6 hours to experience "smuggling into the United States"


Tourists experience the pain of smuggling in the park.


China Daily Global Online News: The hardships of Mexican illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border can now be experienced by themselves in an ecological park. In 2004, Alberto Ecological Park, located in Hidalgo, central Mexico, launched an extreme activity called "Night Tour" and advertised "Experience what smuggling is". In the past two years, this activity has attracted many tourists.


Travel is realistic and thrilling.


There are deserts, hills, bushes and rivers in the park, and the scenery is quite similar to the areas that stowaways need to cross when entering the United States. As long as each tourist pays 200 pesos (equivalent to 20 dollars), he can experience an incredible smuggling adventure. The "night tour" usually starts at 8 pm and ends at 2 am, and lasts for 6 hours. According to the park regulations, the number of tourists on a "night trip" must be at least 20, because there must be at least 72 staff to cooperate with the whole activity.

When night began to fall, a group of tourists who had been asked to wear clothes that were convenient for activities in advance were waiting for their departure with great expectation. After hearing the "snakehead", that is, the guide’s urging "Go, go!" Later, the "illegal immigrants" hurried on the night road. The geographical environment here is complex, and the mountains and rivers are intertwined. Under the leadership of the "snake head", tourists are rushing to the mountain road with one foot deep and one foot shallow. The "snakehead" also reminds "Don’t turn on the flashlight" and "The patrol police are coming soon" from time to time, creating a tense atmosphere and making tourists wonder if they really came to the Mexican-American border.

This game is much more than that. When the "illegal immigrants" came to the Rio Grande River, which is supposed to be the border between Mexico and the United States, suddenly the lights flashed in the distance, and the "snakehead" quickly stopped everyone and hid in the bushes. Sure enough, there came a crude English question, "Are you Mexican? We are border patrol police! " In order to increase the realistic effect, the "patrol police" searched nearby for a long time and fired guns in the air. The tourists held their breath and waited until the footsteps were far away before being taken on the road by the tour guide.

Along the river, the tourists finally reached the tunnel. After crossing the tunnel, everyone was asked to wait in a cornfield. They were picked up by a big truck. The "snakehead" shouted "Get on the bus" and everyone swarmed. The truck sped along the highway, but there was another situation ahead. A team of "patrol police" appeared. Obviously, the "illegal immigrants" were found this time. The "patrol police" shouted "You are surrounded" and caught up. Surprised and frightened tourists discovered that smuggling was much more dangerous and difficult than they thought. Finally, the "snakehead" and the "stowaway" had to give in easily.

Most tourists are white-collar workers.

The "Night Tour" has been opened for more than two years, and thousands of tourists have come here. Besides Mexican natives, there are also tourists from the United States, Canada, France, Argentina and other countries who come here.

The vast majority of tourists who come here to play are white-collar workers with higher education. They always fly in and out of the United States and have never experienced such a scene. Oswald, a computer engineer from Mexico, said: "It’s shocking. I never imagined that smuggling was like this."

In fact, the "night trip" is very safe, the difficulty of the journey is less than 1/10 of the real situation, and the "snakehead" pretended by the tour guide will never give up the team members on the way. Rosa of Mexico City has been here for three times. She brings different friends and family, including her 12-year-old son, every time. She said that while we are enjoying a happy life, some people are giving their lives for smuggling. I hope my son will not only have fun in the game, but also be inspired.

The smuggling trip caused controversy.

While the United States made great efforts to build a wall to stop illegal immigrants, the Alberto Ecological Park in Mexico opened this adventure of trying to smuggle. The us border defense department expressed dissatisfaction with this and believed that this move would help Mexicans accumulate smuggling experience. However, Hernandez, the head of Alberto Ecological Park, has a different explanation. He said that the park was established by Wau indigenous people with the support of the local government. The "night trip" helps Mexicans understand the hardships and dangers of smuggling, rather than encouraging the smuggling wind.

There are 2,500 villagers in Wau Gathering Village where Hernandez is located. Before the establishment of the ecological park, most of the villagers here sneaked into the United States to find jobs without jobs. Hernandez himself sneaked into the United States five times and lived in the United States for 15 years. Most Wau residents who are tour guides of "Night Tour" have personal experience of smuggling or taking people with them. Now, the employment opportunities created by the eco-park allow villagers to stay and live and work with their families, without having to go on a dangerous smuggling trip.

In Hernandez’s view, the "night trip" is also a cultural trip and a sports trip to promote the Wau people. During the trip, tourists not only learn about indigenous culture,

I also exercised my body and cultivated the spirit of overcoming suffering, unity and self-discipline. (Lei Zhang, correspondent in Mexico)

Building Socialism with Chinese characteristics Pioneer Demonstration Zone —— Shenzhen Showing the Charm of Chinese Culture

  Guangming Daily reporter Party Wen Ting Wang Zhongyao

  Cultural self-confidence is a more basic, deeper and more lasting force in the development of a country and a nation. Cultural innovation is also one of the most potential and far-reaching factors in today’s world urban competition.

  Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is not only a window for the outside world to observe the reform and opening up, but also a window to show the charm of Chinese culture and the self-confidence of China culture. Observing the unique path of the SEZ since its establishment 39 years ago, it is not difficult to find that another main line of development parallel to the economic construction is the vigorous and prosperous cultural construction, which is constantly delivering energy to enhance the comprehensive strength and sustainable development capacity of the city.

  At present, in the efforts to build a pioneering demonstration zone in Socialism with Chinese characteristics and seize the opportunity of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s construction, Shenzhen has undertaken the mission of being a practitioner and leader of advanced socialist culture, taking cultural innovation and development as the connection point to integrate various elements in the regional innovation strategy, stimulating the cultural creativity of the whole society, and making the urban space full of creative elements and the society full of humanistic care.

  Refine the spirit of the city and unite people.

  A person’s values determine a person’s spirit; The cultural connotation of a city determines the overall image of a city.

  Shenzhen, a young city with a history of only 40 years, why is it now famous at home and abroad for its innovative, open and inclusive cultural atmosphere?

  This is a highly conscious story of culture. Since its establishment, Shenzhen has deeply realized that economic construction and cultural construction are like "two wings of a bird and two wheels of a car", and has given strong support to cultural development from the heart.

  And look at the "cultural context" of Shenzhen, which is full of "big hands":

  In 1983, the city’s fiscal revenue was about 200 million yuan, one third of which was used to build "eight major cultural facilities";

  In 2003, it was the first in the country to put forward "cultural city", and in 2012, it began to build a strong cultural city in an all-round way;

  At the end of 2015, the "design drawing" and "construction table" were launched — — "Shenzhen Cultural Innovation and Development 2020 (Implementation Plan)", with clear objectives and 153 key tasks, is to lay a foundation for Shenzhen urban culture in the new period, fill shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses, and seek long-term results, with remarkable results.

  "Building an urban spiritual system guided by socialist core values in the development process not only contains the spirit of a city, but also maintains a national gene, a pulse of the times and a feeling of home and country." Li Xiaogan, member of the Standing Committee of Shenzhen Municipal Committee and Minister of Propaganda Department, said that this not only forged the character of Shenzhen, but also engraved the era mark of China’s comprehensive implementation of reform and opening up.

  From "time is money, efficiency is life" in the 1980s and 1990s to "reform and innovation are the root and soul of Shenzhen" and "encourage innovation and tolerate failure" when the traditional economic development model encounters a bottleneck in the early 21st century, Shenzhen has let the urban spirit get involved in urban development earlier and played a more conscious, active and significant role.

  Today, the well-known phrase "You are from Shenzhen when you come" brings thousands of dream catchers from Qian Qian together here … … These spirits and concepts directed at people’s hearts make Shenzhen’s urban spirit system surpass the "hardware" and "form" of the city, with not only speed and height, but also temperature and tolerance.

  "At present, in addition to the expression of the overall situation of the country and the consensus of the masses, developing urban academic culture is also a major way for Shenzhen to sublimate the spirit of the city." Wang Weili, vice president of Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, said. Since the implementation of "Shenzhen Cultural Innovation and Development 2020 (Implementation Plan)", the "Shenzhen Philosophy and Social Sciences Academic Master Plan" has been closely implemented, and the quality of social science publications "Shenzhen Social Sciences", "Shenzhen School Construction Series" and "Shenzhen Reform and Innovation Series" has been continuously improved; The influence of high-end academic platforms such as "Shenzhen Academic Annual Meeting" continued to expand, and the academic and cultural positions were further consolidated.

   Create brand culture activities and inject vitality.

  Culture, always in the history of human city development, generate has shown incomparable strength.

  London, although it lost its position as the world center after the industrial revolution in the 20th century, has led the transformation and upgrading of the city through cultural creativity and achieved great success, and is still one of the world cultural centers.

  Tokyo, a popular culture with animation culture as its core, has formed a unique "Japanese-style" cultural brand in the world.

  Nowadays, Shenzhen is also gradually forming a young, fashionable, energetic and vigorous brand culture system with a series of wonderful cultural activities with urban characteristics.

  In April this year, at the Nanshan Pop Music Festival in 2019 with the theme of "Happy Pop, Happy Youth", "Night of Women’s Books" and "Night of Rock" once again set off a hurricane of pop music in this creative city. After several years of accumulation, this activity has not only become a platform for gathering cutting-edge works of pop music, but also greatly promoted the development of local pop music in Shenzhen.

  The success of Nanshan Pop Music Festival is a node in the network of Shenzhen brand culture system. In 2017, Shenzhen took the lead in creating the first "cultural menu" in China to benchmark international first-class cities. After careful design and operation, a large number of cultural activities have become famous brands in less than three years.

  "From New Year concerts, pop music festivals to theater brand activities, the Nanshan District in Shenzhen where I live is now ‘ There are performances every week, brands every month, and wonderful all year round ’ 。” Ms. Wang, a master student studying at the Shenzhen Graduate School of Tsinghua University, said. As a young woman who loves literature and art, she was once worried that the cultural life here was not as rich as that in Beijing before coming to Shenzhen, but after coming, she found that "whether it is the original Broadway musical, the Beijing people’s art drama, or some avant-garde art and small music scenes, you can see them in Shenzhen, and the government has given great support and subsidies, and the fares are very cheap".

  Activities covering different fields and different groups of people not only provide rich cultural feasts for the citizens, but also shape the cultural charm of the city.

  In the "Belt and Road" music season in March each year, nearly 50 music groups and 2,200 musicians from 64 countries and regions along the route have been invited to bring 55 wonderful performances, becoming the highest-end and most concerned "music feast" in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even South China; This year’s Shenzhen Design Week and Global Design Awards attracted more than 1,000 designers from more than 20 countries and regions. Shenzhen Animation Festival, Reading Month, Creative December, etc., not only cultivate cultural atmosphere and establish cultural brands, but also play a leading role in cultivating people’s consumption of high-quality cultural products.

  Enrich public cultural services, turn spring into rain.

  This year’s Dragon Boat Festival, on the lawn of Four Seasons Park in Baoan District, Shenzhen, a microphone, a stool, several musical instruments, Chinese music flying, Rosa Waltz and other music sounded leisurely — — The "Our Festival" Dragon Boat Festival Cultural Concert presented a different artistic appreciation experience for the citizens present. This activity is one of the "delicacies" in the cultural service feast such as the "100 million" weekend concert in Baoan District, sending literature and art into the community and enterprises, and Baoan Cultural Teahouse.

  Baoan District, located outside the original special zone and known as the "outside the customs" area, once had a weak cultural infrastructure. When Shenzhen formulated the "Shenzhen Cultural Innovation and Development 2020 (Implementation Plan)", it not only made a clear plan to realize the equalization of cultural facilities in the city and build a comprehensive cultural service center at the grassroots level, but also proposed to innovate cultural service methods and build a public cultural service system oriented to the spiritual and cultural needs of citizens.

  "After studying and researching by all staff, we accurately meet the needs of citizens’ cultural activities and strive to send more and better cultural activities and literary works that citizens need to them." Liu Mingjun, director of the Public Cultural Service Center in Baoan District, Shenzhen, told the reporter that by guiding social forces to participate in public cultural services and turning "sending" culture into "planting" culture, Baoan District has gradually stepped out of the cultural management and service dilemma of "small horse-drawn carts".

  "Including cultural volunteers, cultural hourly workers, cultural counselors, etc., our cultural volunteer service teams have served the masses for an average of 21 million times a year, which is an important driving force for the future development of Baoan’s cultural undertakings." Chen Weilin, deputy director of Shenzhen Baoan District Culture, Radio, Film, Tourism and Sports Bureau, said.

  Using the most precious land to build a public cultural service system — — The library, the concert hall and the central book mall are all located in the center of Shenzhen, which is "an inch of land and gold". Nowadays, this model has blossomed everywhere in Shenzhen. The cultural complex "Red Cube" in the central area of Longgang in the east is very popular, the "cultural settlement" in the central area of Pingshan in the north has built a new context, and the public art cultural center in the central area of Baoan in the west is in full swing … …

  At present, the "New Ten Cultural Facilities" such as the new Shenzhen Art Museum and the new Shenzhen Cultural Center have started construction, the basic cultural service network of "One District, One Book City, One Street, One Book Bar" has been basically completed, and the public cultural service system oriented to citizens’ spiritual and cultural needs has been initially established, which not only shows the eclectic attitude of the city’s cultural reproduction and the growth of foreign cultures, but also provides great cultural nourishment for Shenzhen to gather creative talents and radiate innovative ideas.

  Lead the transformation of cultural industry and spare no effort.

  "Laughing Two Sisters" is a popular animated IP on the vibrato platform recently. It interprets the joyful daily and current hot spots among family members of two children in a humorous, humorous and funny way, and has gained 4.7 million fans only three months after its launch. This is actually a new exploration made by OCT Cultural Tourism Technology Group Co., Ltd., which combines Internet media and innovative technology.

  "At present, we are trying to create original IP on the front-end line and promote amplification. After the IP is mature, we will transplant it to the theme park for offline experience, and develop derivative formats and products to form a complete closed loop of the industrial chain." Zhao Bin, deputy general manager of OCT Cultural Tourism Technology Group Co., Ltd. said, "Disney is a DreamWorks in the animation era and Universal Studios is a DreamWorks in the movie era. Now we hope to empower the industry with cultural content and become a DreamWorks in the Internet era."

  No matter cultural central enterprises like OCT, private enterprises like Tencent and Huaqiang Fangte, or countless cultural start-ups, they are sparing no effort to seize the opportunity of the times and move forward to a higher level: splendid china, the first theme park in China, digital cultural industries such as QQ music, Bears Come and Go, and most of the visual effects of this year’s hit movie The Wandering Earth were born here. The ecology of Shenzhen’s cultural and creative industries is growing sturdily. In 2018, the added value of Shenzhen’s cultural and creative industries was 262.177 billion yuan, accounting for more than 10% of GDP, and gradually formed a modern cultural industry system characterized by quality and connotation development.

  Looking around the world, most other cities with advanced cultural development in the world have their own industrial clusters, such as Hollywood film industry cluster in Los Angeles and fashion industry cluster in Paris. In Shenzhen, the government has a clear understanding of the role of cultural and creative industries, which is regarded as a sustainable, healthy, stable and green industry and the main asset of economic regeneration in first-class cities.

  At present, Shenzhen is learning from the development experience of advanced cultural cities in the world, based on its own existing cultural industry agglomeration development, and accelerating the construction of an international cultural and creative pioneer city. Since last year, the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Innovation and Development of Cultural Industry and Several Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Creative Design in Shenzhen have been drafted and promulgated one after another, further increasing support for new formats such as creative design, cultural tourism, fashion culture and digital culture, and providing policy guarantee for the healthy development of cultural industry.

  Literature carries the Tao and literature prospers the city. Whether it is to carry forward the open, pluralistic and inclusive urban culture, to carry forward the spirit of the SAR, to be the first and to work hard, to convey the humanistic spirit of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, or to integrate the socialist core values into all aspects of social development, Shenzhen is now making great strides towards a modern city with prosperous socialist culture by uniting strength, creating vitality and enhancing soft power.

  Guangming Daily (August 27, 2019, 08 edition)