Hengshui is known for its distinctive regional culture. Situated near the ancient riverbed of the Yellow River, Hengshui has survived and thrived on water. The material civilization here could be traced back to the Neolithic age when the ancient ancestors lived in Hengshui. The cultural development for thousands of years has left rich and diverse cultural heritage. The major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level such as Baoyu Tower and Anji Bridge, the intangible cultural heritage like the Hebei-school interior painting and the New Year painting of Wuqiang County, among others, have all made Hengshui an important county with profound historical and cultural significance. The development of agricultural civilization and the long cultural history have made Hengshui the home to numerous masters, including Confucian master Dong Zhongshu, master Kong Yingda of Confucian classics, frontier fortress poet Gao Shi, and renowned novelist Sun Li. They have inherited and carried forward rich cultural heritage.
Water gave life to and enlivened Hengshui. The Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou winds its way through Hengshui to Beijing. The Fuyang River flows through the county like a ribbon to Tianjin. The Hutuo River merged with Haihe River in Hengshui before flowing into the Bohai Sea. Therefore, Hengshui is a vital city for the capital Beijing and its environs. Since the late Qing Dynasty, the Confucian merchants in Hengshui travelled to Beijing, boosted the cultural prosperity of Liulichang (Glaze Factory) in Beijing and cultivated a great many industrial leaders and venerated cultural masters. On the banks of the Hutuo River, the revolutionary culture took root and developed, giving rise to the first rural CPC branch in China and the first CPC county committee in Hebei Province. Hengshui is also the home to countless revolutionaries who went to fight in the front line and sacrificed their lives for the founding of New China. Today, the ecological conservation of the wetland in Hengshui Lake has produced a vibrant eco-friendly county.
The brilliant traditional Chinese culture is the lifeblood of the Chinese nation, an important source of the core socialist values, as well as the solid foundation for China to gain a firm foothold amid the global multicultural interaction and confrontation. The Glory of Hengshui—An Exhibition of Hengshui Culture in Hebei Province is curated to showcase the birth, development and innovations of the Hengshui culture, acknowledging the research of Hengshui culture and fully displaying the achievements. It’s hoped to discover and display the outstanding genes and the spiritual essence of traditional culture based on the diversity and peculiarity of regional culture, while pooling spiritual support for the regional development. It’s also hoped to guide the people to fall in love with the local culture, raise their awareness that patriotism is built upon love of one’s hometown, and make due contribution to foster and carry forward the national spirit with patriotism at its core.