Chongqing- Sichuan & Chongqing Beautiful Ancient Towns and Villages Innovation and Development Forum was held on July 30. After the forum, Sichuan and Chongqing Housing and Urban-Rural Development departments will further explore the digital protection of ancient towns and villages and jointly build a digital museum of traditional villages in Bashu.

Chongqing and Sichuan have a wealth of ancient towns and villages. Currently, 443 villages in Sichuan and Chongqing are listed in the traditional village list in China, of which 333 are in Sichuan and 110 in Chongqing. Furthermore, 54 cities have been designated as Chinese cultural and historical towns, including 31 in Sichuan and 23 in Chongqing.  

Experts advise on the protection of ancient towns and villages

According to Zhang Qiyue, the secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Housing Provident Fund Administration Center, the Sichuan and Chongqing Housing and Urban-Rural Development departments will cooperate with universities and research institutes to protect and utilize ancient towns and villages. As part of their efforts to continually promote the development and protection of ancient towns and villages in both places, they will also jointly publish a series of books on traditional Bashu architecture.  

Chen Fujun, the chief economist of the Sichuan Provincial Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department, said that in the future, the protection and utilization of ancient towns and villages in Sichuan and Chongqing will rely on the media such as digital museums to accelerate the construction of the provincial traditional village digital platform, and build famous towns and villages for rural cultural revitalization.

Li Xiankui, vice president of the Chinese Institute of Architecture, suggested that the protection of ancient towns and villages should also focus on activation and protection, not adding new practical functions, keeping the features of the external environment image, and moderately changing the internal decoration.

In terms of utilization, Shi Xiaobo, a senior engineer, recommended that in practice, we should focus on the people-oriented concept, carry out the protection of ancient towns and villages according to local conditions, promote the integrated development of the surrounding agriculture, culture, and tourism, and innovate the "investment, financing, construction and transportation" integrated business model.

Integration of Information, Industrialization, and Intelligence

Zhou Xuhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and former president of Chongqing University, said that big data, the Internet of things, cloud computing, and 3D printing had paved the way for China's intelligent construction. The construction industry must combine information, industrialization, and intelligence to promote intelligent construction technology. 

For Chongqing, this type of integration is the most effective production method for the construction industry to achieve sustainable development, which is conducive to improving the quality of construction in Chongqing, transforming the development mode, and promoting energy efficiency and emission reduction in the field of housing and construction.

Green development should focus on personnel development

Qin Yanyao, deputy general manager of China Coal Science and Technology Chongqing Design and Research Institute (Group), said that "talent cultivation is crucial to green development in housing and construction. Green development is a concern for the national construction industry at the moment. However, many still lack the necessary skills and do not understand the equipment and industry in detail." He further emphasized that green development in Sichuan and Chongqing should also emphasize scientific and technological innovation, cross-professional integration, demonstration projects, and funding coordination in addition to talent training.  

(Tan Sirui, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)