China News Service, Chongqing, October 3 (Ma Jiaxin) On October 3, the third day of the National Day holiday, the Beibei District of Chongqing launched the exclusive "Lu Zuofu Beibei Footprints" route, linking Lu Zuofu-related cultural relics scattered in the streets and alleys of the city into a chain, simultaneously integrating special food and B&B resources and linking the Chongqing station performance of the original musical "Forty Days" to explore a new holiday cultural tourism model of "humanistic exploration + consumption linkage".
Beibei is the starting point of the patriotic industrialist Mr. Lu Zuofu’s original intention to dedicate himself to rural construction and serve the country through industry. In 1927, Lu Zuofu served as the director of the Gorge Prevention Corps Affairs Bureau of the four counties of Jiangba Bihe. He launched the Jialing River Three Gorges rural construction movement with Beibei as the center, established industries, built railways, founded schools and scientific research institutions, and built the former remote countryside into a modern town.
The exclusive route launched this time is based on a one-day tour, starting from Beibei Old Town. In the 1930s, Lu Zuofu brought sycamore seedlings from Shanghai and planted them in the streets and alleys of the old city. Visitors walking under the sycamore trees can start a journey of pursuing the ideal of rural construction amidst the dappled light and shadow and the fireworks of bluestone slabs. Stepping into Beibei Park, this park was formerly a comprehensive urban park with rich functions built by Lu Zuofu inspired by Western urban planning ideas and relying on the urban mountains. The red building on the left side of the park gate was the office building of the Western Academy of Sciences and the school building of Jianshan Middle School founded by Lu Zuofu. It is a landmark building in Beibei.
The third stop on the line is the Lu Zuofu Memorial Hall on the bank of the Jialing River. Its predecessor was the former site of the Gorge Defense Bureau. Visitors can read precious historical materials here and understand Lu Zuofu's original intention to build Beibei and develop people's livelihood. The final stop is the former site of the Western China Academy of Sciences. In 1930, Lu Zuofu founded the Western China Academy of Sciences here with the ideal of saving the nation through science. The academy was the first private academy of sciences in western China in modern times.
In addition to the cultural exploration, the route also includes Beibei authentic flavors such as "Jianshan Sanjue", Jinyun Drunken Chicken, Zhang Douhua, etc. Among them, Jianshan Restaurant was founded in 1940 by industrialists such as Lu Zuofu, Zhang Bohe, and Zhang Xiangyin. A number of national Grade C tourist B&Bs in Jinyun Mountain have been included in the recommended accommodation list, forming a complete consumption chain of "travel-taste-dwelling".
Another highlight of the cultural tourism linkage is the ticketing connection with the musical "Forty Days". The play is based on the historical event of the "Yichang Great Evacuation" presided over by Lu Zuofu. It will be performed for three times at the Grand Theater of the Chongqing Grand Theater from October 11th to 12th. This is the first time the play has returned to Lu Zuofu's hometown since its premiere in December 2025. In the autumn of 1938, Lu Zuofu led the Minsheng Company fleet to transport more than 30,000 people and tens of thousands of tons of industrial equipment stranded in Yichang to Sichuan within 40 days. This preserved the lifeline of China's industry during the Anti-Japanese War and was known in history as "the Dunkirk of Chinese industry."
Beibei District has continued to promote the contemporary transformation of Lu Zuofu’s spirit in recent years. In April this year, the district launched the first Lu Zuofu Entrepreneurship Promotion Month and signed cooperation agreements with Nantong City in Jiangsu Province, Xiamen City in Fujian Province, Heping District in Tianjin City, and Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province to promote and inherit the patriotic entrepreneurial spirit. The launch of the National Day cultural tourism route is a further attempt to transform historical and cultural resources into cultural tourism consumption momentum.
