2.2 From the Perspective of Function and Applicati...
According to the relevant written materials and fieldwork's result,actualities of third-front industrial heritage are left idle,being used spontaneously by the locals or being utilized with systematic and elaborate plans.
2.2.1 Being Idle
Some industrial heritages were totally discarded while the others deteriorated gradually due to weak management.The former ones are the outcome of enterprises'hasty rush.Their plants,due to its geological disasterprone location and poor infrastructure such as transportation and water utilization,always failed to fulfill the production goal.During the period of transitional adjustment in the 1990s,the first batch of factories were closed,merged or relocated with the remains completely abandoned which have not been preserved and utilized till now.This is the most intractable part of thirdfront industrial heritage's conservation and utilization.The latter ones refer to those plants whose doors and windows,bricks and tiles and even production facilities have been stolen and destroyed due to long-term unattended or unregulated management after the enterprises'relocation.The workshops were destroyed after decades of exposure to the weather and unable to be reused.The third-front industrial heritage mentioned above was damaged too badly to be restored and lost the value of conservation and utilization.
2.2.2 Being Used Spontaneously
Since the abandoned old buildings on the site of the third-front enterprise lacked management for many years,the nearby villagers then used them to raise poultry or livestock,cultivate mushrooms or the like,or heap up sundries.In addition to being kept by local township government,those vacant old dwellings of staff and workers whose structures were still well-preserved will also be allotted or sold to local villagers.Such a disorderly management led to some negative effects.Raising poultry and livestock polluted the local environment.In addition,some of those who got the allocation might not face real housing problem,or they used to but with the improvement of housing condition they become subtenants now and sublet the houses to others.These are low-level utilization without considering conservation.They only use the spatial function of industrial heritage's buildings to gain some economic benefits but ignore the cultural significance,let alone carry forward and inherit the third-front spirit.(https://www.daowen.com)
2.2.3 Being Utilized with Systematic and Elaborate Plans
There are three types of systematic utilization.The first is overall conservation and utilization.The second is partial conservation and utilization.The last one is conserving and utilizing integrating both third-front and nonthird-front military enterprises.The overall conservation and utilization is often after the enterprises'relocation,the ruins and industrial buildings left were transferred or rebuilt as a whole.The units in charge are mostly government departments or institutions of state-owned systems.They have sufficient funds to implement overall plans such as turning the site into an industrial park or transforming the factory building into a tourist hotel,a school building or even into a prison.For example,the state-owned Ningjiang Machinery Factory(code 564)in Chongqing Nanchuan Shuijiang Town,which was built in 1966,moved to the Longquan Fuxin Plant in Chengdu in 1999.In 2000,the Nanchuan District Government transformed the buildings of the original factory into canteens,workshops,residences and warning education bases of the Nanchuan District Prison.[6]
In a word,not much of the third-front construction industrial heritage is conserved and utilized as a whole,most conservation and utilization is partially practiced.The buildings of production and living areas left after the relocation of the third-front construction are divided into two or more for sale and used separately.In accordance with various needs,different property owners transform the industrial heritage into new construction spaces for different uses such as production houses,training bases and hotels according to different needs.For example,after the integral relocation of the 5057 plant in Xiaba,Jiangjin District,Chongqing,all the buildings in the old site with a total area of more than 800 mu were sold to Chongqing Jiangjin Zhengzhou Aquaculture Co.,Ltd.,but only one third of the area and a few buildings have been used effectively.A large number of buildings,such as office buildings,workshops,and employee residence are still idle.Facilities to satisfy staff's cultural and educational needs(such as school for staff's children)and the club that can accommodate 3 000 people were still left without being conserved or re-used.
As for the third type,there are only a few cases.For example,in the eastern suburbs of Chengdu mentioned above,military industrial heritages have been planned,conserved,developed and reused along with the non-military ones and formed the“East Suburb Memory”brand.No matter which method is applied,it to a certain extent reflects the importance attached to the industrial heritage of the third-front construction and there is no doubt that the projects of integral conservation and utilization had a greater publicity function and influence on the society.The conservation and utilization of the third-front construction industrial heritage may do better and should become a model.
As far as the limited information currently collected is concerned,the purpose of our preservation,development and utilization of the third-front industrial heritage is mainly to expand cultural and creative industries and tourism,which is fairly common around the world.In recent years,against the background of the domestic urbanization and rural revitalization,the“organic renewal”strategy as well as the“all-for-one tourism”and“building characteristic town”all focus on tourism and cultural and creative industry,indicating that the conservation and utilization of third-front industrial heritage not merely respond to the strong promotion and support of our country,but also caters to the development trend of international industrial heritage conservation and utilization.