The Importance of Rural Heritage Preservation
Rural heritage represents the sustained interaction between humans and nature, serving as historical evidence for the study of the evolutionary trajectory of rural societies. The future of rural heritage is crucial for the development of rural communities. It not only serves as a carrier of agricultural memory but also fosters rural social cohesion, and even becomes a pillar supporting rural economic growth, offering potential employment opportunities.
In recent years, China has implemented a series of rural revitalization policies, propelling the conservation of rural heritage and fostering its sustainable development. Shixia, a typical mountainous village, stands as a successful case in the protection and activation of rural heritage. This study introduces this village’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage resources, analyzes the challenges and constraints faced by the village in its developmental stages before the Rural Heritage Revitalization Action (RHRA), and presents the transformative journey of Shixia from poverty to rejuvenation. The study dissects the revival strategies employed in this successful rural heritage revitalization case, aiming to inspire the development of other traditional villages.
Shixia Village: A Successful Case of Rural Heritage Revitalization
Geographical and Landscape Characteristics
Shixia is situated at the northern foothills of the central Shandong mountain region, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Within the village, there is a unique west-to-east flowing water system known as the Shixia River. The village is built on both sides of the river, dividing it into the southern and northern banks. Serving as the headwaters of the Da Wen River, the Shixia River’s water source originates from the foothills of Jiuding Mountain, forming a babbling tributary that flows eastward through the mountainous ravines. This river has provided the villagers with abundant water resources and convenient transportation conditions for generations.
In terms of natural landscapes, the unique geological formations, sculpted by the forces of nature over time, have given rise to the distinctive rocky valleys and ravine landscapes of Shixia. Additionally, the village maintains a pristine ecological appearance, characterized by lush ancient trees, abundant greenery, and an absence of industrial zones. There is zero industrial pollution, resulting in a landscape of green mountains and clear waters, with green space coverage exceeding 90%.
Architectural and Spatial Characteristics
Within the scope of Shixia, there are nearly 300 traditional residential architectures dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties through the Republican period. Among them is a temple named Xinglong Temple, which dates to the Ming Dynasty and is constructed in the form of a traditional quadrangle courtyard (Siheyuan). The majority of the other residential buildings in the village exhibit typical characteristics of mountainous architecture. They are constructed using local stone with minimal decoration, featuring only floral and fauna carvings on lintels. These buildings uphold the traditional style of mountainous rural settlements while incorporating the architectural layout of the central plains’ siheyuan.
In terms of village spatial structure, Shixia is a clustered settlement divided into two parts by Shunhe Street, running north-south. The southern part comprises the new village, while the northern part is the old village, with a crisscrossing network of lanes and alleys. Aerial views reveal that the entire village’s architecture is arranged along the Wenxi River’s gorge, with building foundations constructed from stacked stones, adapting to the varying terrain.
Tangible and Intangible Heritage Resources
Shixia was established approximately during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, with its ancestors migrating from Shanxi Province, having experienced centuries of historical changes. The village boasts a wealth of tangible and intangible cultural heritage resources, including the Qi Great Wall, ancient streets, wells, temples, stone artifacts, and traditional handicrafts.
The Qi Great Wall has stretched across the hills south of Shixia for over two thousand years, enduring the test of time and remaining largely intact. Within the village, numerous traditional streets and alleys traverse the village, with stone houses on both sides arranged in an orderly manner. Ancient wells, constructed with locally quarried stones, exhibit a simple and antique form, embodying distinctive characteristics of mountainous village culture.
In terms of intangible cultural heritage, Shixia is the birthplace and inheritance site of Zhangqiu Bangzi Opera, a typical representative of Shandong Bangzi Opera and an important intangible cultural heritage in Shandong. Additionally, the village boasts a rich legacy of traditional handicrafts, including blacksmithing, carpentry, weaving, paper crafts, and liquor distillation, all of which constitute significant intangible cultural heritage resources for the local community.
Challenges Faced by Shixia Before the RHRA
Like many other traditional villages, Shixia has faced challenges such as population outflow, natural decay, and obsolete building functions. A significant number of traditional dwellings have been altered, resulting in the widespread phenomenon of new constructions disrupting the overall village ambiance. These issues collectively served as impediments and constraints to the development of Shixia.
Before the implementation of the Rural Heritage Revitalization Action (RHRA), Shixia was a poverty-stricken remote mountain village with inadequate public infrastructure, significant challenges in environmental governance, and numerous grassroots conflicts that hindered its development. The Information Age had transformed people’s lifestyles, leading to a gradual loss of the original functions of the spatial layout and infrastructure of the traditional village.
Revitalization Strategies Employed in Shixia
Key Conservation Points
The focal points of rural heritage conservation in Shixia encompassed not only the historical buildings and street layouts of the traditional village but also the natural environment, such as the unique mountainous terrain, farmland, forests, and orchards. Protective planning, based on the situation and resource assessment of Shixia, proposed comprehensive protection strategies for the village.
The conservation targets included natural and cultural resources, village morphology, street layouts, traditional architecture, historical environmental elements, and intangible cultural heritage. Encouraging and supporting organic and sustainable agricultural practices aimed to prevent land and water resource pollution and maintain soil quality. Additionally, the village committee strengthened the management of the Shixia River watercourse and the banks on both sides, devising detailed plans to protect water sources, ensure the rational use of water resources, and prevent water pollution.
In terms of village morphology and traditional architecture, the RHRA undertook a conservation-oriented planning initiative encompassing all historical buildings, streets, landscapes, and community configurations within the territorial scope of Shixia. Particularly along both banks of the Shixia River, the area with the highest concentration of historical structures, this region was designated as a primary conservation zone. Rigorous controls were imposed on the architectural styles of newly added structures in this zone, with restrictions on their height.
Activation Strategies
The RHRA implemented a comprehensive conservation planning strategy for Shixia, guided by the challenges facing the village’s conservation and development. The plan identified potential construction expansion areas, areas needing supplemental greening, and vehicle obstacle zones. The village’s development structure was categorized as “One Core, One Axis, One Belt, and Five Zones”.
One Core: This focused on reshaping the distinctive characteristics of the traditional mountainous settlement in central Shandong, highlighting the unique qualities of the ancient village and enhancing the recognizability of Shixia’s architectural aesthetics.
One Axis: This defined the main axis of village development, leveraging the east-west directional village development axis formed by the main traffic arteries. It sequentially connected historical and new village areas, serving as the primary axis for the outward expansion of the village’s core space.
One Belt: This designated a riverside landscape belt, with the Shixia River as its primary component. It aimed to reshape the cultural and natural landscapes on both sides of the river, creating a core scenic belt for the village. It also planned essential vehicular and pedestrian routes for tourism within this belt.
Five Zones: This redefined functional areas across the entire Shixia, including a Traditional Aesthetic Tourism Zone, Intangible Cultural Heritage Display Zone, General Aesthetic Residential Zone, Distinctive Planting Experience Zone, and a Visitor Transfer Zone.
In addition to the comprehensive physical environment transformation, the RHRA also focused on cultivating the cultural symbol of Bangzi Opera and introducing ecological agriculture to Shixia.
The strategy proposed was to “empower rural revitalization through drama”. The “Zhangqiu Bangzi Opera Museum” was established, showcasing detailed cultural archives of Bangzi Opera, serving as both a resource for scholarly study and an attraction for tourists. Building upon this cultural emblem, Shixia has consistently organized the “Bannian” Rural Revitalization Drama Festival since 2019, exhibiting the charm of Bangzi Opera to attract audiences and visitors.
Furthermore, the rural revitalization strategy of Shixia introduced ecological agriculture, providing the village with inexhaustible momentum for sustainable development. Through comprehensive village planning, the distribution of supporting facilities has been continuously optimized, attracting outstanding talents to return to their hometowns and start businesses. This has led to the establishment of cultural and tourism companies, agricultural product development companies, and the organization and integration of the entire village population into cooperative operations.
Conclusion: Lessons Learned from Shixia’s Transformation
The success of Shixia’s rural heritage revitalization merits increased attention from academia and policymakers. Across China, there are thousands of impoverished, backward, and nearly abandoned small mountain villages similar to Shixia five years ago. Hindered by inconvenient transportation, population outflow, and economic decline, these villages are on the brink of extinction, demanding urgent rescue efforts.
The transformation of Shixia from a poverty-stricken remote mountain village to an ecological and cultural village in just five years provides valuable lessons. Diverging from the relocation-oriented conservation models applied to many traditional villages, Shixia’s local residents did not face forced displacement from their original dwellings due to tourism development. Instead, they actively participated in the entire village renovation process and found their place in the new social roles the village embraced.
The annual cultural events and the introduction of ecological agriculture not only provided substantial income sources for local villagers but, more significantly, attracted the younger generation who had left the mountain village back to their roots. This is particularly crucial for mountainous villages grappling with severe population decline.
The success of Shixia’s rural heritage revitalization demonstrates the importance of comprehensive conservation planning, strategic activation of intangible cultural heritage, and the integration of ecological agriculture. By leveraging the unique cultural and natural resources of traditional villages, these strategies can effectively promote the sustainable development of rural communities and inspire the rejuvenation of other traditional villages facing similar challenges.
