A former industrial site and prison, Hechai 1972 is a cultural innovation park in Hefei, Anhui Province. Today it is an increasingly popular China tourism destination. You may be unfamiliar with this mysterious name: “Hechai 1972.” I was unfamiliar with it too, so I visited Hechai 1972 during the Labor Day holidays. Let us explore the mystery together.
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The history of Hechai 1972
Hechai 1972 is China’s first cultural and creative park renovated from a former prison site. When I heard this, I was instantly curious: a prison turned into a culture park? This is certainly unusual!
Hechai has a long history. In 1957, it was the Hefei Brick and Tile Factory. Mechanized production began at the site in 1959. Later, in 1969, the site became a diesel engine factory. But, despite its industrial beginning, the site became Hefei Prison in 1996, but in 2018, the prison was relocated. In 2019, Hechai officially opened focused on 1972, as the culture and creative center it is today. In modern times, people transformed it, but didn’t change it. While the structural characteristics and architectural culture of the industrial use remains, Mr. Jin also redesigned and transformed it. When creativity is integrated into history, there is new life here.
Architectural artifacts
Hefei is the capital city in Anhui, and one of the most popular locations for expatriates. If you are planning a tour of China, a visit to Hefei should include Hechai 1972. In the park you can see mottled red brick walls, a large workshop of 12,000 square meters, and other structural artifacts of the past. The park is full of history and architectural culture.
Outdoor concert and event space
There is a large area of green grass in the park. Here there are four inscription signs which read: “He Shiye City”. The young people hold concerts on the grass here. If you want to sing too, you can sing on the stage, anyone can.
Exhibition hall
The renovation included an exhibition hall, Hefei Home Appliances Story Hall. Here you can see the history of the manufacture of home appliances in Hefei, China. This ranges from ancient TV sets, refrigerators, sewing machines to modern smart homes. The Hall is full of the generations of Anhui. Every personal journey is composed of the sweat and struggle of the people, and the outcome is the crystallization of people’s wisdom.
At the entrance you can see a small, old railway station. This miniature railway makes you feel the retro atmosphere in an instant. What’s interesting is that this is not just for viewing. Children and adults actually experience the 1972 train station, buying a ticket at the ticket office, and lining up to ride the “train”. The train follows tracks around the entire exhibition hall. You can see the retro buildings of the entire exhibition hall. The architecture is not just a display. As the shops include teahouses, beverages, grocery stores, rouge shops, and the like, I had the feeling of traveling to a past era.
There are many painting exhibitions in the cultural hall
Some of the interesting graphic art and statuary of Hechai 1972
From tourism to culture center
Hechai 1972 was intended to welcome tourists seeking delicious Anhui cuisine. For me, Hechai 1972 is a dialogue with our past. I experienced the feeling of the development of time, the sigh about the ruins of time, and the presentation of history. Hechai 1972 retains its original roughness, and adds modern technology and a literary atmosphere.
Hechai 1972 showcases our rapid technological advancement in a way that reminds us we should not forget our history. We should not forget the hardships that our ancestors have borne to create a future for us. We should cherish the hard-won modern times and, like our forebears, commit to pursue a better future and development.
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