ISSN 1712-8358[Print] Cross-Cultural Communication ISSN 1923-6700[Online] Vol. 17, No. 1, 2021, pp. 30-34 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/12084 www.cscanada.org New Space for City Communication: A Study on Culture Transmission by Nanjing Metro XIA Fan[a],*; LÜ Muyan[b] [a]School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, People not only have various choices, but also have a Nanjing, China convenient and fast way to travel. For long-distance travel, [b] School of Liberal Art, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China *Corresponding author. there are high-speed trains, planes and ships, while for short-distance travel, there are shared bikes, private cars Supported by National Innovation Training Program for College Students. project number (202010319017). and buses. The words communication and transportation are never really separate. They support each other from Received 22 December 2020; accepted 21 February 2021 beginning to end. Traffic in modern society is not only Published online 26 March 2021 confined to the simple definition of transportation, but is bearing the culture and the image of a city. Subway is Abstract one of the most rapidly developed and accepted modes The media on which the communication of city image of transportation by the citizens in recent years. As a depends are becoming more and more diversified. Subway, kind of rail transit, the subway realizes the fast passenger a kind of public transportation which is cheap and transport within the city. On the basis of stability and convenient, is not only a popular way of travel, but also an convenience, the government has kept low ticket prices important carrier to spread city culture. No matter at home to meet the daily travel needs of most citizens. Large or abroad, in big or small cities, the cultural atmosphere of flow of people, empty space and long running hours are subway is getting stronger. The subway is not only a space the obvious advantages of subway in favor of cultural for traffic and interpersonal communication, but also a communication. Whether it is the handrails, mobile TV space for cultural transmission. As one of the cities with and voice broadcast in the train, or the passageways, walls the most cultural heritage in China, Nanjing pays special and floors in the station hall, they can all become the attention to cultural transmission in the design of subway media to publicize urban culture and show the image of a in all aspects. This article analyzes the present situation city. Using these media to carry out cultural propaganda and problems of cultural communication by Nanjing can promote the positive display of the city image. Words, metro, and puts forward some pertinent measures for its pictures, radio and television and new media all play an sustainable development. irreplaceable role in the cultural communication of the Key words: City image; culture transmission; subway. Nanjing Metro Xia, F., & Lü, M. Y. (2021). New Space for City Communication: 2. OVERVIEW OF CULTURAL A Study on Culture Transmission by Nanjing Metro. Cross- Cultural Communication, 17(1), 30-34. Available from: http// COMMUNICATION BY RAIL TRANSIT www.cscanada.net/index.php/ccc/article/view/12084 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/12084 2.1 Brief Introduction of Culture Transmission by Subway Worldwide Around the world, there are countless countries and regions that attach great importance to subway culture. 1. INTRODUCTION Many subway stations have paid attention to the Nowadays, there are a great variety of means of advantages of cultural communication of this space at transportation that connect people, cities and countries. the very beginning of their establishment, and created Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 30 XIA Fan; Lü Muyan (2021). Cross-Cultural Communication, 17(1), 30-34 subway stations with unique artistic atmosphere and urban The second medium is the in-station voice broadcast. temperament through graffiti, sculpture, lighting and other Although it is sometimes overlooked, it is of great help to decorations. passengers. It can also reflect the inclusiveness and affinity The Stockholm subway station has been called the of a city. Subway broadcasts in major Chinese cities are Longest Art Museum in the World. Since it opened in usually in Mandarin and English, while in some cities, 1950, artists have been creating art inside the station till additional languages have been added to accommodate now. Most of Stockholm’s subway stations are cut into the city trait. In Guangzhou Metro, considering the large original caves, so artists add oil paintings, sculptures and number of Cantonese speakers in Guangzhou, Cantonese ceramic tiles to those rocks to create works with the theme auxiliary broadcasting is added in addition to Mandarin of red, yellow and blue lines, which not only ensure a high and English to help local residents who mainly speak aesthetic interest, but also imply rich connotation. Such Cantonese to understand some information. Japanese, as the silhouette of subway workers, the destruction of the Korean and Russian were added to the broadcast on natural environment under industrialization, the welcome Dalian subway in 2017, reflecting the international of new immigrants to Sweden, etc. perspective and inclusiveness of this city. Looking abroad, The Moscow metro station uses marble and ore to lay as one of the three major stations of Seoul subway system, the lobby, with sculptures, chandeliers, Mosaic collages Seoul station in South Korea broadcasts in four languages, and other decorations to create a luxurious style. Each Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese. The broadcasting station of Moscow subway is decorated with different in Korean and English are more complete and detailed, historical celebrities, historic sites and events as the while that in Chinese and Japanese is simpler, reflecting theme. For example, some subway stations are named the humanistic care of South Korea. after Pushkin, Turgenev, Chekhov and other literary The third medium is mass media which has developed great names, which create a good cultural educational rapidly in recent years. Most subway stations are equipped atmosphere. with hanging televisions, which display the time, the China’s subway cultural construction is also very countdown to the arrival of next train, the weather, etc., successful. Beijing, a historical and ancient city, designs as well as regular news or advertisements. Similarly, its subway with unique Beijing characteristics, including there are mobile televisions on the compartment walls the Great Wall, Beijing Opera and so on. For instance, inside the train, which broadcast news and public service Nanluoguxiang station has a courtyard (called Siheyuan in advertisements, most of which are closely related to Chinese) as the appearance of the station. While protecting people’s daily live and promote the culture and image of historical works, it also publicizes the traditional culture the city, to some extent. of Beijing, which makes local people feel warm and foreign tourists feel fresh and interested. Hong Kong subway highlights the city characteristics 3. PRESENT SITUATION OF CULTURAL in its interior decoration. Each site uses a background COMMUNICATION BY NANJING METRO color, through the Mosaic brick or a large painting layout, not only to achieve the purpose of beauty, but also show 3.1 Basic Idea the image of each site characteristics. For example, When it comes to subway culture, we should not ignore Rainbow station uses colorful Mosaic bricks for laying the basic idea of subway construction. Doing a good job out, which is full of artistic atmosphere. of overall planning at the beginning of the design is the The design of a subway station, to some degree, can basis of all work. Some scholars divide the subway culture show the extent to which the city is concerned about its into four sections as follow: (1) the superficial or material culture and city image. Whether a city can present its culture, such as the appearance of subway stations and characteristics and connotation to the public through transportation facilities; (2) the shallow and behavioral subway can also reveal its inner culture and deposits. culture, such as various subway culture propaganda, social practice, behavior habits, etc.; (3) the system culture of 2.2 Media of Culture Communication by Subway the middle level, such as the subway organization form Subway can apply different kinds of media for culture and relevant laws, norms and standards; (4) the deep and communication, of which the most common are words spiritual culture, such as passengers’ ideology, aesthetic and pictures. In addition to the murals and sculptures taste, values, ideals and beliefs, etc. These four aspects mentioned above, there are also various advertisements on comprehensively summarize the ways and methods of the the walls on both sides of the passage. Taking Wuxi Metro integration of subway and culture. as an example, Line 2 has built moral and civilization Nanjing metro, which can be traced back to the Jingshi themed walls to carry forward the Core Socialist Values. Railway in 1907, was officially put into operation in 2005. By using Wuxi clay portraits, the lovely characters and Jingshi Railway was the only small railway in each big concise stories give passengers a good impression and a city of China at that time, and it was the earliest urban rail subtle influence of spiritual civilization. 31 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture New Space for City Communication: A Study on Culture Transmission by Nanjing Metro transit in China, and also the beginning of modern public to build cultural stations in China. Nanjing metro takes transportation in Nanjing. After a series of expansions and Chinese traditional culture and Nanjing ancient culture as changes, Jingshi Railway was dismantled and the Nanjing the theme of the stations to design the walls. At present, metro was proposed in 1984, with formal construction the theme cultural walls are presented in Line 1, 2, 3, 4, beginning two years later.