Liangzhu successfully applied for World Heritage status. Explore the past and present of Liangzhu and experience its poetic habitat that has lasted for 5,000 years.
Preface
On July 6, 2019, Beijing time, at the 43rd World Heritage Conference held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the Liangzhu Ancient City Site in Hangzhou was officially included in the World Heritage List, proving that China's 5,000-year-old Liangzhu civilization has truly been widely recognized.
Liangzhu Ancient City is Hangzhou's third world cultural heritage after West Lake and the Grand Canal.
Yu Qiuyu commented on Liangzhu: "I have never seen a cultural site so beautiful, with such lush vegetation and such a well-proportioned arrangement of pavilions." The Liangzhu civilization, delicate and gentle like jade, seems to belong to this land, to our Jiangnan region.
For 5,000 years, the spiritual core of Liangzhu culture and its poetic spirit of habitation have remained unchanged. A stroll through it creates a sense of time and space, and it's worth taking the time to experience it all.
Liangzhu Museum
The Liangzhu Cultural Museum, the predecessor of the Liangzhu Museum, was opened to the public on May 28, 1994. With the continuous major new discoveries at the Liangzhu cultural site, the exhibits at the Liangzhu Cultural Museum can no longer fully display the connotation of Liangzhu culture.
In 2003, with the care and support of leaders at all levels and relevant departments, the construction of the new Liangzhu Cultural Museum, the Liangzhu Museum, began.
In 2007, archaeologists discovered the Liangzhu ancient city wall in Yuhang, pushing the history of Hangzhou forward by 3,000 years (what does this mean, the first year of the AD was the Western Han Dynasty), and it was rated as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China that year.
In 2008, the Liangzhu Museum was completed and opened. It was designed by British chief architect David Chipperfield. It has a rough and majestic appearance, with gray and white walls without any decoration, which contrasts beautifully with the Meilizhou Park.
Liangzhu Museum is also the only building in China to win the world's "Best Public Building Award".
The design of the Liangzhu Museum building is based on the concept of "a handful of jade cones scattered on the ground". It consists of four non-completely parallel long strips of buildings and is known as a "box for collecting treasures."
The exhibition relies on the three exhibition halls of "Water Town", "Holy Land of Civilization" and "Jade Soul and National Spirit" to comprehensively, three-dimensionally and realistically display the archaeological achievements and heritage value of the Liangzhu site and Liangzhu culture.
Liangzhu jade artifacts are particularly noteworthy, holding a crucial position in the history of Chinese jade culture. Not only are they exquisitely shaped and functional, they also pioneered the cultural tradition of "funerary objects," connecting Neolithic and Bronze Age civilizations and vividly embodying Eastern values.
Among the many jade congs unearthed in Liangzhu, there is one that is the largest, most exquisitely crafted, and best preserved, the legendary "Jade Cong King".
This jade artifact was featured on the TV series "National Treasure" last year and was selected as one of the nine national treasures for the final special exhibition. In the program, Zhou Dongyu transformed into a Liangzhu priest to guard the holy land of Chinese civilization, telling everyone the past and present life stories of the national treasure Jade Cong King.
The jade cong was selected for inclusion because it bears witness to the extraordinary wisdom and profound faith of the Chinese people, and to the brilliant brilliance of civilization that graced the Chinese landscape over 5,000 years ago. Understanding its origins and its return, uncovering the veil surrounding the jade cong reveals clues to the diverse origins of Chinese civilization and the direction of its continued inheritance.
Tips:
Opening hours: 9:00-16:30 (Closed on Mondays, last admission at 16:00)
Ticket policy: Free (ID card required to enter)
Special reminder: There are free guided tours in the museum every morning and afternoon. If you happen to catch one, you can follow the guide around the museum and have a deeper understanding of the Liangzhu Ancient City.
Meilizhou Church
"Meilizhou" is the most suitable modern Chinese interpretation of the place name "Liangzhu".
Meilizhou Church was built in 2010. Designed by a Japanese designer, this church has a natural, elegant, simple and generous temperament.
The main building is in the shape of an "eight", organically integrating the traditional Chinese "hard mountain" roof with advanced foreign religious architectural design concepts, giving people a sense of peaceful and quiet spiritual belonging.
The independent bell tower on the square is 12 meters high, with a 3-meter cross on top. When driving along the adjacent national highway, you can sense the location of the beautiful Zhoutang from the sight of the bell tower. The bell on the top was custom-made by a time-honored Italian watch factory.
The church holds singing and worship activities from time to time, and many couples come here to hold their weddings.
The chairs in Meilizhou Church are also of wonderful design. The backrest is at 90 degrees, which makes people sit upright unconsciously. The angel wings design on both sides of the benches adds a sense of purity and sacredness to the church.
Tips:
Opening hours: Open all day (prayer meetings, worship services, etc. may be held from time to time)
Ticket policy: Free
Village Canteen
The villagers' canteen was originally just a convenient facility built for the villagers. However, because of its cheap, delicious taste and great atmosphere, it has attracted more and more tourists to come and try it. This type of consumers now accounts for almost half of the canteen's total consumer population.
The most talked-about thing is their breakfast, which serves an average of 600 people. The restaurant's fried dough sticks are so famous that even if the pastry chef makes 1,200 sticks a day, it is difficult to meet the customer's demand. The restaurant has no choice but to implement a purchase limit on fried dough sticks on weekends.
The food is also excellent, with the food window, enamel cups, and daily handwritten menus on the blackboard—it's like stepping back in time to the 1980s and 1990s.
Tips:
Opening hours: 6:30-9:30 a.m., 11:00-1:30 p.m., 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Liangzhu Culture and Art Center
Japanese architect Tadao Ando once visited the Liangzhu Cultural Village and was moved by the natural and cultural environment there. He said sincerely: "I hope that the products I design will not be inferior to the existing buildings and environment here." The Liangzhu Cultural and Art Center, which embodies the feelings of Liangzhu, is his best gift to the Liangzhu Cultural Village.
From a distance, the Liangzhu Culture and Art Center's massive geometric roof juts out from the dense trees, creating an abstract image. Locals affectionately call it the "Big Roof." As a comprehensive city-level cultural operation platform, the Big Roof hosts over 230 cultural events throughout the year, incubating numerous cultural IPs such as the "Big Roof x Western Opera Season," "Cherry Blossom Season," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream," making it a popular online destination in Hangzhou.
In terms of design concept, the Liangzhu Culture and Art Center creatively integrates Eastern aesthetics and Western architectural theory, perfectly embodying the "emotion-based" spatial concept of Japanese master architect Tadao Ando. The entire building pays great attention to the intrinsic connection between people, architecture and nature, and is one of Ando's representative works in recent years.
Tadao Ando uses simple language to create rich spaces, incorporating abstract elements from nature to elevate the spatial experience. Rooftop skylights, the water surface extending beneath the roof, and the cherry blossom path along the water's edge break the closed impression of bare concrete. Light, water, and cherry blossoms are three elements that Ando often employs, harmoniously integrated into the building's interior.
Xiaoshuguan
"The weather is beautiful and warm, and the spring clothes are ready. I am delighted to see the grass on the path green and the cherry blossoms on the mountain like snow. I will take this opportunity to gather with the elegant people and the Xiaoshu Pavilion. Poetry and books are close to each other, and we will gather them through learning and discuss them through inquiry."
The waterside of the "big roof" houses the renowned Xiaoshu Library. The coolness of the concrete blends with the warmth of the tall wooden bookshelves. In spring, when the cherry blossoms bloom, a gentle breeze sweeps through the floor-to-ceiling windows, sending petals dancing in the wind or falling into the water. Quietly reading within is truly a delight.
Xiaoshuguan opened in late March 2018. Since its opening, it has been fully booked every day.
After a year of settling down, the number of people checking in has gradually decreased and the number of people reading has gradually increased. Now it seems to be closer to the original intention of Gao Xiaosong to build Xiaoshu Library, hoping to provide a spiritual shelter for every "child" who loves life and reading. He hopes that here, people can "use objects to wander their minds and communicate with the spirit of heaven and earth alone", and can also learn knowledge from teachers and discuss with like-minded people to learn from each other.
As a national public reading brand, Hangzhou Xiaoshuguan will continue to promote public reading and organize various related academic and literary activities. It has also pioneered the "Reader Companion Program," which periodically invites writers, scholars, and artists to the library to have in-depth conversations with readers, sharing good books and life experiences.
Tips:
Opening hours: 9:00-20:00 on weekdays, 9:00-22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
Ticket policy: Free (you can queue up on site when there are few people, and you need to make an appointment in advance on the official account for the rest of the time)
Special reminder: There is a bag storage area at the door, and larger items including cameras are not allowed in. Now that you have entered Xiaoshuguan, just quietly enjoy the rare reading time.
Conclusion
From the ancient Liangzhu Kingdom to the Liangzhu Cultural Village, this land has endured for over 5,000 years, yet it remains ever more dazzling and timeless. Now, we can finally unveil the mysteries of Liangzhu and explore its past and present.
