Forum held on Dabie Mountain focuses on urban revitalization

Experts and scholars visit Hengchuan county's cultural site the Yiyang Ancient City street Photo:Courtesy of Art China

Henan Province's Huangchuan county, an area rich in folk culture situated in the Dabie Mountain range, has received new opportunities for development following a forum focusing on urban revitalization held in the county. 

The forum focused on using art as a starting point to push forward the urban revitalization of Hengchuan county. 

Zheng Shi, a professor from Renmin University of China, said at the event that Hengchuan's unique landscape and local cultural resources were conducive for the county to seek new opportunities in eco-friendly cultural tourism. 

Professor Zhang Yaojun also explained at the event that the "experiential economy" can be adopted as a means to develop Hengchuan's urban scene.

"Unlike the product based economy, the experience economy is based on designs such as film, theater events, as well as food tours," Ma Xiaoqing, a creative industry insider, told the Global Times. 

Liu Pengfei, a media expert who has long been working on the art revitalization of villages, said that Hengchuan county should place more emphasis on local rural resources to build an image of "contemporary Chinese villages." 

At the forum, experts also discussed issues such as education, population and environmental protection. 

Chen Jiong, a professor from Renmin University of China noted that diverse cultural projects such suchs as rural art market, rural arts festival, the rural bookstores, and rural branding can be effective ways to be implemented to revitalize rural areas.

He also noted that the implementation of arts in rural areas can connect to thousands of its household. 

"Therefore, it is necessary to fully respect the local knowledge and traditional culture to construct the new cultural space and living space in rural areas," he said by adding that local villagers in the Hengchuan county are encouraged to participate in various cultural and arts activities. 

To build a digital rural community has also been scheduled for Hengchuan county's development. 

"It can provide a new generation of consumers with new scenes and experiences of digital rural cultural tourism consumption," Chen said at the event. 

During the forum event, experts and scholars also visited Hengchuan county's cultural landmarks such as the Yiyang Ancient City street, local cultural creative park, villages such as the Longgu village and Liangang village. 

Situated in East China, at the junction of Anhui Province, Hubei Province and Henan Province, the Dabie Mountain range is a treasured land. In 2018, UNESCO listed the mountainous area in Huanggang, Hubei as a world geopark.