The site of the establishment of Shaqi Academy. (Photo by Sun Jijing and Wu Ligao)

On the afternoon of March 23rd, the square of the Xiayu Village Cultural Auditorium in Qiangjiao Town, Ninghai County, was full of gongs and drums, dragons and lions danced, and the opening ceremony of the Shaqi Academy in Xueao Fishing Town was held, opening a new page in the construction of local rural culture.

Fishing culture is the soul of rural continuation and development, and it is also the source of power to promote rural revitalization. Xue Ao Fishing Township, where the three villages of Xiayu, Lingang and Xue Shangao are located, is located at the end of Xiangshan Harbor, and is called "Shaqi" (meaning tortuous sandy shore) in ancient times. It not only has a beautiful fisherman's style, but also a settlement of the descendants of the famous general Xue Rengui of the early Tang Dynasty, with more than 800 years of historical and cultural heritage.

"We will use the academy as a carrier to condense the 'spirit' of the countryside, closely link the villagers together, and let the villagers 'play the leading role' in the spiritual common prosperity and empowerment of rural construction." Xue Ruiyue, secretary of the party branch of Xiayu Village, said that building a new rural development community with the "academy model" is a useful attempt and exploration for the joint construction of the three villages to promote the development of culture, education, tourism and industry in Xueao Fishing Township.

Walking into the academy, the 570 square meters of reading space is spacious and bright, with more than 10,000 books covering popular science, culture, history, children's and other fields, from picture books, red books to popular science books, classic masterpieces and so on. In addition, the exhibition hall also displays various fishing gear used by local fishermen, vividly recreating the labor scenes of people rushing to the sea to collect shellfish and driving boats to catch fish. The Academy integrates books, cultural creativity and life, skillfully integrates traditional culture and modern cultural creativity, and tells the story of fishing villages that belong to the new era.

In the past two years, Xiayu, Lingang and other fishing villages have taken advantage of the east wind of Ninghai's "art revitalization of the countryside", starting from the improvement of the living environment, while planning, rectifying and building, "micro-transformation and fine improvement" of village landscape and public space on the spot, vigorously cultivating and developing the "art + tourism" industry, and building new rural formats such as coastal trails, Xueao Fishing Market, Luojiakeng Flower Sea, and Fisherman's Sister-in-law Cultural and Creative Workshop The enthusiasm of villagers to build a better home is at an all-time high.

"Next, the academy will set up courses according to the actual needs of villagers, and actively organize practical technical training and exchange activities to drive rural revitalization and prosperity." Xue Ruiyue said that as a carrier carrying rural style civilization and rural development, the academy will further stimulate the endogenous driving force of art to revitalize the countryside and promote common prosperity by shaping a unique rural brand of "sand culture", and draw a new picture of rural revitalization by "both internal and external repair".