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Historic rail terminus makes relaxing destination
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Dengyun Road in north Hangzhou, which crosses the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal, was for years an industrial area. The road was built on the former Gongchen Station, the end point of Zhejiang Province’s first railway.
After the country’s first railroad was built between Shanghai and Wusong (now part of Shanghai’s Baoshan District) in 1876, rail service began to grow around the country.
The first railroad in Zhejiang was the Jiangshu Rail in Hangzhou built in 1906 by Zhejiang’s government, which started at Zhakou Station in south Hangzhou, passed Nanxing Station, Qingtai Station (now Hangzhou Chengzhan Railway Station), Genshan Station and ended at Gongchen Station.
The 16-plus-kilometer railway became part of Huhang Railway (between Shanghai and Hangzhou) in 1909, and carried Dr Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China (1912-1949), in 1912 when he visited the city.
Gongchen Station became a large transportation hub that carried 600,000 people a year in the 1920s and served the wharf area near the Gongchen Bridge, an ancient, three-arch stone bridge 92 meters long first built in 1631 across the Grand Canal.
In 1895, after the war, Hangzhou became a treaty port and the Gongchen block became part of a Japanese colony. In 1944, the railway and the train station were demolished by the Japanese army and the railway became a road, namely Shaoxing Road and Dengyun Road. History is still evident, however, at Jiangshu Railway Relic Park built in 2008 at the location of the old station. Shanghai Daily takes a stroll along the park and nearby areas rich with the history of Gongchen block.
Jiangshu Railway Relic Park (½ÊûÌú·ÒÅÖ·¹«Ô°)
1907.8.23. The series of numbers, coupled with the characters “Gongchen Station,” are on the façade of Jiangshu Railway Exhibition Hall, built in the style of an old-fashioned train station, with a brick wall and triangle rooftop. The number represents the day when the railroad formally opened — August 23, 1907.
An 125-ton, black-and-red locomotive standing behind the hall is from the early 20th century and came from the old Zhakou Station, as did two 45-meter-long sections of track.
The exhibition hall is like a museum, with displays of not only Jiangshu Railway history but other historical stories about trains.
Address: Corner of Dengyun and Jinhua roads
Opening hours: 9-11:45am; 2-4:30pm (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)
Silian 166(Ë¿Áª166)
Warehouses and factories clustered at Gongchen block due to its access to the nearby wharf on the Grand Canal. A large silk factory in the area has been turned into a creative zone that is the most well-known loft in Hangzhou, attracting many businesses.
The zone, Silian 166, is named after the factory’s name and street number. The silk factory was designed by the former Soviet Union experts, and part of it is still operating. But the zone, covering 6,600 square meters, is also a fashion hub with galleries, fashion boutiques and cafes.
Me Too Cafe, Chez Marie Cafe and Special Coffee are the three cafes in the zone. Me Too Cafe is constructed of glass, wood and brick and serves Western and Chinese foods; Chez Marie Cafe is French in style and fare; and Special Coffee is modern in style and offers Western foods.
Address: 166 Lishui Road
Qiaoxi Historic Block(ÇÅÎ÷ÀúÊ·½ÖÇø)
This block next to the Grand Canal is now a scenic site because it boasts the greatest number of intact folk houses from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) among all the areas along the Grand Canal. After a 2010 facelift, the block focuses on folk culture and traditional medicine.
The block’s center is Qiaoxizhi Street, west of Gongchen Bridge.
The appearance of Qiaoxizhi Street is consistent with the ancient stone bridge. Visitors can see the stone-paved roadway, old wooden walkways along the river still in use today and renovated black-and-white traditional houses with upturned eaves that are now home to restaurants, stores and museums.
Despite its rich heritage, this historic spot has far fewer tourists than other areas and can make for a fascinating and relaxed way to while away an afternoon.
Interesting stores on the road include Tao Yi Tian Ceramic Studio, Shu Yu Cafe, T Coffee, Happy Tea House and several restaurants.
Address: At the crossing of Dengyun and Xiaohe roads. Find the Gongchen Bridge, and you will find the block.
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