On November 11, the large-scale street exhibition of the “2019 Fusheng Memory Culture Festival” officially kicked off at the Qiao Family Compound scenic area in Shanxi.
The Qiao Family Compound was the residence of the historically renowned Shanxi merchant Qiao Zhiyong. In recent years, it has gained fame through films and TV dramas such as Raise the Red Lantern and Qiao’s Grand Courtyard. “Fusheng Gong” was once the most important business of the Qiao family, witnessing the prosperity of the Qiao family and even the entire Shanxi merchant culture. The “Fusheng Memory Culture Festival” derives its name from this legacy.
The festival willexplore and showcase the history of the Qiao Family Compound fromthree perspectives: historical memory, daily memory, and future memory, while incorporating elements of local handicraft culture, presented to the public through art curation.
The main visual identity adopts elements of Shanxi life and the Qiao Family Compound as symbolic motifs, helping visitors directly connect with the local culture. These include lanterns, vinegar jars, currency, wheels, gate towers, steelyards, camels, bills of exchange, abacuses, and plaques — lively and interesting, yet rich in meaning. For instance, the stone mill and bills of exchange represent key moments in Qiao family history, while camels and city gates reflect the trading history of Shanxi merchants traveling far and wide.
At the same time, the festival will use design intervention to give the Qiao Family Compound and Shanxi merchant culture a more modern expression. The event will collaborate with local businesses and invite more artists and creators to participate in the preservation of historical culture. By reinterpreting and redesigning Shanxi’s folk traditions, Shanxi merchant culture, and the stories of the Qiao family, these ancient cultural treasures will be revitalized and presented in more engaging and relatable ways, allowing visitors to appreciate and embrace them. This approach helps spread Shanxi merchant culture and envision a new future for the Qiao family.
The historical memory section of the festival focuses on telling the “Qiao Family Timeline,” including the development journey of the Qiao family’s commercial empire and the family rules and teachings. It also invites MAYIBO, an outstanding young Chinese illustrator, to create illustrated reinterpretations of popular oral stories.
The daily memory section features displays of Qiao family lanterns, Xiaoyi shadow puppetry, and pyrographed gourds, showcasing Shanxi folk culture. These exhibits, reinterpreted by local “Sanjin Craftsmen” artisans, allow audiences to experience the unique charm of classic Shanxi traditions.
The future memory section is themed “Fusheng Reborn,” using design intervention to engage with traditional old shops like “Little Tiger Afu” and “Old Farmhouse Vinegar Workshop.” By designing posters for their storefronts, the project injects vitality into traditional folk craft businesses.
This cultural festival can be considered a brand-new attempt by the Qiao Family Compound scenic area to preserve and pass on historical culture.
This year, the scenic area has also newly built the “Fusheng City” commercial street and a complex of Fusheng inns, expanding its visitor base to include younger audiences, families, and parent-child groups. It has also introduced distinctive Shanxi-style boutique hotels such as the “Fusheng Xin Inn,” as well as diverse accommodation options like the “Yiqi Yiqi · Qiao Family Grand Courtyard Youth Hostel,” a representative brand of China’s new generation of youth hostels under the ttg hospitality group. This means that visitors can not only tour the Qiao Family Compound but also visit exhibitions and experience folk activities in the “Fusheng City” commercial street, enjoying comprehensive services including commerce, dining, accommodation, culture, and information hubs.
Notably, the “Yiqi Yiqi · Qiao Family Grand Courtyard Youth Hostel” is ttg’s first scenic-area location and another exploration and attempt by ttg in the realm of hospitality culture.
By blending the “old history of the Qiao Family Compound” with the “new daily life of urban living,” ttg has created a Shanxi-wide “urban exploration map,” better connecting urban youth hospitality culture with the local scenic destination. This allows visitors to experience centuries-old Shanxi merchant culture and admire the beauty of ancient Chinese architecture, while also enjoying the lifestyle and accommodation culture of modern urban youth. ttg also incorporates more insights into travel lodging and fun youth elements into the scenic culture, unlocking a unique “way to experience the Qiao Family Compound.”
The “2019 Fusheng Memory Culture Festival” is free and open to the public. The Fusheng Inn complex will serve as the information center for the event, where visitors can obtain maps for the Fusheng Memory Culture Festival and the Shanxi Urban Exploration Map. The embedded coffee brand “Two Cups Two Cups” within the information center will also open during the festival and offer a late-night canteen in the evenings, welcoming friends from all over. Everyone is welcome to come and visit this amazing destination.