24 hebeispecial FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012 DAILY

The Zhongdu grasslands in Zhangbei county, Hebei province, will host the InMusic Festival that opens today. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Record conservation funding for Chengde imperial gardens 600m yuan for work on world’s

The Wenchang Pavilion in Shengfang, a town dating largest complex back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). By LIU XIANG and LI FUSHENG

The world’s largest imperial garden complex is expected to receive 600 mil- lion yuan ($94.2 million) for conserva- tion from the Chinese government dur- ing the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period, according to a conservation offi cial in the city of Chengde in North China’s Hebei province. A 290 million conservation fund, nearly half of the total, has already been earmarked for the Chengde Imperial Summer Resort and eight adjacent imperial temples, the head of the con- servation eff ort told China Daily late The newly built 80 million yuan Zhongdu museum last month. covering the (1271-1368) will house relics In addition to conservation eff orts well and serve as a place to study the imperial architecture under way, work on another 52 projects of the Mongol empire as well as nomadic culture. has begun this year, mainly dedicated to heritage conservation, fi re safety and site protection, he said. Th e resort will remain open to visi- The Chengde Imperial Summer Resort was added to the UN’s World Heritage List in 1994 along with eight nearby temples. tors as the work continues, the offi cial added. imperial palaces and gardens in the lection of traditional Chinese land- With such resources, Chengde was Historic Hebei Started in 2010, the conservation world. scapes and architecture, the resort listed among China’s fi rst group of his- initiative is another major move by the Covering 5.64 million square meters, was added to the UN’s World Heri- toric and cultural cities in 1982. central government following similar it is around two times the size of the tage List in 1994 together with eight Tourism has since been a pillar indus- rich in antiquity eff orts at the Potala Palace in Tibet and Summer Palace and eight times the size nearby temples that embody ele- try in the city less than 200 kilometers the Great Wall near . of Beihai Park, both of them imperial ments of Mongolian, Tibetan and north of Beijing, said a local tourism By LI FUSHENG Th e large investment tops the list of all gardens in Beijing. Uygur architecture. offi cial. [email protected] conservation efforts nationwide since Quite different from conventional Built in the same period as the resort, Official statistics show that the the founding of the People’s Republic of Chinese gardens, the resort is built the temples — which have a combined industry generated 12.6 billion yuan While Xanadu in Inner Mongolia, the summer capital China in 1949. around a large mountain that accounts area of 400,000 square meters — once in revenue in 2011, accounting for of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), was made a World Th e program is expected to last three for more than 80 percent of its total acre- served as places of worship for lead- more than 11 percent of the city’s Heritage site in June, conservation eff orts are also under- to fi ve years. age. ers of Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uygur GDP. way for the remains of another of the dynasty’s capitals. The summer resort, built between The mountain helps keep tempera- ethnic groups when they paid visits to Zhongdu, which literally means central capital, is 50 1703 and 1792 during the reign of three tures in the resort 3 to 4 degrees lower the Qing emperors, especially the fi rst Contact the writers at liuxiang@china- kilometers north of the county of Zhangbei in North emperors in the Qing Dynasty (1644- than the nearby terrain. several, who usually spent the summer daily.com.cn and lifusheng@chinadaily. China’s Hebei province. Built in 1307 by ’s 1911), is the largest extant complex of Because of its vast and rich col- in the resort. com.cn grandson Qayisan, it was burned to the ground by rebel- ling farmers in an uprising half a century later. Three of the 27 original sites in the ancient capital that was built in a three tiered layout are now protected, according to local heritage experts. Th e local government has also begun building a muse- InMusic Festival set to rock Zhangbei county um about Zhongdu. In addition to housing relics, the museum will also By LIU XIANG Festival in Zhangbei county of north- prairie lands about 250 kilometers The organizers are making every serve as a place to study the imperial architecture of the [email protected] western Hebei province. from Beijing. eff ort this year to improve the situa- Mongol empire as well as nomadic culture, said Zhangbei Organized by the Zhangbei gov- Music enthusiasts are expected to tion, the committee told China Daily. government offi cials. Rock’n’ roll fans will soon be able to ernment and InMusic, an infl uential enjoy themselves since the event boasts In addition, more stages have been Archaeological excavations at Zhongdu started in 1998 indulge their passion as preparations music magazine in China, the three- an all-star lineup of musicians includ- set up and security enhanced since the and the ancient capital was listed among the country’s 10 are in full swing for the 2012 InMusic day gala opens today on the county’s ing Cui Jian, Faye Wang, Zhang Chu, number of fans is likely to double this major archaeological discoveries in 1999. as well as the bands Linkoban, Orbital year, they added. It was one of three capitals the Yuan emperors estab- and Spiritualized. The committee is also working to lished, the most important of which was Dadu, or great China’s fi rst heavy metal band Tang make the music fest a green event with capital, which stood on the site of today’s Beijing. Dynasty is also scheduled to perform, all electricity provided by windmills. according to a list released by the news It will also provide trash cans and Shengfang ancient town portal Ifeng.com. erect signs calling for spectators to Encompassing Beijing and Tianjin, Hebei is rich in In addition to rock music, specta- respect the natural environment, the historical sites. tors will also have the opportunity to committee said. In addition to Zhongdu and the Chengde Summer enjoy other genres such as jazz and folk Th e event that has rocked its way to Resort, other places of historical interest in the province music. nationwide fame over the past three include Shengfang in Bazhou city, said a tourism offi cial Begun in 2009 as an annual event, years, can be traced back to a casual at the provincial government. the festival on 100 hectares of grass- encounter in 2008. Once a riverside town, Shengfang can trace its history land is now well established as the That winter, Zhangbei Party Chief to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). largest outdoor music gala in China, Li Xuerong met Liu Yifan, head of the It rose as a trade center in North China in the late Qing according to the event’s organizing magazine InMusic, and asked Liu to fi nd Dynasty (1644-1911), attracting merchants from neigh- committee. a way to help the county’s development. boring cities and provinces. In 2011, the event drew a record of Finding that the surrounding prairie At its peak Shengfang had more than 400 stores, more than 300,000 concertgoers in was a site for imperial entertainment in including a British store that sold Shell-brand oil, a local just three days, setting a record for the ancient China, Liu began planning for historian told China Daily. country’s musical activities. the music festival in 2009. It was among the fi rst group of towns in China to have “Zhangbei has a unique environ- a post offi ce and photo studio, he added. Improved services ment that made me to initiate the fes- Shengfang also has more than 30 Western-style build- Due to the preparations of orga- tival at the very start,” Liu said. ings constructed in the early 20th century. nizers, the event handled the sudden “Now the festival has become a reg- They are telling evidence how modern the ancient influx of people, but a shortage of ular event, and I hope it can create town once was, said a local tourism offi cial. The music festival held on 100 hectares is now well established as the largest parking and congested roads caused beautiful memories for more people,” The rare blend of Western and traditional Chinese outdoor music gala in China. problems. he added. architecture has helped attract visitors, the offi cial said.