Nanyang hosts first cross-Straits rural culture forum

The first-ever Cross-Straits Rural Culture Forum was held in Nanyang on Dec 2, where more than 150 experts and scholars exchanged opinions on rural culture inheritance, ancient town preservation and developing rural tourism.

Rural culture is an important part of traditional Chinese culture. Its inheritance and development will not only help the revitalization of the countryside, but propel the development of cultural undertakings, said Li Yong, inspector from the Communication Bureau of Taiwan Affairs Office.

According to Li, relations across the Taiwan Straits are confronted with serious challenges, which make it more important to expand civilian and cultural exchanges between the two sides as well as carrying forward outstanding traditional Chinese culture.

In recent years, the Chinese mainland has given top priority to the construction of a beautiful countryside, while Taiwan has rich experience in rural culture inheritance and environmental protection – bringing broad prospects for cooperation.

Fang Ming, a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University, introduced the connotation of the Chinese rural culture at the forum. Chen Jian'an, professor of Taipei's Tamkang University pointed out that the development of the countryside must have its own characteristics and draw on experiences from urban construction.

Xie Chijie, president of Cyber Tourism Cultural Creative Co, used Nianhua Bay of Lingshan Town in Wuxi as an example. The town has become a holiday resort integrating natural scenery with a humanistic way of life, which becomes a benchmark in the Chinese tourism industry.

At a round-table conference, Chen and Xie were joined by Xu Guojing, Confucius cultural ambassador and Jian Mingxiang, a PhD from Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, to discuss the preservation and innovative development of ancient towns plus the construction and operation of cultural & tourist towns.

Liu Shuhua, a member of the Nanyang Municipal Standing Committee, said that Nanyang is connected with Taiwan both in blood and culture. So far, 30 Taiwan enterprises have settled in the city. He invited more Taiwan compatriots to visit Nanyang for cooperation in a bid to realize common prosperity and get a better understanding of mainland culture.