Road named for victory has winsome food, history
Print Edition
Every city in China’s mainland has a road named Jiefang, which means “liberation” in Chinese, to commemorate victory in the War of Liberation (1945-1949), and Hangzhou is no exception.
Jiefang Road is one of Hangzhou’s longest thoroughfares, connecting West Lake in the west and Qianjiang New Town in the east. As a principal commercial road of the city, it is dotted with stores of fashion brands, boutiques, restaurants and banks, and is crowded with pedestrians and vehicles.
Shanghai Daily made a visit to the road amidst the pleasant fall weather, stopping at a historic church and relishing delicacies in a noodle shop and a pastry store.
Si Cheng Church
This is the oldest Protestant church in Hangzhou. In the 1850s during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), American Presbyterian missionaries came to Hangzhou to convert locals.
In 1868, local Protestants rented a house in Pishi Lane as a church and made a man named Zhang Chengzhai their first minister. However, as the congregation grew, the house was too small.
Zhang’s son, Zhang Baoqing, donated money to build a new church and, helped by other donations from home and abroad, Si Cheng Church was eventually completed after the death of Zhang Chengzhai.
In order to commemorate the first clergyman, the church was named after one character of Zhang’s name. Si Cheng in Chinese means “cherish the memory of Cheng.”
When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) broke out, the church became a refuge for locals. Between 1942 and 1945, it was occupied by the Japanese.
Today, the church is an important spot for local Protestants. It has a website at www.hzsct.org, where detailed information on the congregation is posted.
Address: 132 Jiefang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8702-4262
Jiu Zhi Zhai
One of Hangzhou’s top time-honored pastry stores, Jiu Zhi Zhai was established in 1925. It sells many varieties of preserved fruits and pastries, including sesame crunch candies, peanut strips, mung bean cakes, red bean candies and coconut cookies.
Before the mid-1990s, most Hangzhou pastries were sweet, but Jiu Zhi Zhai created savory varieties, adding pickled vegetables and spiced salt, which found favor with Hangzhou locals.
The most popular pastry is a freshly made mooncake containing pork and hot pickled vegetables. The mooncake is served hot from the oven and tastes mellow and crisp.
Its reasonable price and delicious taste attract queues, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
While in the past Jiu Zhi Zhai attracted mostly an older clientele, several years ago management introduced new products to attract younger pastry fans. Now, in addition to traditional fare, the shop offers Western pastries and cakes, and has succeeded in expanding its customer base.
Address: 91 Jiefang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8781-0104
Kui Yuan Guan Noodle Restaurant
Pian’er chuan is a dish of noodles with fried pork, bamboo shoots and preserved vegetables. The most popular noodle variety among locals, it symbolizes Hangzhou’s noodle culture.
This cheap meal featuring the refreshing taste of preserved vegetables and sliced bamboo shoots was created by Kui Yuan Guan, which was established in 1867 and dubbed the “Noodle King of Southern China.”
In late Qing Dynasty, candidates from other cities of Zhejiang Province would gather in Hangzhou for the imperial examination. One day, a student who arrived in Hangzhou for the examination ordered a bowl of noodles in the restaurant and changed its fate.
The poor student seemed down and showed little confidence. Out of sympathy, the shopkeeper threw three eggs into the noodles for good luck. Each egg represented one of the three exams to be taken.
The student earned the top score in the imperial examination and became a government official. He subsequently returned to the shop and inscribed the name Kui Yuan Guan for the restaurant in gratitude to the shopkeeper.
Thereafter, the noodle shop became popular with diners. Examinees flocked to the place to eat noodles praying for good luck. In order to cater to people from different areas taking the exam, the shopkeeper created pian’er chuan.
For more than 100 years it has always been jammed during mealtimes. Today, hundreds of diners come to Kui Yuan Guan every day for a taste of the authentic flavor of pian’er chuan.
It's best to arrive a little early to get a seat without having to wait.
Address: 154 Jiefang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8702-9012
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