2.1　From the Perspective of Its Location in Rural ...

2.1　From the Perspective of Its Location in Rural and Urban Areas

Conservation and utilization situation of third-front industrial heritage in urban areas differ from that in rural areas.Due to urbanization and the relocation of the enterprises,third-front industrial heritage locates not merely in backwater.Some of them moved to suburbs which finally incorporated into their closest cities,while some,during enterprise burgeoning period,blossomed into cities.The third-front industrial heritage is henceforth distributed in the city.

2.1.1 Third-front Heritage in the City

Practice of industrial heritage conservation and utilization first emerged in some wealthy coastal cities.At that time,a prevalent way was transforming the old factory into the Cultural and Creative Park.Growing sentiment for preserving industrial heritage spread to the third-front heritage and then unfolded a vigorous campaign for conserving it.For example,Chengdu's“Eastern Suburb Memory”contains industrial heritage of both third-front and non-third-front enterprises.Some of those enterprises belong to the 156 projects aided by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and were converted to military factories during the period of third-front construction,such as Factory 784,Factory 420,Factory 773 and so on.Companies established during third-front construction period include Factory 776(Guoguang Electronic Tube Factory),Factory 745(originally called Beijing Electronic Tube Factory No.4 Subsidiary,moved to the Chengdu's eastern suburb in 1965),Yaguang Electric Factory(whose predecessor is Factory 970,merged from Factory 776 and Nanjing Factory 772),Factory 512(Southwest Branch of Iron and Steel Research Institute of the Ministry of Metallurgy,located in Chengdu Metallurgical Experimental Factory),etc.Today,the industrial heritage of Chengdu's eastern suburbs is a mixed type.The third-front industrial heritage is protected and utilized together with the non-third-front industrial heritage,which is rare in large cities.

2.1.2 Third-front Heritage in the Mountain City

There are two situations for the industrial heritage of the third-front construction in the mountain city:The enterprise was born in the third-front city due to the third-front construction;or the enterprise entered the urban area with urbanization.

2.1.2.1 Industrial Heritage in Third-front Cities

The“third-front city”here refers to the outcome of third-front construction,without which this city would never exist.The area used to be a wild slope or a remote mountain and only after the third-front construction did it start to develop.The third-front spirit is its city spirit,and the third-front culture is its city culture.Most of these cities have been developed from exploiting and transporting abundant local resources.For example,Panzhihua,the largest steel production base in western China,was formed and developed in the construction of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Factory.The abundant vanadium-titanium magnetite is an important resource for the steel plant.It has grown from a“Nongnongping”(a barren mountain area)with only seven households to a steel city with a population of one million.The city has been divided into East District,West District and Renhe District.The Panzhihua Cultural Relics Bureau has conducted a census in the urban area.There are 12 industrial heritage sites of the third-front construction,of which 3 are listed as provincial-level cultural relics protection units,2 are listed as municipal-level cultural relics protection units and 2 are listed as district-level cultural relics protection units.^[5]

Another example is the Liupanshui City of Guizhou Province(formed by the merge of Liuzhi County,Pan County and Shuicheng County),whose prosperity owes a lot to the convenient railway transportation.Rich coal reserves in Liuzhi County and Pan County supplies energy to Panzhihua's iron and steel smelting.The launching of third-front construction and the introduction of construction materials greatly stimulated the growth of local consumer demand,which led to the building and development of Liupanshui City.Shuicheng mainly has iron and steel industry,coal mining industry,power plants,etc.,and its industrial heritage is also dominated by these industries.The famous industrial heritage of Liupanshui City,such as the construction facilities in the living area of Shuigang No.1 Blast Furnace,No.2 Blast Furnace,and No.300 Power Plant,has been included in the scope of protection.Specific protection and utilization plans are being prepared.As for the conservation and utilization of Dizong Coal Preparation Plant(subordinate unit of Liuzhi Mining Bureau)and its facilities,the first phase of the project has been completed and the second phase has been started.

2.1.2.2 Industrial Heritage of Third-front Construction which Entered Urban Area

In southwestern China,some cities were originally built between the small plains and undulating hills.The rough and mountainous terrain within city determined that it is called a mountain city(such as Chongqing,Guiyang,Zunyi,etc.).The third-front enterprises of these mountain cities were once located at the foot of the mountain around the city.Growing with urbanization,places where they were initially located in,become the suburbs of the city and then enter the city with the expansion of the main urban areas.These third-front industrial heritages are already a part of the urban area.Thanks to the convenient transportation,its protection and utilization are generally based on the model of developed cities.For example,the area of the former Changzheng Electric Group Co.,Ltd.in Zunyi City was still a gentle slope terrace before the mid-1960s,surrounded by several villages where there were only some low wooden or thatching hut and earthen walls.In February 1965,Shanghai Huatong Switch Factory,the first third-front factory moved into Zunyi,and unfolded the chapter of Yongjia Low Voltage Electrical Appliance Factory's establishment.Today,the location has already been the city center.The entire site of Changzheng Electric Group Co.,Ltd.,Changzheng No.12 Plant has been protected,developed and reused as the 1964 Cultural and Creative Park which integrates commerce,culture,art and leisure.It meets the need of Zunyi's economic,social and cultural development and henceforth is regarded as a successful case of conservation and utilization of the third-front industrial heritage in Mainland China.(https://www.daowen.com)

Another example is Xintian Optical Instrument Factory(Mailbox 85,later renamed Guiyang Xintian Optical and Electric Technology Co.,Ltd.)in Xintian Village,Wudang District,Guiyang City.When the factory was first built in 1966,Xintian Village was still a mountain area without water,electricity or even houses.The first batch of third-front builders who moved from Shanghai Optical Instrument Factory paved roads through mountains and built houses and factories via self-reliance and put factories into operation in the shortest time.Thirty years later,with the urbanization process,the Xintian Village was merged into the main urban area of Guiyang.Now the rivers and lakes nearby have also been turned into urban waters,making it a good place for people to travel and relax.Some of the remaining buildings in the original factory area are being reconstructed into Xinguang Cultural and Creative Park.Converting industrial production resources into cultural industry resources will contribute to the development of cultural tourism economy.

2.1.3 Third-front Heritage in the Countryside

Compared with the third-front enterprises located in cities,those located in the foothills are in the majority,whose original sites remained there after relocation.Most industrial heritage is still idle and abandoned.The third-front industrial heritage's conservation and utilization situation in rural area is generally less ideal than that in urban area.Some of them have been transformed and utilized by local towns and villages to develop local economy and serve people's livelihood,while some are leased by private enterprises or individuals for raising poultry and livestock,cultivating mushroom or stacking stuff as warehouses.These low-level methods can temporarily delay the industrial heritage's natural decadence,but some of them polluted the environment,especially did harm to poultry and livestock,and henceforth caused strong opposition from the villagers.Therefore,the low-level methods are not optimal strategies neither in the conservation nor utilization perspective.The third-front industrial heritage in rural area has not been favored by effective development funds due to its inconvenient transportation and poor infrastructure.It needs special attention and focus on its protection and utilization.The three successful cases listed below might inspire us.

2.1.3.1 The Tourism Base of Local Third-front Military Site in Mengyin,Shandong

This tourism base was built on the former site of the Shandong local thirdfront military factory.The factory(Minfeng Machinery Factory,code 9381)was located in Qinggangling,Mengyin County,Yimeng,surrounded by lush and beautiful scenery.In the 1990s,it moved out due to its military-into-civilian transfer,and the original building then was abandoned.Starting in 2012,Shandong Mengyin Business Group took it over and developed the old space structure as a tourism resort.The original auditorium was transformed into a place for hosting conferences,various performances and group events.The former administrative office building has become a building with VIP rooms,conference rooms and guest rooms.The old inn and cultural building have been remodeled into youth hostels and the staff canteen has become a tourist restaurant.Each functional area constitutes the core service of this tourist resorts.Besides,the former staff's living area has become a leisure and recuperation center and the cave once used for military production has also been replaced by the Daigu Geomorphology Museum.Furthermore,a local third-front military industry museum has also been built in the old factory building.So far,the“National Local Third-front Military Industrial Site Tourism Base”has been completed.Yimeng Mountain is an old revolutionary base.There are a large number of cultural relics and old sites left from the revolutionary war.It is an important resource for carrying out red tourism.Moreover,the former site of the local third-front military factory is also a historical witness of third-front spirit.The construction of this tourism base,combined with Daigu's natural landscape features,successfully integrates the traditional red education,third-front military culture and its own natural landscape.

2.1.3.2 Idyllic Complex of“Third-front Memory”Leisure Resort in Wushan Township,Dayi County,Chengdu

This resort is located in Lianghekou Village,Wushan Township,Dayi County,Chengdu.It was originally the location of the Institute of Optics and Electronics,Chinese Academy of Sciences(code 6569,hereinafter referred to as IOE)that was established in 1970 and moved to Shuangliu Chengdu,in 1988.Now the site is Wushan Farm,which was developed by Xinyuan Leisure Real Estate Co.,Ltd.,and some buildings of IOE are also properly protected and utilized.The development of the plant area is a“third-front memory”leisure resort(idyllic complex),and some old factories and canteens have been remodeled into leisure hotels,third-front memory exhibition halls,sports centers and leisure and recuperation clubs.The staff residences and school buildings in the living quarter have been well preserved due to the substantial construction itself and further conservation,utilization and development plan is still under discussion.Wushan Township recently signed a contract with Zhejiang Lancheng Wanxin Asset Management Co.,Ltd.,and will get an investment of 6.5 billion to comprehensively develop Wushan's natural and human resources,including some undeveloped third-front architectural heritage,aiming to create a characteristic township by integrating its agriculture,business and cultural tourism industries.

2.1.3.3 Moon Bay Writers Village,Dongxixi Township,Huoshan County,Anhui

Moon Bay Writers Village is located in the Dongxi Township of Huoshan County,Anhui Province,deep in the Dabie Mountains.It was originally the site of a local third-front military enterprise called Anhui Huaihai Machinery Plant(code 9356)in Xixi Township that was established in March 1966 for producing conventional weapons such as anti-aircraft machine gun.After the termination of third-front construction,the factory made a switch to producing“Feihu”brand civil mini-car.It then moved to Hefei in 1985 and left buildings of staff's living quarters and plants behind,as well as a small amount of production machinery and equipment.The property rights were handed over to the local government.The plant stood idle for long and some of its buildings were sold to local villagers.In recent years,the township government has begun to implement the third-front industrial heritage conservation and utilization project of Moon Bay Writers Village for some stock buildings,transforming the large warehouse into the third-front dining hall,the final assembly workshop into a library and writers'studio,the staff dormitory into a homestay,the office building into a writers'studio and“literary association”and the hall into a cultural tourism service center and third-front construction exhibition hall.The structure has remained intact for decades and still kept its beauty of simplicity with its black bricks and gray tiles.After the interior decoration and design,it not only retains the elements of the third-front construction,but also meets the current fashion concept and new uses.Xixi Township has beautiful natural scenery with hills and waters,thick vegetation and fresh air,as well as historical and cultural resources such as red cultural sites in the old revolutionary area of Dabie Mountain and third-front construction sites.The industrial heritage of Factory 9356,through such a transformation,has developed into an“Impression Third-front”cultural tourism industrial park in Dabie Mountain,which integrates“eating,living,travelling,entertaining and shopping”,and has become a rejuvenation of“local cultural poverty alleviation and green poverty reduction”.