Chaotianmen Square

Visitors attracted by photos

Hongyadong

Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street in January 1998

Old look of Hongyadong

Old look of Chaotianmen

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Chongqing Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, Chaotianmen Square, Hongyadong Traditional Folk Custom Area, Huguang Guild Hall... These places are not only popular spots for tourists from other places to visit in Chongqing, but also filled with memories of local people.

How were these places built? What were they like before construction? What were the stories in the process of construction? The reporter from Chongqing Evening News came to the Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Daxuecheng, where the "Man and City -- He Zhiya Urban Image Documentation Exhibition" sponsored by the Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute is being held.

Chaotianmen: To record history at the first line

In the first part of the video document exhibition, there were 12 urban public facilities, historical and cultural heritage protection projects in our city, including Shanhu Park, Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, Chaotianmen Square, Chongqing People’s Great Hall, Huguang Guild Hall, etc. Most of these popular tourist attractions were a batch of key projects built after 1997.

He Zhiya, the chairman of Chongqing Historical and Cultural City Special Committee, introduced that because of his work, he witnessed, experienced and participated in some of the key projects, and even became the person in charge of a number of key urban projects, so he also had the opportunity to record these precious scenes in the first line. He Zhiya said that since the mid-1990s, he has consciously recorded some remote streets and architectural images with lens and words, including the scenes before and after the construction of Chongqing's key projects.

Jiefangbei: The pedestrian street became the landmark of Chongqing

Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street was the first key project for people's livelihood launched in Chongqing Municipality. How long did it take to build this pedestrian street? How much did it cost? He Zhiya laughed. At that time, he served as the Executive Deputy Commander of the Construction Headquarters of Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, and presided over the design and construction site organization of it.

"In only four months, the construction of the 24,000-square-meter Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street Project was completed. At that time, the pedestrian street was only invested 13 million yuan."

After the completion of the Monument for Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, it has not only become the first landmark image of Chongqing, but also become the first central city pedestrian street, earlier than the construction of Wangfujing Pedestrian Street in Beijing and Shanghai Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street.

Hongyadong: The historical memory of Chongqing was preserved

Before the reconstruction Hongyadong, there were many dangerous rocks in this area that threatened the safety of the residents under the rock. More than 20 photos and design drawings in the exhibition record the situation before and after the construction of Hongyadong Traditional Folk Custom Area, including the dense houses before the construction and so on.

He Zhiya said that the design draft of Hongyadong Traditional Folk Custom Area had been changed many times. Under the full efforts of Little Swan Company and the joint efforts of Yuzhong District Government and other units, it was basically completed in three years and opened in 2006.

In the exhibition, Chaotianmen Square opened on December 31，1998, process of the constructions of the first large-scale citizen square in Chongqing, the first new city park Shanhu Park in the main urban areas, and Huguang Guild Hall and other projects were also exhibited.

It was worth mentioning that He Zhiya's work diaries of several decades, including those in the construction of Hongyadong and Chaotianmen, were also displayed.

The exhibition will be held from November 10 to 29 (the legal closing day is every Monday). You can go to the exhibition if you are interested.

Five attractions

The exhibition was divided into five parts: key projects, impression of old Chongqing, trace of ancient towns, Bayu architectures and boundless territories.

Key projects: The construction processes of 12 key projects including Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, Chongqing Shanhu Park, Chongqing Chaotianmen Square, Hongyadong, Chongqing Huguang Guild Hall, the Former Residence of Yang Shangkun and Chongqing Industrial Museum were displayed.

Impression of old Chongqing: It presented the historical images of "Yuzhong, Chongqing", "Jiangbei City" and "Nan’an Old Street". Yuzhong, Chongqing was the epitome of urban development and evolution, and also a typical representative of Chongqing's urban characteristics and regional features. Many of the old streets and lanes in these photos have disappeared.

Trace of ancient towns: It has left the unique architectural features and immigrant culture, Three Gorges culture, Bashu culture and ethnic culture of Sichuan and Chongqing ancient towns.

Bayu architectures: It was the author's understanding and analysis of the characteristics of Bayu architecture after in-depth investigation and study of the local houses in Bayu.

Boundless territories: It revealed the track of He Zhiya's activities and his understanding and sharing of values, outlook on life and time. (Translated by Luo Juan, Fathom Language Limited)