On October 4, as the traditional Chinese holiday of Mid-Autumn Festival is just over the horizon, overseas and foreign Chinese in New York City delivered a message through the giant video screen at Time Square: “there is a strong motherland behind you, and there is a legendary Dujiangyan behind the mother land”. At the same time, they urge Chinese compatriots to visit the “Dual World Heritage City – Dujiangyan” to pay homage to the benevolent water, to honor ancestors, to savor culture and to rekindle friendship.
It has been understood that within the Chinese circle there is a prevailing belief that the Chinese people thrived because of water, while the two millennia-old Dujiangyan is renowned across the globe for its “water culture” and has been reputed as an embodiment of traditional Chinese culture and a manifestation of the wisdom of the Chinese people. Thus, Dujiangyan has become the destination of the “most beautiful journey of the souls” of a lifetime for the descendants of China throughout the country and across the globe.
Message at Times Square in New York City: Meet at Dujiangyan for Mid-Autumn Festival
“Whatever danger you encounter overseas, please remember, there is a strong motherland behind you”. This emblematic line from Wolf Warriors 2, one of the five highest-grossing films worldwide in 2017, has spurred the patriotic spirit in the hearts of countless foreign and overseas Chinese.
To put this into context, under the backdrop of globalization, both the Chinese government and private sector have accelerated their investments overseas, while an increasing number of Chinese descendants chose to leave their homeland and reside overseas for extensive periods, where they have to face all sorts of challenges. October 4 this year is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday that began during the Tang dynasty. Always falling on a day of full moon, the holiday signifies the union of family and longing of the motherland, and has become one of the four major traditional festivals of the Chinese people for over 1,300 years.
A point to note is that the Chinese city of Dujiangyan at the head of the Yangtze River is known for its water culture, Taoist culture and panda culture, and has become a premier vacation locale for the gathering of family and friends among Chinese descendants, as well as the destination of the “most beautiful journey of the souls” of a lifetime for Chinese compatriots worldwide. Perhaps this is the reason why many overseas Chinese are combining the patriotism underscored in Wolf Warriors 2, one of the five highest-grossing films worldwide in 2017, with the city of Dujiangyan, a place with traditional cultural symbolic significance. As this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival draws near, they choose to deliver a message through the giant screen at Time Square in New York City: “there is a strong motherland behind you, and there is a legendary Dujiangyan behind the mother land”.
Initiating a journey to discover your roots: A common voice shared among Chinese compatriots
“My body is overseas, but my root is at home!” Ms. Zhang, a Sichuan native now working in New York, lives in the US with her husband and daughter. Due to her busy schedule, she has not returned home nor seen her parents and relatives for over a year.
Recently, by chance Ms. Zhang saw the message about meeting on the most beautiful journey of the souls and Dujiangyan on the video screen at Times Square in New York City, which exasperated her longing for her motherland and yearning for her parents, and she hoped to be able to take some time off during the Mid-Autumn Festival and return home to see her parents and relatives. She also indicated that the world-famous Dujiangyan is a beautiful, charming, fabled and vibrant “backyard,” and since transportation is convenient and daily life amenities are comprehensive, the city would be a fantastic place to visit with relatives and friends. “Meeting in Dujiangyan is a soothing and memorable trip of a lifetime, but even more so a journey to discover your roots and cultural heritage”.
On the streets of Manhattan, Mr. Li, a native of Shanghai, recounted that a decade ago he and his wife Ms. Yang had their honeymoon in Dujiangyan at the origin of the Yangtze River, and they still cherish that sweet and romantic trip to this day. That “Dual World Heritage City” is home to a two-part World Heritage: Dujiangyan Irrigation System is an awe-inspiring hydrological feat. This weir was built because of the water and the city thrived because of this weir, while it represents a spirit that is human-oriented and pioneering. This very spirit forms the core of the profound “water culture” that is integral to the Chinese people, and Li Bing and his son, the founders of Dujiangyan, earned the honor as the “forebears of world water culture”; Mount Qingcheng on the other hand is famous across the globe for being the “most serene place among all under heaven,” the cradle of Chinese Taoist culture, a World Cultural Heritage shared among humankind, and a paradise for pilgrimage and sightseeing that has received widespread praises from both domestic and foreign tourists for its three natural phenomenon of “sun rise, cloud sea and holy lamp”. In particular, the Taoism principles of “cultivation of spiritual and physical health,” “natural Taoism” and “heaven and human in one” have become spiritual treasures shared among all human beings. “My wife and I will look for another chance to re-visit Dujiangyan and seek that precious honeymoon memory!” Mr. Li added that Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan possess the divine powers of mountains and waters, and they are definitely worth a trip for both Chinese compatriots and foreign visitors around the world as destinations of the most beautiful journey of the souls that should not be missed.
Many overseas and foreign Chinese living abroad believe that the honest and visceral feelings conveyed by Ms. Zhang and Mr. Li have become a common voice shared among Chinese compatriots across the planet
The world’s most beautiful journey of the souls: High quality services for the entire journey
It has been understood that the public holiday of Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the National Day of the People’s Republic of China this year, resulting in a break of eight days. It is safe to say that there will be many Chinese compatriots and foreign guests that will meet in Dujiangyan over the holiday. Persons in charge of the scenic area administrative body at Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan expressed that in recent years Dujiangyan has been picking up its pace in establishing itself as a famous international tourism city and infrastructure construction has been completed on a rather high level. It is only about a one-hour ride from Chengdu airport to Dujiangyan, and the guest reception capacity and service quality at lodging, restaurant and other venues will pose no problem.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the Mount Qingcheng – Dujiangyan scenic area will integrate unique elements such as mountain, water, Taoism and giant panda to create and promote a series of boutique tourism routes and products. The scenic area will focus on the actual needs of Chinese compatriots and foreign guests, carry out meticulous planning of tourist activities and procedures, and emphasize aspects such as travel routes, formats and services, so as to personalize more tailor-made tourism products with better quality and better services for visiting guests. Ten “most beautiful journey of the souls” such as “journey of enchanting mountains, legendary waters and Taoist health,” “journey of immersion into mountains and waters” and “journey of travel-study at the ancient weir” will be the highlights. For the aforementioned journeys, the reception agencies at the scenic area will provide full-journey services including flight pick-up, translation, tour guide, dining and accommodation the moment you arrive at the airport, so as to ensure complete satisfaction of all the emotional needs of visiting guests.
For Chinese compatriots and foreign guests, as a priceless cultural heritage of human society, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System is a monumental achievement in the developmental history and architectural history of humankind. Meeting in Dujiangyan, meeting at the source of the Yangtze River, and through spiritual experiential formats such as paying homage to the benevolent water, honoring ancestors, cultivating health through Buddhist methodologies and rekindling friendship, Chines compatriots will surely rejoice in an enriching, vivid, memorable and the “most beautiful journey of the souls” in the world.
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