As a cradle for Chinese civilization with abundant resources and numerous cultural relics, Shandong province is striving to boost rural development through four major initiatives: improving public services, holding colorful activities, protecting local cultural heritage, and integrating culture and tourism.

The comprehensive cultural service center in Gaojia village, Lijin county, Dongying city. [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

Grassroots public services

This year, Shandong has constructed cultural service centers covering all 1,822 townships and more than 64,000 villages, and it has selected 10 model towns and 20 villages for cultural development. It has also built more than 70 village libraries as well as several public cultural venues in rural areas.

Activities

The province has held more than 3,700 evening shows in villages, and staged more than 120 new rural-themed theatrical performances this year. Additionally, the Shandong Public Cultural Cloud Platform offers about 69,000 online courses and more than 76,000 video resources. 

Shandong hosts folk culture and art exchange and display activities. [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

Cultural heritage protection

Shandong has taken the protection of local cultural heritage as a key task in its high-quality development plan.

For example, field archaeology had been carried out extensively, uncovering a large rammed earth platform with ritual characteristics that dates back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC) at the Qianzhongzitou site in Gaomi city. This is of great significance for studying the related historical background of the site.

The province has preserved historical towns and villages and conducted research on intangible cultural heritage workshops in Zibo, Liaocheng, Linyi and other cities.

Deep integration of rural culture and tourism

This year, Shandong issued the Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of Rural Tourism (2023-25), which focuses on integrating rural tourism with the exploration of cultural heritage and local customs. It will provide support to 40 tourism accommodation clusters, 95 key rural tourism towns, 273 village scenic spots, and 151 seasonal rural events.

More than 2,000 themed activities will be organized, forming a long-term mechanism that boosts consumption through brand activities.

An aerial view of Daolang town, Daiyue district, Tai'an city. [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

Future prospects

In the second half of this year, Shandong will hold various cultural performances such as small plays, evening events, and seasonal rural activities. It will also enhance training for cultural teams at the grassroots level and support the development of local theatrical groups.

In addition, Shandong will select examples of cultural development and promote its exemplary cases.