Home Culture

12-sq-km culture tourism recreation zone to be built within the Ming Dynasty wall of Xi an

12-sq-km culture tourism recreation zone to be built within the Ming Dynasty wall of Xi an

Write: Burley [2011-05-20]

On the forum for the accelerated development of Huangcheng district held in the afternoon of Dec 2, relevant director of Xi an development and reform commission said that Xi an will build the largest history &culture demonstration zone and the largest culture tourism sightseeing &recreation pedestrian zone in China in the 12-sq-km area of Huangcheng district, which has a perimeter of 13.74 km, within the city wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Building China s largest history &culture demonstration zone

The most representative history &culture resources of Xi an are the terracotta warriors and horses, large-scale historical site, and Huangcheng district. The Huangcheng district refers to a 12-sq-km area with a perimeter of 13.74km within in the city wall of Ming Dynasty. It is not only the largest zone encircled by walls in the world but also one of the most glamorous history &culture demonstration zones globally. With the rapid development of Xi an, the city is faced with the perfect opportunity of utilizing its history and culture resources.

As the director of the city s development and reform commission said, during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), Xi an will build Huangcheng district into world-renowned and China s largest history &culture demonstration zone and China s largest culture tourism sightseeing &recreation pedestrian zone.

Establishing a calligraphy school nearby the steles forest

It is learned that Xi an will speed up the resources planning, packaging, development, and integration of historical and cultural reserves, historical streets, and famous trees and homes inside the Huangcheng district, and establish a series of influential culture tourism brands in the world. For example, the city is planning to build an influential calligraphy school in the world nearby the steles forest and attract the people interested in Chinese calligraphy to study and carry out researches.

And the city plans to build the historical site of Dong Zhongshu into a popular tourist spot of students around the country.

With regard to the accelerated construction of tourism routes inside the Huangcheng district, Xi an will integrate the tourist spots into the historical &cultural streets through the renovation of Shuncheng Lane and build the largest Chinese history &culture tourism recreation zone in the world.

Building the round-city tourism belt

Xi an will build a three-dimension scenic area, which fully exhibits China s history and culture and includes such scenic spots as the wall, the moat, the round-city forest, and the Shuncheng Lane, around the city wall. Among the scenic spots, the city wall will be renovated and reinforced; a culture pedestrian street will be built around the Shuncheng Lane; a recreation &entertainment zone will be built around the moat; a public culture recreation zone will be built in the area between the moat and the wall; and facilities of culture recreation will be built in the area between the outside of the moat and the round-city road.

Building Shuncheng Lane into a special commercial area

While further improving the construction of such advantageous commercial areas as Jiefang Road, Zhonglou, and Xidajie, Xi an will also promote the economic development of areas near the subway, speed up the renovation of historical streets and districts such as Shuyuan Gate and Sanxue Street, and combine them with the current renovation project of Shuncheng Lane.

With the completion of the round-city tourism belt and the commercial area featuring tourism, recreation, catering, entertainment, and shopping along the Shuncheng Lane, the area will become the most distinctive and most popular commercial area with most business value.

Building exclusive bike lanes around the scenic spots

The Huangcheng district will be built into a world-renowned and China s largest culture tourism sightseeing &recreation pedestrian zone. According to the planning of the city s development and reform commission, motor vehicles will retreat from the zone in some years. And a comprehensive transport system featuring subway, electric bike, bicycle and walking will come into being in Huangcheng district.

Moreover, exclusive bike lanes will be built around such scenic spots as Zhonglou, steles forest, and the town god s temple. Pedestrian lanes will be built in such areas as Shuncheng Lane, historical streets and districts, and cultural scenic spots. The city will also break through such streets as Sajin Bridge and speed up the renovation of Little Beijie Lane. (Correspondent: Lei Xianhong)

Suggestions from the experts

Setting up special agencies and promoting the development of Huangcheng district

On yesterday s forum, some experts suggested Xi an set up a development coordination leading group to organize the construction of Huangcheng district and promote the district s development.

Due to administrative divisions, four administrative units including Xincheng, Beilin, Lianhu and Qujiang are in charge of the construction of the area within the city walls. According to the proposals of Li Chuanshun, deputy director of the policy research department of the city committee, Xi an may adopt the experience of Beijing and integrate the areas within the walls under the jurisdiction of Xincheng, Lianhu and Beilin into the Huangcheng district, thus promoting the district s construction and development.

Or, Xi an can establish a leading group in charge of the construction of Huangcheng district at the city level to coordinate and promote the district s construction and development.

According to Li Liming, deputy director of the city s academy of social sciences, Xi an shall renovate the moat first before building a recreation &entertainment zone in the area. For example, if the city transforms the V-shaped moat into a U-shaped one, the area of round-city park s green land will be increased, and tourists on the surface of the moat will be able to enjoy the views on both banks of the river.

At present, both the Shuncheng Lane and the Chengmen are level crossings, and the Shuncheng Lane has not been broken through. Li Liming suggested that the city transform the level crossings into flyovers and pave way for the integrative development of lanes, walls, forests, moat, and roads.