their camera shutters, capturing the essence of a leisurely Jiangnan dream. Zoumatang Village has swiftly gained fame and "broken free" on social media.
Tracing the roots
An ancient village is a living history.
"In the first, clear winds blow, and the second, true spirits linger; the third, serenity endures, and the fourth, culture thrives." Zoumatang Village, located in the southern suburbs of Ningbo, covers an area of less than 2 square kilometers and comprises over 600 households, divided into the ancient village and the new village. In the ancient village, remnants of Ming and Qing dynasty architecture still stand, rivers crisscross the landscape, and the people maintain a simple way of life. Elderly folks gather at doorsteps, engaging in casual conversations. The gurgling streams that flow through the village breathe life into the countryside, seemingly singing a song of the ages. As we walk through the ancient village, everything seems to calm down, enveloped in the endless gentleness of Jiangnan's waters.
When speaking of Zoumatang Village, one cannot overlook the Chen family. For over a thousand years, the Chen family has thrived, spanning the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, earning its reputation as the "Number One Village of Jinshi Scholars in China." The descendants of the Chen family have embraced the responsibilities of loyalty to the state, filial piety, and neighborliness, dedicating themselves to poetry and scholarship. They have passed down their heritage, producing numerous accomplished individuals and leaving behind valuable cultural legacies.
During our visit, we learned that the reason Zoumatang Village is known as the "Scholar's Village" is due to the chance discovery by cultural expert Chen Wanfeng, who is also referred to as the "Cultural Guardian" of Zoumatang Village. In the spring of 2000, Chen Wanfeng, then the director of the Ningbo Museum of Clothing, visited Zoumatang Village for research while planning the construction of the new museum. This quaint and elegant village, with its profound history, immediately captivated him: a large number of well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty buildings, exquisitely carved stone lattice windows, and three to four impressive ancestral halls nestled among imposing horse-head walls.
For a village, this was undoubtedly a momentous discovery. Subsequently, many villagers and cultural enthusiasts became actively involved in researching and verifying the history of the ancient village. More stories of Jinshi scholars were unearthed, solidifying the village's reputation as a place of great talents and virtue.
Breaking new ground
Despite its scenic beauty, the ancient village had fallen into decline in the midst of dynastic changes and the smoke of war. However, with the advent of the "Million Projects" initiative, more and more villagers in Zoumatang came to recognize the value of their homeland.
In 2004, a letter written by a former official from Zoumatang Village, Wu Maoyin, to the leadership of Ningbo City expressed the villagers' aspirations and hopes for the preservation and development of their ancient village. Unexpectedly, this letter attracted widespread attention from both the government and society, sparking a groundswell of interest.
Subsequently, the development and construction of Zoumatang Village took off like a high-speed train. Following thorough research and deliberation, in 2007, the city, district, and town governments collectively invested 30 million yuan to kickstart the first phase of the ancient village's preservation and development. Experts in fields like culture and architecture flocked to the village, conducting comprehensive surveys and in-depth research to unearth the historical and cultural significance of the "Number One Village of Jinshi Scholars in China."
Half a year later, the main buildings of the ancient village had been restored, infrastructure development, river dredging, and parking lot renovation were all underway simultaneously, transforming the village from its previous state of decay. At the village entrance, the Jinshi Square proudly displayed a stone archway bearing the inscription "China's Number One Village of Jinshi Scholars," which harmoniously echoed with the elegant Jinshi Pavilion nearby, creating a magnificent atmosphere.
Good scenery leads to a bright future. With its improved "visual appeal," youthfulness was revived, and Zoumatang Village underwent its first "transformation," catapulting it into a renowned cultural and scenic tourist destination in Ningbo, and gaining recognition across the province and even nationally. During the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Zoumatang Village was honored as China's "Charming Small Town," attracting foreign tourists as well.
Renewing the industry was a crucial step in Zoumatang Village's "breaking free." While many famous ancient villages in Zhejiang lagged behind in changing times, Zoumatang Village kept pace with the times. The fusion and upgrading of culture and tourism led to its second period of growth.
During this year's May Day holiday, Zoumatang Village was bustling with visitors, achieving a historic high with over 10,000 visitors in a single day. Such high popularity left Zoumatang Village's Party Branch Secretary, Wang Honglei, in awe. She shared with us that after years of development, Zoumatang Village had become a 3A-level scenic village in Zhejiang Province. Despite its fame, the cultural and tourism industry remained relatively underdeveloped. In 2021, the village had only one farmhouse-style restaurant, and the collective income was merely 450,000 yuan. Tourists would come, stroll through the ancient village, admire the lotus flowers, but there were no places to rest, and visitors would leave after just an hour or two, failing to prolong their stay in the village.
How to harness cultural resources to attract a larger audience and chart a path to shared prosperity? These were the new challenges facing the local officials.
Under the leadership of the main officials of Jiangshan Town and with the help of a group of young men, they began to plan ahead and take action. They set their sights on a hot spot that young people were particularly interested in - rural cafes. In recent years, various types of cafes had sprung up in Zhejiang's countryside, breaking the boundaries between tradition and modernity, and between antiquity and fashion. These innovative cultural and tourism scenes had attracted a large number of young people. Everyone thought that since rural resources were limited, why not use this as a breakthrough for attracting tourists? After identifying their target, the immediate task was to find a suitable professional team. After multiple efforts, the town settled on the "Liduo" entrepreneurship team. The creative idea of a "summer-limited" village cafe was born. The cafe's opening days synchronized with the lotus blooming period, aligning with the social psychology of young people who loved taking photos and participating in flash mobs.
Entrepreneurship teams flocked in, and Zoumatang Village saw the emergence of a batch of internet-famous stores.
Last summer, the lotus flowers were in bloom for 118 days, and the cafe thrived for the same duration. In its first month of operation, the earnings of the Lotus Pond Cafe exceeded 110,000 yuan, attracting more than 20,000 visitors. Below the horse-head walls and beside the lotus pond, fashion bloggers, travel enthusiasts, and others all shared their ideal rural life, creating a lively atmosphere of enjoying lotus flowers in the summer.
These lotus flowers, standing gracefully over the course of a thousand years, have experienced blooming and withering, witnessed the glory of an aristocratic family, and felt the loneliness of the past. Now, they bear witness to the rejuvenation of the countryside. The successful path of the Lotus Pond Cafe was quickly replicated, and entrepreneurship teams rushed to establish themselves. The village collectively invested at a certain ratio and attracted over 40 million yuan in private capital. A wave of internet-famous stores sprouted up like mushrooms.
A path to coexistence
Diverse efforts spur the inflow of tourists, while a win-win situation among various parties is the key to genuinely stimulate the intrinsic vitality of rural revitalization.
Zhang Jianmin explained his concept of shared prosperity: gathering government, entrepreneurship teams, universities, local talents, and other parties to help rural development and accompany villagers in their growth. "Villagers are the main force of rural revitalization. When villagers go from being spectators who are just here for the show to active participants and the main force, there is hope for rural revitalization."
The traffic brought by "internet-fame" is only temporary; rural areas need "lasting fame." Zhang Jianmin told us that this year, Zoumatang Village introduced many "new ways to play." For rural prosperity to truly take root, it needed cultural prosperity as well. In August, the "Zouma Youxi" (Zoumatang Play) Life Art Festival was launched, attracting new visitors. Built upon the foundation of Zoumatang Village's Jinshi culture and marked by the distinctive label of "theater+," visitors could immerse themselves in the artistic life of drama. The Zoumatang theater brand, creative Jinshi costumes, and cultural and tourism apps were simultaneously released, further enhancing the tourist experience.
Our visit to Zoumatang Village allowed us to witness the youthful "transformation" of a thousand-year-old village, explore the development "pulse" of rural revitalization in Zhejiang, and feel the majestic and poetic spirit of rejuvenation.