Province advances construction of national park along waterway

Jiangsu has made inroads into the construction of a national park featuring Yangtze River culture since work began in March.

In January, the central leading group for promoting national culture parks issued a circular on constructing national parks with Yangtze River culture as their theme, requiring relevant government bodies and regions to begin work.

As one of the major sections along the Yangtze, Jiangsu has answered this call, rolling out a plan for advancing the construction of the Yangtze River national cultural park.

According to the plan, by 2025, the province will complete the construction of the park.

With a length of 432.5 kilometers, the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River runs through the eight cities of Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Taizhou, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou and Nantong.

According to the plan, the park's construction will center on those eight while stimulating another five administrative cities.

The province has proposed eight other projects and 20 tasks for cultural heritage protection. The construction and protection work of the cultural park in Jiangsu will focus on the linkage of rivers, lakes and seas and shape a cultural space revolving around the river's main stream and tributaries, the plan said.

To promote protection and utilization, Jiangsu has started construction of creative city clusters along the Yangtze River. Their bid is to coordinate progress with high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and build a world-class urban leisure tourism belt along the river. Moreover, it will improve institutions in the protection of historical sites and build scenic areas and educational bases featuring water engineering and conservation.

In addition, Jiangsu has mobilized its research resources to establish high-level think tanks to conduct research on topics including Jiangsu's practices of the new development pattern and the cultural connotation and value of the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River.

Building a national park featuring Yangtze River culture in Jiangsu has become an iconic project in the province's plan to become a cultural powerhouse, local officials said.

Currently, the construction of the park is taking place around the province.

For instance, Yangzhou has launched a series of Yangtze River-themed exhibitions and cultural and creative derivatives this year. It has also adopted digital technology to demonstrate the sites and cultural resources along the Yangtze River online. This is part of its effort to protect world heritage and create a demonstration base of the integrated development of culture and tourism.

Construction of the national cultural park is a long-term task. It requires research, inspection and proper planning, said He Yun'ao, director of the Cultural and Natural Heritage Institute in Nanjing University. He was speaking at a symposium on the construction of the Yangtze River national cultural park in Jiangsu held in Nanjing in July.

Jiangsu has made achievements and is experienced in cultural construction, He said.

The province should build cultural landmarks and digital communication facilities such as museums to demonstrate the Yangtze River culture, He said.

Next, Jiangsu will carry out the construction of the park with higher-standard, higher-level and more effective work to take the lead among peers and contribute to Chinese civilization, local officials said.