Source: [Lishui Daily News Media Group] Baoxi Township, where Xitou Village is located, was once the only place where Longquan celadon culture was passed down uninterruptedly during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period, and it is also the birthplace of modern an

Source: [Lishui Daily News Media Group]

Baoxi Township, where Xitou Village is located, was once the only place where Longquan celadon culture was passed down uninterruptedly during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period, and it is also the birthplace of modern and modern Longquan celadon.

13 Ancient Dragon Kiln lying between this mountain and stream, which once made the porcelain making industry in Xitou Village prosperous. In the 1990s, with the popularity of liquefied gas kilns, the local porcelain making industry gradually declined. More than 80% of young and middle-aged people in the village went out to work due to their livelihoods, and Xitou Village became hollow.

decline reversed in 2009. At that time, the traditional firing technique of Longquan celadon was included in the UNESCO's "Representative Directory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity", and was the only ceramic category in the world.

Faced with a rare opportunity, Xitou Village launched an experiment of sharing prosperity with cultural intervention in rural reconstruction - not simply creating a scenic spot, but recreating a spiritual place; not simply attracting popularity, but reconstructing a happy life.

2009 Looking for the lost beauty

The beauty of Xitou Village is not limited to the intuitive beauty of landscapes.

The 13 ancient dragon kilns built along the mountain are also eye-catching. They have been preserved in good condition after a hundred years of storms, which makes the people of Xitou proud.

Standing in front of the ancient dragon kiln called "Jinpin Kiln", the owner Jin Chaojun tells us the past and present of this kiln.

Jin family is a celadon family. Jinpin, the father of Jin Chaojun, started making porcelain at the age of 14. In the 1980s, he repaired the ancestral dragon kiln, named it "Jinpin Dragon Kiln", and set up a celadon factory. The celadon products fired in that era were mainly daily porcelain such as bowls and cups. According to Jin Chaojun's recollection, the products were very popular at that time. "Before the bowl was burned, some merchants paid the payment early and waited for the kiln to open the kiln."

However, in the 1990s, with the popularity of liquefied gas kilns, the traditional dragon kiln skills gradually declined.

"The dragon kiln is mainly made of wood. It consumes more than 10,000 kilograms of wood at a time. The cost is high, and the overall quality of the finished product is not as stable as that of the liquefied gas kiln." Jin Chaojun said.

Faced with such an impact, in 2003, the "Golden Dragon Kiln" was out of power, and most of the other dragon kilns in Xitou Village were abandoned or converted for other purposes. Traditional kiln construction and kiln firing technologies are on the verge of being lost.

Until 2009, the traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon became the only ceramic project in the world selected as "intangible cultural heritage". "My father was very excited when he learned the news. He immediately withdrew tens of thousands of yuan of pension money he had saved from the bank and repaired the dragon kiln and production workshop again." Jin Chaojun said that the kiln fire was ignited again, but this time, the way of burning was different.

And all this has to do with one person. This year, Zeng Zhihua, who opened a celadon factory in Longquan City, decided to return to the village to participate in the election. "For Xitou Village, celadon and ancient kiln are homesickness that cannot be left behind. With the label of 'intangible cultural heritage', Xitou must have great potential."

After returning to the village to be elected as the party branch secretary, Zeng Zhihua rekindled the kiln fire and started the village environmental improvement work.

Today's Xitou Village, the clear stream flows through the village, forming a flowing landscape painting with groups of koi. "This stream was not like this before. We called it the 'Milk River'." Jin Chaojun said that in the early years, more than a dozen porcelain clay processing factories discharged the wastewater from washing porcelain clay into the stream, and the villagers' pigpens and toilets were also built along the stream, making the stream water turbid.

In order to make the stream clear, Xitou Village resolutely demolished the porcelain clay processing plant, pigpen and toilet by the stream, and started the rain and sewage diversion renovation project, and at the same time put thousands of koi into the stream.

"From then on, everyone began to look forward to a bright future in their hometown." Jin Chaojun said.

2013 Build a spiritual home

Just as the kiln fire in Xitou Village was ignited again, another new opportunity followed.

For the Jin Chaojun, October 1, 2016 was an unforgettable day. On this day, beside the Gulong Kiln, his "Au Kiln" B&B opened, and a massive "Immortal Kiln Fire" event was held here. At the same time, the "Bamboo Architecture Biennale" opened grandly at the other end of the village.

Ten thousand tourists flocked to Xitou Village, and this small mountain village also ushered in its second growth.

In early 2013, the well-known curator Ge Qiantao brought 11 architects from various countries to Baoxi. In the bamboo forests beside the dragon kiln, they talked and communicated with local villagers and were deeply moved by the unique beauty of the Chinese countryside.

"There are many biennials in the world, and I also want to do a local biennial in Baoxi." Soon, Ge Qiantao found Shanghai architect Yang Xu. The bamboo that is everywhere in the mountains is a local specialty and is also an inexhaustible building material. The concept of bamboo architecture came into being. Immediately afterwards, George Kokura, president of the Asian Architecture Society, also participated in the curation and brought many international architects.

In August 2013, the exhibition hall laid the first pile in Xitou Village. "Dongdongdongdongdongdongdong, dangdang..." The sound of rammed earth as a wall traveling through the clear Baoxi and echoing in the valley on the border of Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi.

The pebbles picked up in the stream form the foundation of the wall; the bamboo cut from the mountain builds the exterior wall; the abandoned silhouettes of the dragon kiln decorate the walls... The remaining local culture and the soon-to-disappearance of the local memory were carefully picked up by international architects and portrayed in the structure of the bamboo building with great ink. The slogan of the

Biennale is "Site Spirit, Rural Construction". This also opened up ideas for the development of Xitou Village. Gradually, local villagers also understood the architect's design ideas because of their participation in the construction, and continuously transplanted these ideas into new houses and homestays.

"If there was no Bamboo Architecture Biennale, I would still open a supermarket in Yunnan." Jin Chaojun saw a report on the opening of a biennale in his hometown on the news, and he immediately decided to combine his father's Gulong Kiln to create a B&B with the theme of celadon culture.

It is not just the Jin Dynasty army, but more and more people have begun to participate in the exploration of the revival of celadon culture. With the continuous advancement of the Bamboo Building Biennale project, Xitou celadon culture has been radiating new vitality - those who are interested in celadon can go to the celadon workshop to learn the method of rolling the flask and share their experience in firing the kiln; on the newly built landscape bridge, there will be unique country evening parties, opening up a new way of rural socializing.

For the next three years, such stories continued to happen. Without major demolition and construction, this originally ordinary mountain village gradually became vivid and spiritual.

2021 Reconstruct a happy life

"One person can't beat a group of people, and one group can't beat a village." This is a sentence that Zeng Zhihua often talks about, and it is also the "governance password" of Xitou Village.

Last year, Xitou Village introduced Lishui Hetian Bangkok Tourism Development Company to establish the "One Village People" Tourism Development Co., Ltd., and 2,145 villagers in the village became shareholders.

Therefore, "one village person" has fully launched the "government stewardship + village management + market operation" model, and by integrating village tourism resources for marketing, the company's operating income exceeded 350,000 yuan in just over three months.

To a certain extent, "one village person" embodies the greatest vision in Xitou people - common prosperity. "Before this, although Xitou Village has developed very quickly, its benefits are relatively narrow. We have to find ways to make everyone rich together!" Zeng Zhihua said.

The "Starry Sky Tent" base located in "Bakeshu Park" is a carrier for Xitou Village to realize its vision of common prosperity. This project is collectively funded by the village and shared by all villagers. Since it opened to the public in 2021, it has quickly become an internet celebrity check-in spot, attracting a large number of tourists.

In fact, "Bakeshu Park" is also the source of strength for Xitou Village to move towards common prosperity. From the large number of illegal buildings in those days to the scattered tourists today, whenever they talk about the changes in the village, the villagers of Xitou always start with the construction of the "Bakeshu Park". In 2008, when the village committee proposed to build a theme park at the entrance of the village, it immediately attracted opposition from the villagers: "What can the dirty and messy illegal buildings be created?"

Faced with the doubts, Zeng Zhihua led the village committee team to face the difficulties and demolished all the illegal buildings at the entrance of the village in just ten days. In the following month, the village invited villagers to participate in the planning and design many times. Soon, the villagers' enthusiasm for masters was fully inspired.

"After the park started construction, the villagers worked very hard even if they had no salary."According to Zeng Zhihua's recollection, all the young and old village built stone walls and planted green plants together, and women in the village held brooms and rags to comprehensively clean the newly built park. It was precisely because of this "collective project" that the hearts of the people in Xitou were condensed together.

Since then, the changes in the village have been closely linked to the villagers, and the beautiful picture of Xitou slowly unfolds: the "Immortal Kiln Fire" Longquan celadon traditional firing technology display event held regularly every year, allowing more and more villagers to eat "tourism meal" at their doorsteps;

Starry Sky Tent Base, Cute Pet Paradise and other popular Internet celebrity check-in places, allowing all villagers to become beneficiaries in development;

Village collectively seeks funds to invite professional homestay designers to "tailor-made" homestay planning and design for farmers with conditions and willingness, setting off a wave of villagers returning to their hometowns to start businesses. At present, the village has supported the development of 24 homestays (farmhouses) and absorbed nearly 400 tourism practitioners...

Looking at Xitou Village, which is now full of vitality, all Xitou people firmly believe that on the new journey of common prosperity, as long as they work together, no one will fall behind.

This article comes from [Lishui Daily News Media Group], which only represents the author's viewpoint. The national party media information public platform provides information release and dissemination services.

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