绿色石柱

Passing Down Our Historic and CulturalHeritage to Promote Tourism in Chongqing

　　A general preface to Cultural and Historic Tourism of Chongqing Series

　　By Liu Zhizhong(the current Chairman of the Committee of the Chongqing Pelple's Political Consultative Conference)

　　On the forming of the current Committee of the Chongqing People's Political Consultative Conference，it was decided that this Cultural and Historic Tourism of Chongqing Series (abbreviated to Series herein after)should be compiled in accordance with the guiding spirit of seeking after feasible methods for the exploiting of the potential of cultural and historical data in propping up economy。 So as a result of two years' hard work under the guidance of the Standing Committee and Presidents'Conference of the Chongqing Committee of the CPPCC(Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference)，on the initiative of the Education， Culture and History Committee of Chongqing CPPCC，with the close cooperation of several civic departments such as Chongqing Press and Publication Bureau and Chongqing Cultural and Tourism Brueaus，and with the clasping of each borough， county， city and autonomy county， this Series comes out， foreshadowing the flourishing of tourism in Chongqing。

　　To fulfill the requirements of cultural and historical data in the service of economic development， we decided on the principle at the beginning of the compilation that the introduction of the scenic spots should highlight not only the natural scenery but also the cultural and historical content。 This decision is justified by the following reasons：

　　Firstly， tourism is inseparable from culture， which imparts soul and feature to tourism。 In other words， culture is to tourism what theme is to diction。 Destitute of theme， an article with flowery is still wish-washy；weak at diction， an article with a profound theme is all the same unpopular。 Our long history has seen many legends， multifarious arts and diversified customs， which lend themselves to tourism。 In this sense it is justified to say that culture immensely complements tourism。 That can be proved by the famous scenic spots around the world， which， with all their beautiful natural landscapes， still highlight human cultural landscapes。 Therefore， tourism culture is a keystone in boosting tourism。

　　Secondly， Chongqing is a nationally famous municipality， well known for its history and culture， which holds great potential for the development of tourism and shall be exploited at full steam。 The splendid history of Chongqing can be dated back to 2 000 000 years ago， when the first sign of human activities appeared。 And about 3 000years ago， our ancestors started to live and propagate here。 Chongqing had been chosen as the capital city for three times， had seen four restorations， seven massive migrations， and three periods of large-scale reforming and opening。 What爷s more， there are many historic remains in Chongqing， including a large number of ruins， ancient kilns， memorial graves， archaic cliff stone inscriptions， as well as many gardens， famous sceneries， ancient buildings， cites and towns， 12 898 of which are culture relics。 It is on those resources that Chongqing爷s historical culture revives， urban civilization thrives and urban vigor feeds。Chongqing boasts a characteristic culture， which is the blending of the time-honored Ba-Yu Civilization， the distinctive Three Gorges Culture，diversified regional cultures， the vehement Anti-Japanese War Culture and the immortal Hongyan Spirit。 In a nutshell， the positive influence of the historical events happening here has found its way into human civilization and national progress。

　　As a matter of fact， Chongqing is not only a municipality full of heroes in combat， but also a city that attracts many celebrities in other fields。 Many great people have worked and lived here， including revolutionists， statesmen， martyrs， industrialist and writers。 They made great contribution not only to Chongqing but also to the whole country and left to us many residences of celebrities， memorials， pavilions and museums。

　　Thirdly， the implanting of this principle goes a long way in lifting the scenic spots in Chongqing onto a more elevated plane。 Endowed with graceful natural scenery， Chongqing is famous for its landscapes。On this land where three grand rivers (the Changjiang River， the Jialing River and the Wujiang River) and four great mountains (Daba Mountain，Wu Mountain， Wuling Mountain and Dalou Mountain) sit， the high and rolling mountains， queer crags， deep canyons， sheer precipices and mysterious caves are striking while the ancient trees and wonderful flowers， misty hotsprings and rushing waterfalls， small bridges and lucid ghylls， as well as the delicate stone inscriptions are enchanting。 To sum up， Chongqing is rich in tourism culture resources， and many scenic spots have picked up popularity as the result of years爷of endeavor。They include， among others， the following： the world-renowned Three Gorgers， the forest of steles under water in Baihe， Fuling， the City of Ghosts， Fengdu， the "pearl on the river"， the ancient Shibao Stockaded Village， the Zhang Fei Temple， the White King's Town， the fantastic gorges in Ninghe River， the World Cultural Heritage Dazu Rock Carvings， the Shuangguitang Temple in Liangping County， a Buddhist resort， the fairyland-like view of Wujiang River， the Jinfo Mountain famous for its forest， the Simian Mountain renown for waterfalls， the larruping ground fissure and valley in Fengjie， the unique earthquake ruins of Nanhai， the uncanny Furong Cavern， the world-famous Diaoyu Ancient Town， the virid lakes and hotsprings， the unsophiscated fortifiedmountain village of the Tujia minority， the enchanting nightscop of the downtown， the commemorative sites to the Anti-Japanese War， and the inspiring Hongyan Revolutionary Memorial。

　　Of those scenic spots， some blend natural landscape and human landscape harmoniously while some fail to do so。 Therefore there is still room for improvement in this aspect。 For example， modern performances may be introduced to attract the visitors so that they may stay longer；writers， poets， painters and photographers may be invited to feast on those beautiful views， which will bring publicity to those scenic spots；tourist commodities that crystallize local folk culture may be brought to market， such as handicraft， agricultural and sideline products， green food， multimedia products， tourism books， etc。

　　This kind of blending， successfully intensified， will enable the tourists not only to enjoy the natural views but also to appreciate local culture and history， thereby improving Chongqing爷s popularity and reputation； it will not only enrich tourism activities but also build up tourism image， thereby attracting more visitors； it will not only play up local history and culture but also boost local tourism， thereby stimulating economy。 In a word， it will speed up the progress of the Classical Tourism Project Series of Chongqing， lift local tourism to the status of pillar industry and bring it in line with the international standard。

　　Research into culture and history is an important function of the Comittee of Chongqing Pelple爷s Political Consultative Conference。 And the compiling of this Series is a rewarding experiment， whose volumes，numbering in the tens， covers a variety of fields， such as natural scenes，folk customs and craft， special local products， cultural relics， historic sites and celebrities， and so on。 To facilitate the compiling and ensure the quality of the books， the Committee of Education， History and Culture of Chongqing People爷s Political Consultative Conference has carried out an in-depth survey and drawn up a scheme； its subordinate branches in each borough， city and autonomous county have cooperated positively by furnishing manpower and material resources and picking out the most valuable tourism resources； the civic press and publication department also have contributed significantly by guaranteeing the quality of the Series with strict censorship。 Thanks to their coordinated efforts， this Series is both readable and informative， and it is predicable that the publication of this Series shall contribute a great lot to the publicizing of Chongqing， the inspiring of patriotism and the evolving of a method that exploiting the potential of historical and cultural data in propping up economy。