“我爱重庆”小夜灯 点亮城市的记忆

杨艳

Enduring Memories from “I Love Chongqing” Night Lights

By Yang Yan/ The World and Chongqing

Walking into a souvenir store at any tourist site in Chongqing， one will be dazzled with a fascinating array of cultural and creative products. The woodcarving 3D small night lights， featured with signature local landmarks， show the culture and vigor of life in Chongqing. Such exquisitely elegant but inexpensive night lights can always attract tourists at the very first sight.

Inspired by landmarks of Chongqing， including Hongyadong， the Yangtze River Cableway， and Liziba Station （where the monorail runs through a residential building）， Chongqing Sanren Yixin Art Craftworks Ltd. designed and launched the “I Love Chongqing” woodcarving night lights series. Brimmed with local elements， the series have been listed as “Chongqing Gifts for Foreign Affairs” in 2020.

Prologue of Cultural and Creative Products

Chongqing， hailed as an “8D magic city” by some netizens， went viral on social media for its unique landscape. Many movies were filmed in Chongqing， leaving the audience impressed by Chongqing’s delicious food and breathtaking scenery. In fact， Chongqing has so much more to offer other than splendid night scenes and hot and spicy food， such as unique souvenirs that can warm the tourists’ heart.

“That was 2018. Chongqing went viral on social media. Almost out of blue！ And visitors flooded those famous places， such as Hongyadong and Liziba Station. Well， people always want to bring something back with them when traveling， and there is no exception here in Chongqing.” said Zhou in local dialect， a Chongqing born-and-bred local as he refers to himself. “If you went to a souvenir store， there are not many options， only hotpot soup base， mahua （fried dough twist）， and other souvenirs that are virtually the same with only minor differences. That’s why we wanted to make something different. We hope that visitors from other places in China and the world can bring back something that they can only find in Chongqing as a precious memory of their time in Chongqing.”

With that idea， a group of locals not from the culture， tourism， or designing industries—Zhou， born in the 1970s， Bai and ABC， in the 1980s， and Wu， in the 1990s—started their journey to make cultural and creative products that are specific to Chongqing， the mountain city.

Creativeness is the lifeblood of cultural and creative products.

“Stilted houses of Chongqing are distinct; distinct are the mountains of the city. Lights of ten thousand houses are illuminating， illuminating the rivers will be.” written by Wang Erjian， a county-level governor of Chongqing （then Ba County） during the Qing Dynasty， depicted the night view of Zi Shui Xiao Deng （the Chinese-character-shaped water flows and the inverted images of lights in the river）， one of the Twelve Views of Bayu. This poem shows that the night view of Chongqing became famous even before modern times， and its fame is even more widespread now. With brainstorming and hands-on trails， the team created several sets of “I Love Chongqing” products such as fridge magnets and night lights， presenting well-known tourist sites including Jiefangbei （Chongqing People’s Liberation Monument） and Shibati （18 Steps）. The night lights， with glimmer lights leaking through carved wood layers， and a special 3D design intertwining the brightness and the darkness， are epitomes of the modern Chongqing.

Made of lightweight black walnut wood， the set of “I love Chongqing” woodcarving 3D small night lights have gone through development stages with different shapes， simple or complex components， and diverse functions. Recalling the time when the night lights came out during the 2019 National Day vacation， Zhou said： “We sold these night lights in a souvenir store in the E’ling Testbed 2 Cultural and Creative Park. They were sold out in less than a week， which motivated us a lot.”

Now， the upgraded design of wood-carving 3D night lights has formed their own Twelve Views of Bayu， including Jiefangbei， Shibati， Chongqing People’s Grand Hall， Chaotianmen， Ciqikou Ancient Town， Hongyadong， Yangtze River Cableway， and Liziba Station. The lights owe their increasing popularity to their scarcity and uniqueness.

Launching Customized Version

There is also a much-told story about these “I Love Chongqing” night lights.

When China was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020， Japan donated supplies to China. On the aid packages were two lines of a Chinese poem： “Miles Apart， Close at Heart”. Zhou and the team were deeply moved， it reminded them of a Japanese friend they met at a culture and tourism promotion event.

Knowing the Japanese friend couldn’t return to Japan due to the pandemic， the team came up with the idea of customizing a night light for her. The night light was engraved with the same two lines aforementioned. “We sent it to her as a gift， hoping the pandemic would end soon. When that day comes， we can visit Hongyadong and Jiefangbei and enjoy a pot of Xiaomian （hot and spicy Chongqing noodles） or a feast of hotpot together.” After receiving the gift， she responded with a photo of her holding the night light and expressed her love for it as well as gratitude for the team.

“Inspired by that， we kept refining our product design. For example， Chinese characters can be engraved on the night lights as required by consumers to show their messages at heart and make the gifts more personalized and meaningful.” Zhou even led the team to collect sand and grains at the intersection of the Yangtze River and Jialing River， which were then sealed inside the night lights after cleaning and disinfection. The lights are thus filled with more local features with enduring vitality.

For now， offline sales of these night lights were relatively low， due to the pandemic. Facing difficulties， the team began to explore new ways to attract new orders， especially customization orders from individual or group buyers. They explored channels such as live-streaming and sharing Chongqing stories in local dialects on Douyin and other online platforms. Zhou said， “As Chongqing locals， we love this city profoundly. So we hope more visitors， from both home and abroad， will visit Chongqing， love Chongqing， and leave with a fond memory.”

Awards and Accolades：

★ 2019： One of the first “Premium Cultural and Tourism Products” of Chongqing; included in government bulk procurement of “Gift Package for the People” by Yuzhong District Commission of Culture and Tourism Development.

★ 2020： Gold medal of the “Chongqing Gifts” Tourism Product Competition （cultural and creative products）; selected as a gift for official foreign affairs events; silver medal of the Chongqing Yuzhong Cultural and Creative Product Design Competition 2020; silver medal of the China Distinctive Tourism Commodities Competition.

★ 2021： Bronze medal of the “Chongqing Gifts” Tourism Product Competition （cultural and creative products）; bronze medal of the China Distinctive Tourism Commodities Competition.

在重庆各大景点的礼品商店，琳琅满目的文创产品摆放在一起，清雅俊逸的木雕立体小夜灯“我爱重庆”系列，展现出的多姿多彩、底蕴深厚的山城风貌，小巧精致而又物美价廉，总能第一时间吸引游客的目光。

以“洪崖洞”“长江索道”“列车穿楼”等极具重庆特色的城市标志为设计灵感，重庆叁人壹心工艺美术品有限公司推出的木雕立体小夜灯“我爱重庆”系列，凭借其强烈的地域元素，入选2020“重庆好礼·外事礼品”。

打开文创序章

重庆，因独特的地形地貌多次登上网络热搜，被网友赞叹为“8D魔幻城市”。在重庆拍摄的电影也把这里的美景、美食展现得淋漓尽致，给观众留下了深刻印象。然而，这里不只有绝美夜景和麻辣美食，还有很多让人温暖的东西值得带走……

“2018年重庆成了网红城市，一下子就火了，洪崖洞、李子坝等景点游客爆满，大家来重庆一趟总想带走一些东西做纪念吧。”喜欢用重庆话自称“本乡本土”的老周说，“纵观重庆景区的礼品，能带走的似乎只有火锅底料、麻花，其他礼品也大同小异，我们就想做一种与众不同的产品，让五湖四海的游客来到重庆，能把礼品带回家成为山城的记忆。”

于是，70后的老周，80后的小白、ABC，90后小舞，一帮从事与文旅、设计无关的重庆人，开始创作专属“山城记忆”的文创产品。

创意，是文创产品的立足之本。

“高下渝州屋，参差傍石城。谁将万家炬，倒射一江明……”清代巴县知县王尔鉴诗中描写了古巴渝十二景之“字水霄灯”，而今天的山城夜景更是闻名中外。经过思维碰撞、动手实践，团队创造出“我爱重庆”礼品冰箱贴、小夜灯，呈现出解放碑、十八梯等重庆著名景点。其独特的光影设计，透出点点灯火，塑造出立体的现代城市，仿佛浓缩版的山城夜景。

轻型黑胡桃木，多层次立体感，从长方形到方形，从单个到组合，从功能单一到多元，“我爱重庆”木雕立体小夜灯系列逐渐成型。回想木雕小夜灯在2019年国庆期间面世之初，老周说：“我们把小夜灯委托鹅岭二厂文创公园一家礼品店销售，不到一个星期就售罄了，这给了我们莫大的信心。”

从“解放碑”“十八梯”到“大礼堂”“朝天门”“磁器口”“洪崖洞”“长江索道”“列车穿楼”等，木雕立体小夜灯有了自己的“新十二景”，凭借稀缺性和唯一性，越来越受到游客的青睐。

推出个性化定制版

关于“我爱重庆”小夜灯，还有一段佳话。

2020年初，新冠肺炎疫情发生后，日本社会各界组织抗疫物资捐赠中国，上面书写中国古诗“山川异域，风月同天”。这让老周他们十分感慨，同时想起了曾经在一场文旅推介会上结缘的一位日本友人。

通過联系这位日本友人得知，因为疫情她无法回国，团队便萌发了为她定制一盏小夜灯的想法。于是，一盏刻有“山川异域，风月同天”的小夜灯出炉了。“我们把这份礼物送给她，希望早日战胜疫情，待到万象更新之时，在重庆涮火锅、吃小面，游洪崖洞、逛解放碑。”日本友人收到这份礼物，发来了她与礼品的合照，并表达了深深的喜爱与感激之情。

“我们也受此启发，不断优化产品设计。比如，在产品上定制文字，表达送礼人的心意等，让礼品更接地气，更有纪念意义。”老周他们还专门到长江与嘉陵江交汇处采集沙粒，洗净消毒后封装在小夜灯上，赋予它更强的地域性，更持久的生命力。

因为疫情影响，目前小夜灯线下销售也受到冲击。面对困难，团队又开始寻找新的出路，他们在网络开启线上直播带货，在抖音等网络平台用重庆言子分享重庆故事，吸引个人或团体定制。老周说，“我们本乡本土的，对自己的城市那是真的爱。希望更多的外地游客、外国游客来到重庆，爱上重庆，留下美好的记忆。”

★ 荣获2019首届重庆“优质文旅商品”称号，渝中区文旅委选为“惠民大礼包”集中采购

★ 荣获2020“重庆好礼”旅游商品（文创产品）大赛金奖，并入选外事礼品

★ 荣获2020重庆·渝中文创产品设计大赛银奖、中国特色旅游商品大赛银奖

★ 荣获2021“重庆好礼”旅游商品（文创产品）铜奖、中国特色旅游商品大赛铜奖