Chongxian County, Hubei: Entering the Citrus Culture Time and Space Hall to Understand Thousand-Year Orange Culture
“Citrus prefers warm and humid climates, and the climatic conditions in Chongxian County, Hubei Province are just right. The local people's history of planting citrus dates back a thousand years……” Recently, the reporter entered the Congxi Town Wenbi Community, the core area of the ‘Three Gorges Orange Village’ comprehensive tourism area, and the interpreter of the ‘Citrus Cultural Time and Space Hall’ was eloquently telling stories.
A distant view of the Citrus Cultural Time and Space Hall. Mao Youping photographed.
A collection of citrus specimens. Mao Youping photographed.
“Before entering the Citrus Cultural Time and Space Hall, I only knew that citrus is delicious, but I didn’t know that it actually contains a wealth of cultural connotations.” The tourists exclaimed, they could eat citrus while experiencing the rich historical and cultural elements of citrus.
Citrus transport scene sculpture. Mao Youping photographed.
The ‘China·Three Gorges Citrus Cultural Time and Space Hall’ was officially named in 2018, with a total area of 33246 square meters, a building area of 5976 square meters, and an exhibition area of 4176 square meters, invested and constructed by Chongqing Three Gorges Construction Group Co., Ltd.
South Song writer Han Yanxi’s ‘Records of Orange’ scene sculpture. Mao Youping photographed.
The Citrus Cultural Time and Space Hall is centered around ‘Pisin Bai Fu’ (a collection of poetic verses), divided into ten exhibition halls, including the Hall of Entrance, the Introductory Hall, and the Orange Spring and Fragrant Pool (central courtyard), adopting advanced audio-visual and other means to portray China’s 5000-year history of citrus as the original habitat of the world’s citrus, as well as the social and economic value of citrus in different historical periods and the achievements of citrus industry development in Chongxian County.
'Pisin Bai Fu' Mao Youping photographed.
“The time and space hall not only allows you to view citrus development from the Xia, Shang, Zhou, to the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, but also allows you to understand the contemporary citrus technology and the development history of the ethnic orange juice beverage processing industry.” The interpreter in the hall introduced, “There are hundreds of citrus and pest specimens in the hall, and it also collects many precious historical and technical documents from China and abroad, many of which are rare documents at home and abroad, allowing visitors to experience the long-standing citrus culture while viewing the human history of citrus development from ancient times to the present.”
Nowadays, the China·Three Gorges Citrus Cultural Time and Space Hall, as the only comprehensive large-scale citrus exhibition hall and citrus science popularization and education base in China that integrates citrus history, citrus technology and achievements, continues to uphold the concept of popularizing citrus scientific knowledge and serving the public. Since its operation on July 7, 2018, it has received more than 10,000 visitors and has been widely praised.
Author: He Xiaorong
Author Unit: Zhongzhou Daily Newspaper
