Not long ago, the General Office issued the "Opinions on Further Stimulating the Potential of Cultural and Travel Consumption", proposing to vigorously develop the night time cultural and tourism economy and build a number of national level night time cultural and tourism consumption clusters. Developing night tourism economy, scientifically promoting urban landscape lighting, accelerating the promotion of cultural and tourism consumption, enhancing the sense of participation and happiness of citizens and tourists, became the actual demand and important trend of social development at that time. As an important component of urban landscape, ancient architecture reflects the cultural heritage and artistic atmosphere of a city, and its night lighting has become the finishing touch of urban scenery.

The rise of night tourism economy has further promoted the prosperity of ancient architectural lighting industry, but it has also brought about a series of practical problems that require attention. For example, long-term use of lighting technology can cause "light pollution" to ancient buildings, further exacerbating their corrosion. In this regard, industry experts have indicated that the "lighting" of ancient buildings does not mean "revitalization". It requires professionals to do professional work, scientifically plan the lighting operation of ancient buildings, and reasonably present the nighttime image of ancient buildings. This is becoming increasingly important in the current process of maintaining and utilizing ancient buildings.

Behind the "Brightening Heat" of Ancient Architecture

On the Yuanxiao (Filled round balls made of glutinous rice-flour for Lantern Festival) this year, the Palace Museum opened its first night performance. For the first time in 94 years, the "Lantern Festival" was held. As two representative paintings of the Song Dynasty, the picture of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains and the picture of the river during the Qingming Festival were "shining" on the walls of the ancient city of the Palace Museum, making the Forbidden City full of the charm of the past history come back to life again. This is the first time that the ancient buildings of the Forbidden City have been lit on a large scale in the evening.

Coincidentally, in May of this year, the the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, a world cultural heritage, also launched a "night show" viewing form, and launched a series of activities, such as "night tour of Mogao Grottoes", "night tour of the poetic border of Mogao Grottoes", and "tour of the twin grottoes to take the road of Xuanzang", so that tourists can participate in it, feel the past history, and interact with each other, thus giving tourists a deep experience of addiction.

It is not difficult to see that with the development of night tourism economy, the revitalization of ancient buildings is increasingly inseparable from the help of lights. Chen Song, President of Hebei Zhida Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd., stated that this is primarily due to the objective needs of shopping malls. Many ancient buildings in our country have serious homogenization, and in the process of maintenance and use, there has been a phenomenon of "uniformity" and "one city, one side", which greatly undermines the historical and cultural value of ancient buildings. During the day, when looking at ancient buildings, they are generally similar and cannot meet the aesthetic needs of shopping malls for ancient buildings as cultural landmarks. Through light and shadow, ancient buildings can be revived, which can increase passenger flow. Secondly, it stems from the inherent demand for the activation and utilization of ancient architecture. Ancient buildings generally have a sense of prehistoric time travel. The sense of historical time travel during the day is often difficult to reflect. At night, the comprehensive use of modern technologies such as sound, light, and light can better showcase the grandeur, mystery, and solemnity of ancient buildings through the comparison of light and shadow, allowing tourists to have an intuitive experience and feeling.

From both the supply and demand sides of travel, the importance of lights in the travel economy is also becoming increasingly important. Professor Yu Liang from the School of Sino Korean Multimedia Planning at Shanghai University of Engineering and Technology analyzed that from the perspective of shopping mall demand, there are significant differences in the needs of citizens and tourists to watch and play during the day and at night. Many people work during the day and may only have time to go out and watch and play at night; From the supply side, the shape of ancient buildings is completely different during the day and at night. At night, using lights to "light up" ancient buildings is actually reflecting a different shape of ancient architecture. In short, the innovative application of cultural and creative lights is to enrich the connotation of travel products from both supply and demand sides, and activate the "spring water" of night tourism economy.

From "brightening" to "revitalizing", there is a long way to go

In the process of lighting planning for ancient buildings, although it has to some extent promoted the prosperity of urban night economy, the use of many technological means such as lighting has brought about a series of problems such as light pollution and sound pollution, while the ancient buildings have flourished.

Recently, the 55th executive meeting of the Chengdu Municipal Government reviewed and approved the "Special Plan for Landscape Lighting in the Central Urban Area of Chengdu (2017-2025)". In order to make the city brighter and more beautiful, and to prevent light pollution caused by lighting, Chengdu's night scene lighting will once again be "upgraded". According to the principles of "light should be bright, dark should be dark, reasonable zoning, light and dark balance, and reducing the generation of urban light pollution sources," a dark night maintenance area will be designated, No longer using flashy colors such as bright red and green, but using the urban landscape lighting method of "yellow and white as the main, warm yellow as the auxiliary", achieving energy conservation and environmental protection together with lighting.

As an important component of the city, it is necessary to "brighten" ancient buildings, but caution should be exercised in the use of large-scale lighting. Han Changkai, a senior researcher at the Institute of Career Development at the Chinese Academy of Management Sciences, bluntly stated: "To some extent, the lighting of ancient buildings is also a form of damage. In order to further maintain ancient buildings, large-scale lighting is not advocated. On the basis of respecting the laws of things' development, the method of using searchlights to illuminate ancient buildings from bottom to top can be used. This not only does not cause direct damage to the ancient buildings themselves, but also changes in the color of the searchlights will give tourists a sense of immersion."

Regarding this, Chen Song also stated that every ancient building has its prehistory and life. Although the prehistoric era has passed, its own life and soul still exist. Do not easily damage the structure and shape of ancient buildings with modern technological means. If it is necessary to beautify ancient buildings, it must be planned and planned by scholars with professional knowledge of ancient architecture, and entrusted to professionals. Only in this way can sustainable ecological development be further achieved on the basis of maintenance

How can we scientifically use lighting to achieve the transformation of ancient architecture from "lighting" to "revitalization"? The practice of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris can be referenced. As an important landmark building in Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, despite the collapse of its spire due to the fire, has been relatively successful in the lighting of ancient buildings. French lighting master Bruno Seillier once used Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris as a carrier to plan and create a Dame de C œ The UR 3D Lighthouse Show, through the comprehensive use of sound, light, and shadow, projected 17 different styles of 3D images on the exterior walls of Notre Dame Cathedral. With the changes in the lighting, the stone carvings and lines that originally stopped on the building also became vivid with the projection of the images. As a result, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris once attracted a large number of tourists to visit and travel, further driving consumption to advance.

For a long time, "respecting and reflecting prehistory" has been a display method for the core of ancient architectural lighting. Experts have indicated that lighting should be based on a comprehensive understanding of prehistory, taking into account the functional and structural characteristics of ancient buildings, as well as the environment in which they are located. By coordinating the overall effect and highlighting the key points of lighting, ancient buildings can better showcase their classic artistic style, truly complete the transition from "lighting" to "revitalization", from "maintenance" to "promotion", and give them a new era of vitality, Becoming a cultural landmark that meets the needs of shopping malls, showcases the city's image, and illuminates a better life.

At the technical level, Han Changkai advocates using searchlights to illuminate ancient buildings from bottom to top. This not only does not cause direct damage to the ancient buildings, but also allows for a more immersive and interactive experience for tourists by changing the color of the searchlights.