The first batch of 21 watchtowers in Kaiping was adopted, and civil and social forces participated in the protection of watchtowers

The first batch of 21 watchtowers in Kaiping were adopted, and civil and social forces participated in the protection of watchtowers (Reported by Yang Qiwei, Special Correspondent of Guangzhou Times of Alberta Times) June…

The first batch of 21 watchtowers in Kaiping were adopted, and civil and social forces participated in the protection of the watchtowers (Reported by Yang Qiwei, Special Correspondent in Guangzhou of the Alberta Times) On June 18, the unveiling ceremony for the adoption of the first batch of watchtowers was held in Kaiping. So far, 21 of the first batch of 32 watchtowers adopted by the society have been adopted. The "adoptive parents" are 15 enterprises, social groups and individuals including Guangdong Gold Company, Guangdong Kaiping Chunhui Co., Ltd., Jiangmen Chaozi Enterprise Association, and Macao Jiangmen Association Huang Xiaomei. According to the adoption agreement, subject to compliance with relevant laws and regulations, the adopter can use the Diaolou for commercial purposes such as studios, museums, vacations for family and friends, etc. There are four types of Kaiping Diaolou: stone towers, Sanhe earth towers, brick towers, and reinforced concrete earth towers. The shapes include traditional Chinese hard-top-mountain style, hanging-top-top style, and architectural styles from different periods in foreign countries. The owner of the Diaolou combined foreign styles and Chinese styles according to his own wishes, forming architectural elements such as ancient Rome, Greece, Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo. It has become a typical example of the combination of Chinese and Western architectural culture, and can be called a wonder of architectural art. After the Kaiping Diaolou and villages became world cultural heritage, the protection of the Diaolou became particularly important. Two years ago, Wang Yang, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, proposed the idea of ​​"adopting" watchtowers when he inspected Kaiping Diaolou, which was the first of its kind in China. Two years later, 21 watchtowers in Kaiping officially had "adoptive parents." According to the Kaiping Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau, the adoption standards for each watchtower are different, mainly based on the actual situation and assessed value of the watchtower. Adoption fees range from 100,000 to 300,000 yuan. The same watchtower can be adopted independently or jointly. The period is 5 years, and the adoption can be renewed upon expiration. The two buildings with the highest adoption fees are Jiqing House and Shude House. The former was built in 1938 and covers an area of ​​52.34 square meters. It has problems such as water seepage and many cracks. The latter was built in 1926 and covers an area of ​​more than 600 square meters. The iron railings upstairs have rusted, the walls have turned black, and the exterior walls have fallen off due to weathering. What benefits can companies get by spending money? After adoption, will the watchtowers be overused for commercial purposes? The Kaiping Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau stated that the first batch of adoptions mainly reflects obligations, that is, the adopters pay to repair the watchtowers. Previously, the watchtowers in Kaiping adopted the "trusteeship" method, that is, the owners entrusted the building to the government for management, and the government paid for the maintenance. Now, after the watchtower is adopted, the adopter must pay the adoption fee in one lump sum, and then the local government will immediately carry out maintenance work through bidding. Pan Qihai, a representative of Guangdong Gold Company, one of the first batch of watchtower adopters, said that making money is the duty of a company, but companies also have their social responsibilities. They have the responsibility to "feed back" society. As the only world cultural heritage in Guangdong, companies can do their best to protect the watchtowers. Pan Qihai said that at present, the company has not thought about the specific use of the adopted watchtowers. Whether it will be used for company employee training, leisure vacation, etc. in the future will be decided after communicating with the cultural relics protection department. According to reports, adopters have the right to visit Kaiping Diaolou, Zili Village, Majianglong Village Group and Liyuan, a world heritage site of villages, which are open to the public, free of charge for a certain number of tickets (package tickets). Jiangmen is the largest ancestral home of Macau residents, and about two-thirds of Macau residents are from Wuyi, Jiangmen. As one of the first batch of watchtower adopters, Liang Bojin, president of the Jiangmen Association of Macao, said that watchtowers are the ancestral homes of overseas Chinese at home and abroad, and he The beautiful memories and dream home in our hearts are also the most precious cultural heritage of Jiangmen Wuyi Overseas Chinese Township. Protecting the watchtowers means retaining the hearts of overseas Chinese at home and abroad. After adoption, they may be used as a place to visit relatives in their hometowns and take a rest in the future. Professor Zhang Guoxiong, an expert on the protection of Kaiping Diaolou and vice president of Wuyi University, believes that private and social forces should be encouraged to participate in the protection of the Diaolou. They can have "reasonable rights of use" in terms of use rights and allow commercial use, but they must comply with cultural relics protection regulations and World Heritage protection regulations. According to the watchtower adoption agreement, when adopting a watchtower, the adopter must first formulate an adoption plan and submit it to the cultural relics protection department for approval. The adopter is responsible for protecting the safety of the watchtower. The cultural relics department will also supervise the adopted watchtower at any time. If any violation of cultural relics protection regulations occurs, it will be stopped in time. There are a total of 1,833 watchtowers registered in Kaiping, and some of them have suffered varying degrees of damage. Since 2010, Kaiping has been exploring the “adoption” of watchtowers from the perspective of watchtower protection. But more than two years later, only 21 of the first batch of 32 watchtowers launched have been adopted. In this regard, the Kaiping Cultural Relics Bureau stated that a major difficulty in the adoption and promotion work is that the adoption of each watchtower must obtain the consent of the owner. In the more than a hundred years since many watchtowers were built, the number of owners of the watchtowers has changed several times, and the number has increased. In addition, many owners have a wait-and-see attitude towards the "adoption" method. Finally, the owners are also worried that the watchtowers will be overused for commercial development.