Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Community and street corners will be beautified in Xiangzhou District this year while serial cultural events are hosted and featured tourist activities more heavily promoted, it was announced at a press conference held on Feb 23.

Beautification efforts will center on existing historic sites and architecture, century-old trees, historical percentages, and folk customs. These are to become modern cultural scenes conveying tradition and improved landscape.

The district government will spend 500,000 yuan ($72,760) to build a batch of “beautiful street corners” with each costing no more than 100,000 yuan ($14,550).

To be included, towns and sub-districts will be required to apply to the local civilization office. Then experts and professors will survey sites for selection. Those with rich cultural connotations, characteristics, and renewal potential have the best chances. Garden architectures, culture walls, sculptures, wall paintings, and environmental infrastructure will be established at the chosen corners. The wall paintings and colored drawings may feature local history and culture, general scientific knowhow, neighborhood mutual assistance, and themes concerning civilization.

The renovations will maintain the current ambience pattern, make a place visitor-friendly, and energize blocks and communities with only small transformations, according to a district official. 

Besides the annual Beach Music, Beishan Jazz, and Beishan World Music festivals, Xiangzhou plans to organize a Grassland Music Festival and a Grassland Jazz Festival during the Labor Day and National Day golden weeks. Furthermore, featured tourist activities will be held at New Yuanming Palace, Agricultural Paradise, and Meixi Royal Stone Archways. In addition, there will be food and beer festivals on Nanping Seafood and Gongbei Bar streets.

Public performances will also take place at scenic spots on weekends and during holidays. To highlight local cultural and tourism characteristics, cultural relics and scenic spots will be integrated to create a Xiangzhou tourist map and promotion video. In the meantime, more quality tourism services will be provided and travel routes to historical sites and ecological leisure spots will be recommended. 

Su Manshu’s Former Residence, where Su Manshu School of Literature is located [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Xiangzhou WeChat]

One of the most historic-related sites is the Su Manshu School of Literature. The two-layer dwelling alongside Su’s former residence is a venue for academic research, teaching and training, and cultural exchanges. The institute was constructed to promote this local cultural brand. As a renowned historic figure with the greatest achievements in Xiangzhou history, Su Manshu (born in 1884) has a special status and influence in modern and contemporary Chinese literature. He was a literary genius and patriotic poet, painter, and translator with family roots in Lixi Village of Qianshan.