Source: The Great Wall Network
Beidaihe Village, located at the northwest of Beidaihe District, Qinhuangdao City, is an ancient village with a history of more than 600 years, integrating culture, tourism, and industry with the rural construction since 2015, with the concept of inheriting culture, creating characteristics, promoting transformation, and enhancing charms on the basis of ecological priority and green habitat, to build an art village of waterside pastoral scenery.
The beautiful Daihe River in Beidaihe Village. Photo by reporter Wu Peijian
The integration of local culture and modern art revitalized Beidaihe Village through 5 years’ exploration. Those old and shabby rural houses have been renovated into guest houses of different styles and “art courtyards” full of culture and creation. These pleasant courtyards with blue bricks and white tiles provide visitors with peace and fun in the artistic atmosphere.
Yang Yuan, a native who has been engaged in wedding planning for years, find good prospects in the old houses that are renovated in the village.
Yang Yuan has her old house renovated into an elegant home stay. Photo by reporter Wu Peijian
“Seeing that the infrastructure in the village get convenient, and the surrounding homestays and art industries are getting prosperous, I want to start my own business, too.” Yang Yuan invited professional designers to redecorate and renovate her 240-sqiare-meter old house.
Her guest rooms were booked out before the National Day holiday. “I rent out the whole courtyard, with the price of 2,000 yuan per night, this is a good income.” said Yang Yuan, adding that she will continue to improve her courtyard, to better serve the tourists.
The creation of the “art courtyard” has also attracted many outsiders--artists, designers, university professors, and young students who come here to realize the dream of “The Poetry and the Future”.
Yu Dongdong is working on the pottery. Photo by reporter Wu Peijian
In the courtyard of the “Aitaoqi Pottery Bar”, No. 3 of Beidaihe Village Street, Yu Dongdong from Henan Province operated his pottery courtyard after graduating from Yanshan University. “It’s far away from the crowded city, and the tranquil and beautiful environment makes me relaxed, and I can work out good products.” Many ceramic enthusiasts and visitors come to his courtyard and enjoy the charm of ceramics.
The “art courtyards” have played the role in improving the rural tourism economy. In order to develop the homestay economy and art courtyards, the district government has invested 3 million yuan to purchase the right for 20 old courtyards for 10 years, introducing the art, design, and creative institutions such as Yanshan University, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Beijing “798” Art District, and Songzhuang “Painter Village”, and seeking suggestions from them to make the positioning and operation of the “art courtyards” more precise and efficient.
“Aitaoqi Pottery Bar” is also the Ceramic Art Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Center of Yanshan University. Photo by reporter Wu Peijian
Based on the history of thousands of years and the development of good ecological environment, Beidaihe Village has paired up with Moganshan and Dafen Village in Shenzhen, and introduced various cultural and creative institutions such as museums and art exhibition halls, Pei Yanling’s Traditional Opera Inheritance Base, Beidaihe Artist Creation Base of Hebei Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Art Creation Base of the School of Art and Design of Yanshan University, and the Outdoor Sports Experience Base.
Sun Bingzhang and his “Xiumuzhai Study”. Photo by reporter Wu Peijian
In the “Xiumuzhai Study” of the art courtyard, Sun Bingzhang, the inheritor of the incense culture, is burning the incense with a shovel, and the room is full of incense odor and smoke. “We need a place to pass on traditional Chinese culture, and Beidaihe Village is such a platform. Visitors can not only learn about the culture of Beidaihe, but also our incense culture.” Sun Bingzhang said.
At present, Beidaihe Village has built more than 100 courtyards, including high-end characteristic homestays, art courtyards, and characteristic restaurants. The typical agricultural village has turned into a tourist attraction, and it will keep going for greater success.
Beidaihe Village shows the pastoral beauty of the waterside. Photo by reporter Wu Peijian
“The improvement of environment and infrastructure as well as the development of the homestay and art industry have improved the village’s economy. Beidaihe Village was included in the Provincial Rural Revitalization Demonstration Zone, and we have invested a large amount of money this year to transform and upgrade more projects.” said Li Guoqing, deputy secretary of the Party Branch of Beidaihe Village, Daihe Township.
The projects have been completed or are under construction, including the tourist service center, the ecological restoration of the lower reaches of Daihe River, the village roads congestion alleviation, the five-a-side football field, the village tap water renovation, the village weak current engineering, the village “one case one meeting” street lamps, and village electricity capacity expansion and renovation, etc., to realize the agglomeration of rural revitalization projects.
Beidaihe Village has seen clear waters, tidy paths and characteristic courtyards, and embarked on the journey of rural revitalization and development integrating modern agriculture, leisure tourism, and rural communities.
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