“Tuocheng Creation Plan”

Contemporary Development Path of Millennium Ancient Towns in Underdeveloped Regions of China

Abstract

Nowadays, the resilience of the Earth, humanity, environment and ecosystems are still under severe pressure. The philosophy of “making no one lag behind” in the “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” should be the target for universal participation across regions. This study selects Tuocheng ancient town, which is founded in 214 BC and known as the “Millennium Ancient Town”, as our research object. Being located in the water sources for major metropolitan cities, such as Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Tuocheng ancient town has long been an underdeveloped region due to its backward structure of industries. Meanwhile, currently, the ancient dwellings, ancestral halls and temples in Tuocheng ancient town are facing the problems of space declining and cultural elements’ losing. In the context of China’ Rural Revitalization and “Typical Town Construction” initiated by Guangdong Province, with multiple problems and obstacles, what are the futures plans for Tuocheng ancient town? With little prior research support, firstly, based on the five comprehensive local field surveys, we released the “Tuocheng Creation Plan” originally from the community empowerment perspective. This plan emphasizes the dominant role of the local residents and aims at the development of regional diversity. Secondly, through continuous field surveys, we made efforts to excavate and utilize the original regional resources of Tuocheng ancient town, including the local people, culture, land, industry and scenery. And we also carried out some community empowerment practices on the basis of these resources of Tuocheng ancient town. Finally, we proposed three fundamental pathways for improvement in line with the contemporary development of Tuocheng ancient town: (1) Talent cultivation, aiming at nurturing the local new generation of youth; (2)Community co-construction, aiming at promoting the sustainable development of the town; (3) Civil participation, aiming at boosting the implementation of “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. In summary, this practical research significantly sheds light on the development of underdeveloped ancient towns in China.