Bomb shelters were to protect people’s lives and property. But now, they have become a tool to improve people’s understanding of national defense and civil air defense and to meet the public’s needs for a better life.

To make bomb shelters play a better role in improving people’s living standards, Chongqing Municipal Civil Air Defense Office is endeavoring to promote “World in Bomb Shelters—Special Action on Chongqing Civil Air Defense Projects to Serve the Improvement of People’s Living Standards.”

On December 29, cultural tourism experts visited bomb shelters in Yuzhong, Nan’an, and Jiangbei districts at the Office's invitation to investigate how to upgrade civil air defense projects.

After the field investigation, they attended a symposium held by the Office. Experts suggested that utilization of these projects should be based on conservation, focusing on brilliantly telling historical and cultural stories.

Wang Chuanping, Honorary Curator of the China Three Gorges Museum of Chongqing, said Hongyan Revolutionary Memorial Hall could engage in the Kafuchang Bomb Shelter reform. Facilitated by elevators, they can showcase cultural creation products and recreational content. Shenxiandong Bomb Shelter can be turned into a theater, and the walls of the Hongyadong Bomb Shelter can be beautified. Huangge Ancient Road Bomb Shelter might be developed together with the Laojun Cave. It is recommended that No. 465 and No. 466 bomb shelters apply for the Chongqing Industrial Culture Heritage.

According to Deng Jianqiang, Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Art Museum Committee and Executive Deputy Curator of Chongqing Art Museum, it’s necessary to clearly introduce the history and functions of bomb shelters, while telling stories about people relevant to them, with the premise that these bomb shelters are safe. The cultural environment, colors, ventilation, and lighting facilities should fit the bomb shelters’ themes and styles. Business conducted in them should be connected with and respond to the one outside.

Guo Daorong, Chairman of the Chongqing Culture and Tourism Development Research Association, advised that the Shenxiandong Bomb Shelter interior design and the outside landscape, including an urban balcony and surrounding buildings, should create a harmonious scenic spot to draw young people. The Hongyadong Bomb Shelter road should be upward and unidirectional; beautiful ads can hang on the walls with QR codes, offering consumer information around the People’s Liberation Monument to visitors. With security as a precondition, Huangge Ancient Road Bomb Shelter can retain some original features, making it a place for people to recall the past. There will be a channel linking Laojun Cave and Huangge Ancient Road, along which tea houses and rest areas are expected to be established. It’s great to co-develop the two ones in Jiangbei District with old wharves along the river.

Prof. Sun Chuang at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute considered not all bomb shelters were suitable for a dramatic transformation. For example, as storage and display of goods will take some spaces in the No. 465 and No. 466 bomb shelters, reliefs should be used to improve the internal environment instead of sculptures. Additionally, it’s essential to provide toilets, chairs, and other convenient facilities for people, giving them a satisfying experience.

Yuan Weiyong, Chairman of the Chongqing Cultural Creative Industries Association, proposed to create a futuristic environment in bomb shelters with advanced lighting and projection technologies. To increase revenue, it’s possible to develop cultural creative products based on industrial products previously offered by the bomb shelters.

Ren Xingjun, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, noted that civil air defense projects were not only important cultural tourism resources. He called for sound and creative utilization of them based on conservation. As bomb shelters are to welcome visitors, it’s critical to figure out ways to make people more comfortable inside.

According to the Office head, it is collaborating with Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development and other departments to fuel the bomb shelter-related conservation, utilization, and in-depth integration with cultural tourism projects. “We will take experts’ opinions and suggestions into account, keeping improving the cultural taste and style of bomb shelters and following the road towards sustainable development. As a result, these civil air defense projects can better fulfill their responsibilities, namely ‘protecting people from air attacks in wartime, serving people in peacetime, and providing support in emergencies,’” said the leader.