Yellow River Henan Bureau introduced the thousand-mile journey to study the Yellow River culture in order to implement the important exposition of General Secretary Xi Jinping's on protecting, inheriting and carrying forward the culture, and further promote the integrated development strategy of culture, tourism and creativity of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee and the People's Government of Henan Province. It also strengthens the integration of regulation projects and the culture, and knows the Yellow River. We need to carry forward the national spirit, inherit the history and enhance cultural confidence to deepen the recognition of the cultural value in the immersive experience.

Henan is the center for the governance of the Yellow River for a thousand years, the breeding ground of the culture and the supporting belt of the ecological protection system. It has advantages in history, culture, location and resources to introduce the thousand-mile study journey for studying the Yellow River culture.

Significance for studying on history and culture of the Yellow River in Henan

To build the Thousand-mile Journey for Studying the Yellow River Culture is to integrate the journey with the traditional culture. It is an important way to spread the system, an inherent requirement to strengthen morality education and an inevitable option for the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

The journey is an important method to protect, inherit, carry forward and enjoy the Yellow River culture. To strengthen the integrated development of the culture and the journey, we should make overall planning, explore the connotation, highlight the characteristics and promote in an orderly manner.

Clarify the advantages of the Yellow River culture in Henan

Henan is endowed with the most precious wealth of the Yellow River. At the same time, the flood and sediment seriously damage the lives and property of the people in Henan. The Chinese nation has been fighting against floods and droughts on the Yellow River for thousands of years.

 Yellow River Henan Bureau has given full play to the flood control project in cultural construction with 9 national water conservancy scenic spots such as Zhengzhou Huayuankou, Kaifeng Liuyuankou and Lankao Dongbatou. There are 24 demonstration bases for legal culture, 4 exhibition halls for legal education, 5 education bases for water conservancy science and 8 demonstration projects for cultural integration. It has built distinctive areas such as Demonstration Belt in Grassroots Party Building for Hydraulic Engineering and Legal Culture Belt in the Yellow River.

The related departments at all levels are striving to manage water conservancy projects with clear goals, complete facilities and social benefits, and make every effort to construct the culture exhibition area, the legal education and publicity area, and the water conservancy science area. It has provided rich resources and laid a good foundation for the Thousand-mile Journey for Studying the Yellow River Culture.

Explore the Yellow River culture for studying

The study of the Yellow River culture is the traceability of Chinese civilization. The Yellow River has nurtured generations of descendants of dragons for thousands of years. Ancient cultural sites and traditional Chinese culture represented by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have become the cornerstones to enhance cultural confidence.

The study of the Yellow River culture is to study the development of Chinese civilization. The Yellow River flows more than 700 kilometers in Henan. From the Xia dynasty to the Song dynasty, many courts established the capital or relocated it on both banks of the River. Henan has still been the national political, economic and cultural center.

The study of the Yellow River culture is to study the change history of the governance. The ancient governors in all dynasties advocated that it was important to administrate state affairs well and ensure national security in order to handle the flood disaster. However, the dream of "a Peaceful Yellow River and a Tranquil World" couldn't be fulfilled due to the limitation of the social system and productivity level.

The process of studying the Yellow River culture shows efforts made by the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, to protect and improve the Yellow River. The people of Henan have made efforts to improve the Yellow River for over 70 years. Through the flood control projects and with the help of multiple forces, including the Communist Party of China, the People's Government of Henan Province, soldiers and the people, the people of Henan have created a shining miracle. The construction of the People's Victory Canal has ensured the happy life of the people in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, supported by nearly 200 billion m3 of water.

The process of learning the Yellow River culture also shows the process of building a happy river in the new era. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited the Yellow River and hosted a symposium in Zhengzhou in September 2019. He issued a great call to "make the Yellow River a happy river for the benefit of the people", and the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin have been classified as a major national strategy. Henan Provincial Party Committee and Government said that Henan is committed to building a benchmark happy river and strives to take the lead in ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

The Overall Design Route for Learning the Culture of the Yellow River

The thousand-mile journey for learning the culture of the Yellow River consists of three designed routes: the current Yellow River course, the old course of the Yellow River flowing north and the old course of the Yellow River flowing south. The journey promotes the integrated development of cultural tourism and cultural creativity along the Yellow River through cultural travel resources containing historical figures and events.

The first route is called the current Yellow River course. It is a course after the diversion of the Tongwaxiang breach located in Lankao County in the fifth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign of the Qing dynasty (AD 1855). The length of the Yellow River section in Henan reaches 711 km. It flows through eight cities, involving Sanmenxia, Luoyang, Jiyuan, Jiaozuo, Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Kaifeng and Puyang, covering 28 counties (cities and districts), with a total area of 36,200 km2.

The second route is the old course of the Yellow River flowing north. It includes the old course of the Yu river, the old course in the Han dynasty and the old course in the Northern Song dynasty. This route mainly involves the changes in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the process of the Yellow River governance before the Northern Song dynasty.

The third route is called the old course of the Yellow River flowing south. The route involves the ancient Jishui River before the Han dynasty, the Tongji Canal in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Bianqu Canal in the Song dynasty and the Jialu River in the Yuan dynasty, as well as the history of the diversion of the Yellow River with the course of the Huai River as an outlet to the sea in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the history of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

These three routes, covering history and culture, water conservancy projects, ecological construction and red memory, transform the rich cultural and ecological resources in the Yellow River section in Henan into cultural and tourism products that can be accessed, perceived and experienced by tourists, with an important tourism belt highlighting the shining Yellow River culture established.

Establish the Construction Path for Learning the Yellow River Culture

Henan Province put the integrated development strategy of cultural tourism and cultural creativity into its "top ten strategies" and proposed to highlight the important position of the Yellow River culture in the origin and development process of Chinese civilization, bringing significant strategic opportunities for "the thousand-mile journey for learning the Yellow River culture". In this regard, we should seize the opportunity, formulate plans and solidly advance the process.

First, efforts should be made to strengthen the top-level design of "the thousand-mile journey for learning the Yellow River culture". This requires the formulation of an overall project planning and a construction plan to advance the journey process.

Second, efforts should be made to introduce preferential policies for "the thousand-mile journey for learning the Yellow River culture". There is a need to strive to introduce nationally famous professional cultural and tourism institutions, carry out route design, camp base construction and R&D of courses, and guide enterprises to improve the "thousand-mile journey for learning the Yellow River culture".

Third, efforts should be made to persist in shaping travel by culture and displaying culture by travel. Under the leadership of the Yellow River Henan Bureau and the Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province, the third-party professional enterprises engaging in culture and tourism operations will build "a thousand-mile journey for learning the Yellow River culture" with national influence.