Tapping new life by keeping the old
Print Edition
XIANG Shengquan is a member of an indigenous community who live in Hunan Province. Last year, after working in some of China’s biggest cities for many years, he returned to his hometown.
Xiang is now a boatman and his family also runs an agritainment venue at a heritage site in Xiangxi Tujia-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Hunan. The site, Yongshun old Tusi fortress, was included on the UNESCO world cultural heritage list last year. Very little is known about the ancient Tusi chieftain system, which once governed Southwest China’s ethnic minorities from the 13th to the early 20th centuries.
The word Tusi refers to the tribal leader appointed as an imperial official by the emperor.
The Tusi fortress in Yongshun is estimated to be more than 600 years old. Lying on the bank of a river, it is considered the largest, oldest and best preserved Tusi fortress in China.
“All of our preservation and development projects aim to stay true to the original site, people, and environment,” said Kong Fanwei, director of administrative office of the old Tusi town.
Many of the province’s local governments hoped to develop the area’s myriad cultural heritage sites into tourist destinations, which would help the indigenous peoples earn more money, said the vice head of Xiangxi prefecture, Li Ping, at a seminar on the Tusi chieftain system and culture over the weekend.
People, like Xiang, will have more opportunities to earn a living wage while at the same time preserving their culture and traditions. “My family made over 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) last year. And my boat job also brought me a steady monthly pay of several thousand yuan,” Xiang said.
Development, however, should be controlled.
“In order to better protect the old Tusi structures, the authorities should balance the relationships between protection, tourism and exploration, and ensure the interests of the locals are prioritized,” Li said.
The boom in tourism has also had an adverse affect on the price of housing and daily necessities for the people who live in Xiangxi.
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