Shenzhen Cultural Relics Chronicle

Author: Shenzhen Municipal Committee of Cultural Relics
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This book showcases the fruitful achievements of Shenzhen's cultural relic work, providing valuable materials and experiences for the future development of the city's cultural and museum industry. At the same time, it presents undeniable facts that prove Shenzhen has a 7,000-year history of social development, a 600-year history of heroic resistance against foreign invasions, over a century of tenacious revolutionary struggles, a 2,000-year history of immigration, as well as distinctive maritime and immigrant cultures. Additionally, the 1839 Battle of Kowloon Bay marked the beginning of modern Chinese history, and the 1900 Sanzhoutian Uprising led by Sun Yat-sen signaled the start of the bourgeois democratic revolution. All these demonstrate that although Shenzhen is not a major city for cultural relics, it possesses a rich historical and cultural heritage and is far from being a "cultural desert." Modern culture should not be like water without a source or roots—it should be the inheritance, development, and elevation of history and culture. Today, as Shenzhen undergoes rapid economic and social development and moves toward becoming an international city, it is of great practical and historical significance to value the protection and rational utilization of historical and cultural heritage. Without a doubt, China's excellent historical and cultural heritage, carried by cultural relics, is an important component of "advanced culture" and plays a foundational and driving role in building modern culture. Contemporary Shenzhen is a new immigrant city, and immigrant culture is a distinctive feature and advantage of Shenzhen. The combination of ancient and modern immigrant cultures contributes to the formation of Shenzhen's urban characteristics. They are also an important part of "governing a nation with virtue" and serve as tools for patriotic education, revolutionary tradition education, and cultivating character, playing an irreplaceable role in the construction of spiritual civilization. Historical and cultural heritage is also the main resource for cultural tourism, playing an irreplaceable role in further developing the city's tourism industry. Protecting and utilizing historical and cultural heritage well is one of the signs of a civilized city and one of the criteria for becoming an international city. Looking at international cities worldwide, this is universally true.