The development history of Leicheng

Looking at the history of Leizhou, it is not difficult to find the trajectory of the planning and construction of Leicheng over the past 60 years.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Leicheng had a sparse population, narrow streets, and no planning and management for urban construction. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, although the pace of Leizhou's construction has increased, there is still no unified plan, and land construction only follows the road pattern of the ancient city. Until 1985, Haikang County established the Haikang County Construction Headquarters and began to prepare a ten-year urban construction plan from 1985 to 1995, opening a new chapter in the construction of Leicheng. However, due to the excessive building density in the old city and the lack of unified layout planning of urban streets, the development of Leicheng is still restricted.

In 1993, the Haikang County Government invited the Guangdong Urban and Rural Planning and Design Institute to revise the "Leizhou City Master Plan 1993-2010", which passed the expert review in July 1994. In this plan, the urban construction area of ??Leicheng's overall planned area has grown from 13.6 square kilometers to 40 square kilometers in 2010. However, after 11 cycles of time, in 2004, the urban area of ??Leicheng was still less than 17 square kilometers. The original urban construction area lagged behind, the city was crowded, the taste was not high, and the overall functions of the city were not brought into play. Industries such as commerce, tourism, and real estate have failed to play a leading role, and are even less able to provide impetus for Leizhou's economic and social development.

It is urgent to break the "bottleneck" of urban construction.

In 2004, Leizhou's new leadership team took office. The provincial party committee's goal of "one year of stability and three years of change" required that the two driving forces immediately added full power to the development of Leizhou. After taking office, Secretary Li Changwu, Mayor Luo Diannan and other leaders assessed the situation, innovated ideas, established the concept of running the city, and proposed to "continue history through protection and shape the future through construction."

After many investigations and studies, they have a preliminary blueprint: following the overall idea of ??"expansion to the west, extension to the north, and reform in the middle", they will break out of the old city and build a new city, build the new city to bring the old city, and the new city will grasp the framework. , the old city focuses on beautification, partial optimization, overall planning, and overall improvement. At the same time, they found a scientific method of operation: following the path of "government planning and design, operation of market mechanisms, and multi-party investment and construction", they took a large-scale approach to build Leizhou's new city and expand the urban space; while protecting and constructing the old city, building a new circle of people's life .

Since then, the construction of Leicheng has embarked on a new journey. Leicheng is the political, economic, and cultural center of Leizhou City, but roads have always been the "bottleneck" that restricts the development of this city.

According to records, in the early 1950s, the main streets in Leicheng included Zhenzhong West Street, Zhenzhong East Street, Guangchao North Street, Qu Street, Erqiao Street, Longyuqiao Street, and Sanxing Street. street.

In 1984, the spring breeze of reform and opening up blew green the Leizhou Peninsula in southern Xinjiang of the motherland. Leizhou was full of businesses, and the idea of ??opening up a new urban area was always lingering in the mind of Chen Guangbao, the then secretary of the county party committee. In 1985, it began Renovate and plan urban roads. At that time, Dazhong Avenue and Xincheng Avenue were opened into 30-meter-wide new roads. In 1994, Leizhou was removed from the county and established as a city. Chen Yongping, then secretary of the city, built Leinan Avenue, Industrial Avenue, and Xincheng Avenue. These measures were regarded as the economic highlights of Leizhou's revitalization. However, due to various reasons, the supporting facilities of these three avenues have not been improved, and their contribution to urban development has not been as expected. In particular, Xincheng Avenue, which was originally positioned as the main road in Leicheng, has been idle.

For many years, the people of Leizhou have been calling from the bottom of their hearts to build Xincheng Avenue, expand urban space, and alleviate the traffic pressure in Leicheng. As a result, the requirement to build Xincheng Avenue has been written into the bills of Leizhou City People's Congress deputies and CPPCC members many times, and has also been written into the Leizhou Municipal Government's work report many times. However, due to financial difficulties and many other reasons, excavators have been delayed in entering Xincheng Avenue.

The new leaders of Leizhou, who are full of ability and courage, have decided to make the construction of Xincheng Avenue the first major step in describing the blueprint for major changes in Leizhou.

In the process of construction, funds have become a "stumbling block". Looking at the difficult financial situation at that time, it was not easy to come up with a sum of money. To this end, after careful research and using the wisdom of the people of the city, a brand-new idea emerged: raising funds for the construction of Xincheng Avenue adopts the method of "recovering land - mortgage loans - recovering land, demolition of houses and road construction - listing land for sale - A new model of loan repayment. This road construction model is unprecedented in Leizhou.

After more than two years, Xincheng Avenue, an urban avenue that best represents the image of the historical and cultural city of Leizhou, was completed and opened to traffic, which has effectively alleviated the traffic congestion in Leicheng and stimulated commercial activities in this area. . At present, the land in the commercial and living areas on both sides of Xincheng Avenue has been favored by many businesses, and some businesses have started to build commercial buildings on the purchased land. At present, the World Trade Center Building on this avenue has been topped out, and the International Building has broken ground. The role of Xincheng Avenue in driving Leizhou’s economic and social development has begun to become apparent.

Immediately afterwards, the city learned from the experience of the "New City Avenue Model" and continued to improve the overall urban planning, driving the engine of "running the city" throughout the process, and reconstructed Leinan Avenue and Leibei Avenue. Now, Leinan Avenue is gradually forming a commercial and residential area integrating commerce, administrative services, real estate, and education, becoming an important part of Leicheng New City; Leibei Avenue is positioned as the sub-central area of ??the city, complementing the surrounding areas With its industrial park and beautiful new countryside, the avenue has not only become a functional area of ??Leicheng, but also a beautiful landscape road in Leizhou.

The completion of the three avenues has beautified and brightened Leicheng and broadened the urban framework of Leicheng. It is like three extending tentacles, leading Leicheng to expand from east to west, and together with National Highway 207, it forms Leicheng. new town. The economic development of the areas surrounding the avenue will create a new commercial district, which will allow Leicheng to play its leading role in urban commerce, tourism, real estate and other industries, setting off a new round of development boom in Leizhou City. One autumn morning, the author went to Leihu Scenic Area for morning exercises. What caught his eye was a pleasant scene: the early morning light, clear lake, green willows, sparkling green waves, and people doing morning exercises scattered in every corner of the scenic area. In Leihu Cultural Square, women dressed in white and holding red fans danced fitness dances; on both sides of the arch bridge, strong old people were doing Tai Chi; beside the guardrail, running citizens shuttled back and forth; in the fitness area, citizens chatted and did Moving. Leihu Scenic Area has become a leisure paradise for people in famous cities.

This situation and this scene can't help but remind the author of a past event. When I graduated from college, my classmate who lived in Maoming heard that Leizhou was a national historical and cultural city, so he happily came to Leizhou to visit. The author, who lives in Leicheng, naturally acted as her tour guide. During the day, he took her to visit several famous places of interest in Leicheng. At night, he didn't know where to take her to relax. He could only take her for a stroll along the South Lake. At that time, Nanhu was the predecessor of Leihu Scenic Area, with an overgrown path dividing one into two. When returning home, Xueyou couldn't help but wonder: As a national historical and cultural city, doesn't it have a good place for citizens to relax and have fun? The pain this sentence brought to the author's heart did not disappear until the completion of Leihu Scenic Area.

Talking about the entertainment life of Leicheng people in the past 40 years, an "old Leizhou" made a summary: watching Lei dramas in the 1970s - watching movies in the 1980s - singing OK in the 1990s - The word - has gradually become a popular term among Leicheng people with the construction of Leihu Scenic Area.

In the past five years, the city’s municipal party committee and government have kept pace with the times, constantly updated the concept of urban construction, and created a leisure landscape belt. *** invested nearly 2 million yuan to increase the greening, beautification, purification construction and infrastructure construction of the Leihu Scenic Area, and planted many beautiful large and small banyan trees in the scenic area to make the scenic area more green and intoxicating; it was transformed The sidewalks on both sides of the north square of the scenic area make the scenic area more beautiful; a complete set of fitness equipment has been installed in the scenic area, giving citizens a good place to exercise; the stage of Leihu Cultural Square has been renovated, adding a new style to the scenic area; the Leihu Cultural Square has been built Lake guardrails were built to create a safe and harmonious environment; 7.5 million yuan was invested to renovate the East-West Canal, purifying the living environment of residents on both sides of the canal and beautifying the scenery on both sides of the Leihu Lake Scenic Area; demolishing the West Lake Park wall, widening the West Lake Park Scenic Area, and opening the park free of charge , return green to the people... create a landscape belt of "West Lake Reservoir - Martyrs Cemetery - West Lake Park - Lei Lake Scenic Area - East and West Canal - Nandu River". At present, this landscape belt has become the center of leisure for Leicheng citizens.

At the same time, the city relies on Leihu Scenic Area to vigorously create square culture and promote the construction of a cultural city, making it the "exhibition center" of Leizhou culture. Every Spring Festival, a set of colorful cultural feasts are performed here, feasting the eyes of the citizens; during major holidays, people in famous cities sing and dance here to celebrate the peaceful and prosperous times; every weekend night, there are regular thunder opera performances or movie screenings, etc. The party's principles and policies are well publicized here; various cultural and artistic performances, knowledge competitions and various commercial activities are held here.

The rich and colorful square culture adds to the dynamism and color of the famous city, shows the cultural personality of the famous city, and builds a bridge for interaction and innovation between the government and the people. Leicheng has a history of five thousand years, leaving a profound trace in the distant time and space tunnel. Leizhou has a long cultural origin and has accumulated a strong foundation in the vast history. In January 1994, Haikang County was approved by the State Council as a national historical and cultural city. It is the only national historical and cultural city in western Guangdong. The people of the ancient city were all delighted.

Some people say that in order to make Leicheng a national historical and cultural city bigger and stronger, it must have good taste. So, this cannot rely solely on the support of historical culture. It must organically combine historical legacy and modern architecture. Only when combined can it highlight its taste.

However, looking through the "photo album" of Leizhou's history, before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were few buildings in Leicheng that are eye-catching. Only the ancient arcades on Qu Street show the prosperity of ancient commerce in Leicheng. Since 1978, urban architecture has begun to develop, with more than 100 buildings including the Foreign Trade Building, China Construction Bank Building, Mingdu Hotel, Tobacco, Sugar and Liquor Building, etc. built. The completion of these buildings has promoted the development of Leizhou's tertiary industry. However, these commercial buildings lack some cultural connotation and lack the color of urbanization.

In the 20th century, with the rapid changes in urban life, people's cultural needs have continued to increase. The development idea of ??the Leizhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government is to speed up the construction of urban infrastructure and meet the people's growing material and cultural needs.

In January 2002, the Leizhou Book Purchasing Center, located on the west side of Leihu Cultural Plaza, was completed and opened. It is the largest and most complete book retail center in Zhanjiang City, County (city). Its completion ended the history of Leizhou without a large book buying center. At the same time, the taste of the famous city was also raised to a higher level.

In January 2003, Leizhou Shopping Plaza was completed and opened. It was the largest county-level modern comprehensive shopping plaza in western Guangdong at that time, with the most complete facilities, the most complete functions, and an urban style. The operation of Leizhou Shopping Plaza promotes the rapid development of Leizhou's tertiary industry and at the same time promotes the prosperity of the area.

In order to further promote the development of Leizhou's cultural tourism economy, the Leizhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government regard the relocation of the museum as a key project and a landmark project in "building a cultural city". In September 2005, the relocation project broke ground. During the relocation process, Li Changwu, Luo Diannan and others visited the site many times to provide guidance. All departments cooperated with each other, and the construction unit stepped up construction. After more than three years of hard work, a building covering an area of ??6,180 square meters and a construction area of ??11,600 square meters was built. The largest museum in western Guangdong finally stands on the shore of the beautiful Leizhou West Lake. The magnificent, elegant and generous museum is an important cultural element in the urban modernization construction process of Leizhou City. It will definitely enhance the taste of the historical and cultural city and establish the tone and pattern of the famous city construction planning.

Looking through the flashing history of Leizhou’s 60 years of urban construction, what is imprinted in it is the splendor that created the city’s glory and dreams.