Spring Festival, the most important traditional holiday of the Chinese nation, embodies elements such as bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, family reunion and harmony, respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and praying for blessings in the new year. It stands as a model for the living inheritance of China's outstanding traditional culture. Currently, Sichuan is in the midst of its annual Two Sessions meetings. Xiang Huaquan, a member of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice Director of the Proposal Committee of the 13th Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, has put forward a proposal titled "Suggestions on Creating a Spring Festival Culture Park City and Building a New Landmark for Spring Festival Culture Exhibition and Consumption." The proposal offers recommendations on expanding the influence and global reputation of Sichuan's Spring Festival culture.
Xiang Huaquan believes that Sichuan, as the birthplace of Spring Festival culture and a key base for inheriting important ceremonial activities of the festival, holds significant potential and prospects in areas such as academic research, exhibition and inheritance, international communication, and consumption innovation related to Spring Festival culture. However, challenges remain, including the lack of a comprehensive area that aggregates Spring Festival ceremonial items and brand activities, the absence of a unified system for Spring Festival cultural symbols, activities, talent, and architecture, and particularly the scarcity of well-known iconic IPs, with existing brands needing enhanced recognition and influence. Secondly, there is a shortage of academic research achievements on Spring Festival culture at both national and provincial levels. Thirdly, there is insufficient innovation across the entire industrial chain of Spring Festival culture and a lack of international dissemination, with mechanisms for inheritance, protection, and transformation still requiring improvement.
In response, Xiang Huaquan proposed three key suggestions. First, he advocated for strengthening the academic research and planning system for Spring Festival culture to deepen its cultural roots. This involves exploring the contemporary significance and modern characteristics of Spring Festival culture, establishing a provincial-level "gene bank" for Spring Festival culture in Sichuan, compiling a "Sichuan Spring Festival Culture Encyclopedia," and incorporating Spring Festival culture into local textbooks for primary and secondary schools across the province. Efforts should also guide the integration of Spring Festival culture into campuses and communities to foster cultural identity and a sense of mission for inheritance. Additionally, leveraging universities and social science institutions to establish a "Sichuan Spring Festival Culture Research Institute" would facilitate research into the historical context of Luo Xiahong's "Taichu Calendar," Bashu New Year customs, and traditional craft mappings, thereby constructing a core symbol of Sichuan-distinctive Spring Festival culture and a spatial system focused on "authentic protection and living inheritance."
Secondly, he expressed support for establishing Langzhong and Zigong as "Spring Festival Culture Park Cities" to lay the groundwork for applying to designate the Spring Festival as a National Cultural Park. This initiative would involve systematically organizing and nurturing the currently scattered folk customs, ceremonies, activities, and architecture related to "Spring Festival" and "Chinese New Year" to form coherent academic, symbolic, activity, and architectural systems for Spring Festival culture. A diversified investment and construction framework characterized by "government leadership, social participation, and market operation" should be developed, alongside conducting province-wide surveys of Spring Festival cultural resources and planning the construction of facilities such as brand promotion centers and Spring Festival culture exhibition halls.
Third, he emphasized the need to create a comprehensive mechanism and innovative framework for the entire industrial chain of Spring Festival culture, cultivating distinctive brands like "The Hometown of Spring Festival is in Sichuan" and "Celebrate the New Year in Sichuan." Upgrading the "China (Langzhong) Luo Xiahong Spring Festival Culture Expo" and linking it with events such as the Zigong Lantern Festival and Chengdu Temple Fair would help establish a provincial-level brand for the "Sichuan Spring Festival Culture Festival." This approach would foster a new pattern for Spring Festival cultural activities featuring "rotating host cities and coordinated efforts across the province," promoting the regular occurrence of such events.
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