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A street of surprises - ancient and modern
By Fei Lai |
March 16, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HANGZHOU'S Hefang Street features clothing, musical instruments, puppet shows, jewelry, Chinese lamps and ornamental knots and lots of yummy local food. Fei Lai takes a stroll down an ancient thoroughfare
Hefang Street is the epitome of old Hangzhou with its traditional crafts and shops vying for constant attention.
The dense colorful cluster of shops and stalls seem to be on the go all the time, offering a range of local delicacies, antiques, calligraphy, painting and even traditional herbal medicines.
With more than 100 merchants and sellers of Hangzhou specialties, the street keeps itself busy with visitors from home and abroad wandering through, none seemingly in a hurry to leave.
There are showcases of clothing in unique designs, musical instruments, puppet shows, jewelry, Chinese lamps and ornamental knots and lots of yummy local food.
The street starts at Jiangcheng Road in the east, runs west past Jianguo Road S., Zhonghe Road M., Zhongshan Road M., Huaguang Road and ends at Nanshan Road. It runs for about 1.8 kilometers.
The section between Wushan Square and Zhongshan Road M. has been reserved for pedestrians and is paved in stone. Here the width narrows to 13 meters, while the rest of the road is 32 meters wide.
Any visitor to the street will immediately be overwhelmed by the choice and variety. Teahouses, restaurants and shops selling artworks and crafts, souvenirs and silk, line both sides of the street. Many famous century-old shops including Hu Qing Yu Tang drugstore and Wang Xingji Fans can be found.
The street is actually a part of Qinghe Lane at the foot of Wushan Hill, which covers an area of 13.6 hectares. It is regarded as the only old street block relatively well preserved in Hangzhou.
Qinghe Lane was named after an official of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), Zhang Jun. He was designated "Lord Qinghe" as a favor by the then emperor because he defeated the Jin army in Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) and won the Gaoqiao Battle in 1129, and the area around his residence was called Qinghe Lane.
Qinghe Lane was built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and bloomed in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Many of the present buildings here were built during the glorious period from the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the early Qing Dynasty.
At that time, row upon row of shops, inns and teahouses stood next to each other and business flourished.
Since 1999, Hangzhou government has pushed through a series of protection, construction and reconstruction regulations for Qinghe Lane, restoring, developing and introducing famous time-honored brands, to attract more time-honored brands from all around China.
The current Qinghe Lane is not only a street with the biggest collection of time-honored brands of traditional Chinese medicines, delicious foods and handicraft, but also one of the places that best displays the national intangible cultural heritage.
At present, more than 100 time-honored brands incorporating traditional Chinese medicine, folk customs, dining, special local products, and art merge here with modern commerce.
To learn more about the customs and culture of Hangzhou over 1,000 years, visitors should go to the Qinghe Lane History Museum. This museum focuses on folk custom in ancient Hangzhou.
Hefang Street and even the whole Qinghe Lane area is an ideal destination for tourists. It is great fun crowding along this six-block street filled with hawkers and candy makers, and enjoying old Hangzhou, the way it should be.
Hefang Street is the epitome of old Hangzhou with its traditional crafts and shops vying for constant attention.
The dense colorful cluster of shops and stalls seem to be on the go all the time, offering a range of local delicacies, antiques, calligraphy, painting and even traditional herbal medicines.
With more than 100 merchants and sellers of Hangzhou specialties, the street keeps itself busy with visitors from home and abroad wandering through, none seemingly in a hurry to leave.
There are showcases of clothing in unique designs, musical instruments, puppet shows, jewelry, Chinese lamps and ornamental knots and lots of yummy local food.
The street starts at Jiangcheng Road in the east, runs west past Jianguo Road S., Zhonghe Road M., Zhongshan Road M., Huaguang Road and ends at Nanshan Road. It runs for about 1.8 kilometers.
The section between Wushan Square and Zhongshan Road M. has been reserved for pedestrians and is paved in stone. Here the width narrows to 13 meters, while the rest of the road is 32 meters wide.
Any visitor to the street will immediately be overwhelmed by the choice and variety. Teahouses, restaurants and shops selling artworks and crafts, souvenirs and silk, line both sides of the street. Many famous century-old shops including Hu Qing Yu Tang drugstore and Wang Xingji Fans can be found.
The street is actually a part of Qinghe Lane at the foot of Wushan Hill, which covers an area of 13.6 hectares. It is regarded as the only old street block relatively well preserved in Hangzhou.
Qinghe Lane was named after an official of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), Zhang Jun. He was designated "Lord Qinghe" as a favor by the then emperor because he defeated the Jin army in Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) and won the Gaoqiao Battle in 1129, and the area around his residence was called Qinghe Lane.
Qinghe Lane was built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and bloomed in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Many of the present buildings here were built during the glorious period from the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the early Qing Dynasty.
At that time, row upon row of shops, inns and teahouses stood next to each other and business flourished.
Since 1999, Hangzhou government has pushed through a series of protection, construction and reconstruction regulations for Qinghe Lane, restoring, developing and introducing famous time-honored brands, to attract more time-honored brands from all around China.
The current Qinghe Lane is not only a street with the biggest collection of time-honored brands of traditional Chinese medicines, delicious foods and handicraft, but also one of the places that best displays the national intangible cultural heritage.
At present, more than 100 time-honored brands incorporating traditional Chinese medicine, folk customs, dining, special local products, and art merge here with modern commerce.
To learn more about the customs and culture of Hangzhou over 1,000 years, visitors should go to the Qinghe Lane History Museum. This museum focuses on folk custom in ancient Hangzhou.
Hefang Street and even the whole Qinghe Lane area is an ideal destination for tourists. It is great fun crowding along this six-block street filled with hawkers and candy makers, and enjoying old Hangzhou, the way it should be.
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