A plan was recently printed and released for the construction of a national demonstration area for cultural relics conservation and utilization in the old downtown area of Qingdao in Shandong Province. The plan calls for efforts to build the old downtown area into a demonstration area for cultural relics protection and management with Qingdao’s historical and cultural characteristics as well as an area for vivid presentation and utilization of cultural relics that paces with urban economic and social development planning, and come up with practices that can be duplicated and transferred across the country to help carry forward fine traditional Chinese culture.

The above-mentioned area is of great significance in setting a role model across the country. In March 2024, the area was included among the second batch of national demonstration areas for cultural relics conservation and utilization. According to construction scheduling, the program will be implemented from January 2025 to September 2026, and assessed from October 2026 to December 2026, with the start-up phase having concluded by the end of December 2024.

The core zone of the demonstration area, which is determined in the construction plan, is situated in the costal area to the south of Qingdao’s old downtown area (including a few areas in Shinan District and Shibei District), and covers an area of about 6.53 square kilometers. A historical urban area spanning 28 square kilometers is included into the construction program for the demonstration area.

The plan calls for more efforts to utilize cultural relics, translate historical and cultural resources in Qingdao’s old downtown area into strong impetus for boosting cultural tourism, and use cultural relics to upgrade commercial activities in the old downtown area in an effort to bring Qingdao’s cultural heritage to life in a genuine way.  (Ma Xiaoting)