The ancient yet modern city of Suzhou launched a tourism promotion in the provincial capital city on Saturday to publicize the newly launched selective tourist routes in Suzhou and made on-site display of intangible cultural heritage, so that Nanjing citizens can experience the elegant and moving charm of the Jiangnan culture.
In the Laomengdong scenic area of Nanjing, the melodious and gentle Suzhou Pingtan attracted many tourists, as if taking the visitors back to the ancient city of a thousand years.
Suzhou is known as the "Model City of World Heritage" and the "Capital of Global Handicrafts and Folk Arts" with numerous historical attractions that include the "First Ancient Street in China" Shantang Street, the "First Scenic Spot in Suzhou" Tiger Hill, China’s only existing ancient land and water city gate "Panmen", as well as many classical gardens with different characteristics.
The ten selective cultural tour routes brought by the tourism promotion are divided into six themes based on the historical time process that include recalling the Spring and Autumn Festival, dreaming back to the Three Kingdoms, the rhymes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, searching for the southern part of the Song Dynasty, the elegance of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the revolutionary red gene.Tourists can immerse themselves in Suzhou's 2500 years of history and culture out of their own interests.
Zhu Yiqiang, General Manager of Suzhou Peace International Travel Agency said, "We integrate Suzhou's gardens, Suzhou's delicacies, Suzhou's intangible cultural heritage and Suzhou's snacks into our selective travel route. Upon arrival in Suzhou, tourists can purchase travel packages through major travel agencies including portal websites with an average price of less than 300 yuan."
Pei Hong, Deputy Director of Suzhou Gusu District Education, Sports, Culture and Tourism Committee said, "We combine tourism with the ancient city so that the achievements of ancient city protection become important tourism resources. At the same time, there are many material and intangible cultural heritages in Suzhou. With regard to the use of these heritages, we are now further strengthening the integration of culture and tourism and making them an important element in tourism."
Suzhou has a very rich array of intangible cultural heritages such as the national intangible cultural heritage project Taohuawu woodblock New Year paintings, which originated from the engraving and printing technology of the Song Dynasty. Reaching its heyday in the Qing Dynasty, the woodblock New Year painting was usually dominated by large head and wide body, giving people a strong contrast and a happy and bright visual feeling.
Chen Wei, head of Suzhou Qiaomai New Year Painting Studio said, "You can take a look at this New Year picture. It has six colors in total. We need to carve six boards first and then rub them six times respectively before forming a new year picture. This technique is a very advanced printing technique in ancient times. Today, we have also made some innovations. The original New Year picture is red and green at first. Now we have used some watermark techniques to make these New Year pictures look fresh and elegant and make them more acceptable to young people."
