CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China released the second list of China’s 276 Characteristic Towns a few days ago. Zhutuo Town, notable for “port industry and trade”, made its mark on the list together with other eight other towns in Chongqing.

Zhutuo, known as Handong County during the Tang Dynasty, is an important wharf and port on the Yangtze River. The Zhutuo Port under construction will be the only port accessible to kiloton-class vessels in the Sichuan – Chongqing – Guizhou junctional reach in the upper Yangtze. It aims to be the “First Port in Upper Yangtze River”.

Meanwhile, relying on advantageous location and human resources, Zhutuo has risen to be one of the four main battlefields of the Yongchuan Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, becoming an important carrier for Yongchuan to blend in the Yangtze River Economic Zone for development.

As a state-level imported timber port, Zhutuo is gradually transforming from the traditional “wharf” into a modern logistic harbor. It will have an annual cargo throughput of 80,000 TEU. Now, the project for five new berths has begun and the annual handling capacity is estimated to reach 600,000 TEU.

Folk song culture originating from wharf culture is another characteristic of Zhutuo. By making efforts to collect, arrange and record the traditional sounds and sights of folk song performances, Zhutuo Town created the “Zhutuo Folk Song Culture Website”, forming an intangible cultural heritage database of folk songs. The Town, by holding folk song contests ,exhibitiond and performanced, vigorously promotes folk song culture. Inheritors for this intangible cultural heritage are selected and hold training class to inherit those primitive and fair-sounding folk songs.

The cultural relic of Handong Ancient City, which is praised as the “relic of general history” is archaeologically excavated. A heritage park will be built for protective development.

As the first town construction project after being named the state-level characteristic town, the Zhutuo comprehensive environment improvement plan, based on the idea of “excellent combination and industry-driven town”, has become an alluring prospect. It is said that the plan is going to be put into practice this year. (Translated by Xu Mengmiao, Fathom Language Limited)