Fu’an village: make old buildings come alive again
In order to better protect traditional culture and develop local tourism, Fu’an village in Jinning district of Kunming has been keen on restoring hundreds of its old architectures in recent years. Today, these buildings have been turned into museums, restaurants, souvenir shops and so forth.
Old architectures have generally been considered witnesses of the history worldwide. In Fu’an, a village sitting in Jinning district of Kunming, systematic repairing and restoration of old buildings over the past few years have literally made the history there come alive again.
Like many old villages across Yunnan province, Fu’an village is primarily characterized by its winding stone paths that stretch around and connect different households together. Nearly every object in this village looks old, from houses to trees, and from water vats to stone benches.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the majority of residents there are elderly people. As the head of village recalls, there were once no paved paths in the village. When it rained, the roads turned muddy and slushy, so that people could hardly leave their houses. But since last year when the stone paths were built, the life there has become much easier than before.
Most old residences that still erect in Fu’an village can be categorized as variants of China’s traditional quadrangle courtyards, like those ones in Beijing. Today, 11 of these residences, along with two temples in the village each with a history of over 300 years, have been named cultural relics protection units.
Besides, with old arches, lanes, wells and trees that can be easily found across the village, a unique cultural landscape has been created. In 2013, Fu’an village was selected by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China as one of the nation’s traditional villages. Since then, tourists from home and abroad have been flocking to this small village in central Yunnan.
In order to better protect traditional culture and develop local tourism, a number of projects which focus on repairing and restoring ancient architectures have been launched over recent years. These architectures have now been rebuilt into museums, restaurants, souvenir shops and many more.
In the meantime, a series of local traditional cultural forms such as lantern opera, embroidery and paper-cutting have been put onto stage again to attract tourists and help boost the local economy as a whole.
From now on, Fu’an hopes to make a better use of its cultural and tourist resources, turning the village into a space filled up with both traditional and modern elements.
Writing by Liu Yi; trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong