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Shop till you drop on Hefang Street
By Xu Wenwen |
May 24, 2010, Monday
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RESTORED Hefang Pedestrian Street is the epitome of old Hangzhou with its Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties buildings, shops, teahouses, snack vendors, restaurants and plenty of surprises.
It's also known as the city's Snack Street because at its east end vendors sell specialties from around China.
The old street near Wushan Hill lay in ruins but was rebuilt by the city and designed as a pedestrian street with an ancient feeling. It draws millions of visitors from the nearby West Lake.
You can find all kinds of knickknacks, crafts, antiques, cloth shoes, ethnic clothes and jewelry, famous-brand scissors and knives, umbrellas and silk, as well as tea and herbs.
There are touristy trinkets, jade, pearls, chopsticks, paintings and ornaments of all kinds.
Some of China's most famous brands are showcased, such as Hu Qing Yu Tang pharmacy and Wang Xingji fans, and craftsmen demonstrate their skills in candy and dough modeling, paper cutting, seal carving and other arts.
The 460-meter-long street is flanked by two-story wood-front houses with whitewashed walls and black-tile roofing.
The street was once Hangzhou's most flourishing business area in the late Qing Dynasty.
It is the only well-preserved part of old Hangzhou - others made way for progress.
From 1999 to 2002, the municipal government undertook large-scale restoration to turn the street into a commercial and tourist block, emphasizing old cultural values.
Dough sculpture has been in Xu Shijun's family for generations and Xu has been rolling and shaping dough for 30 years.
Xu's largest works are the "Four Great Heavenly Kings," each more than 2 meters high.
Some of his works are so tiny that they fit in a nut shell and he uses a magnifying glass to carve them, such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea." You can even see their eyebrows.
The figurines were once made of rice and flour so they were edible, but no one wants to eat them today for hygiene reasons. So clay has replaced the dough and makes for longer lasting, if not such tasty figures.
Some of the works are collected by museums, but many are small and reasonably priced. He also can create your portrait in clay - on a plaque or as a bust.
Yang Zhiyong from Shanxi Province has sold fans for four years on Hefang Street, at the invitation of the Hangzhou government.
His fans are distinctive: he writes calligraphy and draws paintings on them. They depict classical landscapes, figures and animals, some rendered in meticulous detail and some in free-style.
He also composes and writes poems on fans for customers; certain characters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto or saying when read in sequence.
Peng Xiaowei engraves Chinese seals - but not with Chinese characters - with people's faces. Many Chinese have personal name seals.
The art of engraving faces on seals dates back to ancient times.
Peng says carving an excellent face on a seal is more demanding than engraving characters.
He has practiced for more than 20 years and can produce a work within 20 minutes for a tourist. The price is around 250 yuan (US$36) if he uses an ordinary seal stone.
Visitors to some teahouses can watch performances like acrobatics, kung fu, or elaborate pouring of tea.
At the Tai Chi Teahouse, waiters in long blue gowns and skullcaps perform a unique tea ceremony using brass teapots with extremely long spouts. They pour in elaborate tai chi-style, assuming poses, circling the vessel around their head and pouring the green tea while balancing the long spout along their shoulders.
Tips for touring
It is very crowded at weekends.
Shops are open until 10pm, so there's no rush.
For silk, tea, ethnic fashions and other things, compare prices in different stores; many sell the same thing.
Hui Chun Tang Pharmacy offers free herbal tea until closing time. Though bitter, it's said to be healthy.
The snack lane at the east end of Hefang Street is always packed, so if you are traveling with a group, ask one or two to claim seats while others grab food; then you can take turns searching for more snacks.
How to get there: Buses No. 284, 216, 206, 212, 404, Y7, Y8, 8, 25,35, 40, 59, 60, 514, 850 to Wushan Square stop.
It's also known as the city's Snack Street because at its east end vendors sell specialties from around China.
The old street near Wushan Hill lay in ruins but was rebuilt by the city and designed as a pedestrian street with an ancient feeling. It draws millions of visitors from the nearby West Lake.
You can find all kinds of knickknacks, crafts, antiques, cloth shoes, ethnic clothes and jewelry, famous-brand scissors and knives, umbrellas and silk, as well as tea and herbs.
There are touristy trinkets, jade, pearls, chopsticks, paintings and ornaments of all kinds.
Some of China's most famous brands are showcased, such as Hu Qing Yu Tang pharmacy and Wang Xingji fans, and craftsmen demonstrate their skills in candy and dough modeling, paper cutting, seal carving and other arts.
The 460-meter-long street is flanked by two-story wood-front houses with whitewashed walls and black-tile roofing.
The street was once Hangzhou's most flourishing business area in the late Qing Dynasty.
It is the only well-preserved part of old Hangzhou - others made way for progress.
From 1999 to 2002, the municipal government undertook large-scale restoration to turn the street into a commercial and tourist block, emphasizing old cultural values.
Dough sculpture has been in Xu Shijun's family for generations and Xu has been rolling and shaping dough for 30 years.
Xu's largest works are the "Four Great Heavenly Kings," each more than 2 meters high.
Some of his works are so tiny that they fit in a nut shell and he uses a magnifying glass to carve them, such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea." You can even see their eyebrows.
The figurines were once made of rice and flour so they were edible, but no one wants to eat them today for hygiene reasons. So clay has replaced the dough and makes for longer lasting, if not such tasty figures.
Some of the works are collected by museums, but many are small and reasonably priced. He also can create your portrait in clay - on a plaque or as a bust.
Yang Zhiyong from Shanxi Province has sold fans for four years on Hefang Street, at the invitation of the Hangzhou government.
His fans are distinctive: he writes calligraphy and draws paintings on them. They depict classical landscapes, figures and animals, some rendered in meticulous detail and some in free-style.
He also composes and writes poems on fans for customers; certain characters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto or saying when read in sequence.
Peng Xiaowei engraves Chinese seals - but not with Chinese characters - with people's faces. Many Chinese have personal name seals.
The art of engraving faces on seals dates back to ancient times.
Peng says carving an excellent face on a seal is more demanding than engraving characters.
He has practiced for more than 20 years and can produce a work within 20 minutes for a tourist. The price is around 250 yuan (US$36) if he uses an ordinary seal stone.
Visitors to some teahouses can watch performances like acrobatics, kung fu, or elaborate pouring of tea.
At the Tai Chi Teahouse, waiters in long blue gowns and skullcaps perform a unique tea ceremony using brass teapots with extremely long spouts. They pour in elaborate tai chi-style, assuming poses, circling the vessel around their head and pouring the green tea while balancing the long spout along their shoulders.
Tips for touring
It is very crowded at weekends.
Shops are open until 10pm, so there's no rush.
For silk, tea, ethnic fashions and other things, compare prices in different stores; many sell the same thing.
Hui Chun Tang Pharmacy offers free herbal tea until closing time. Though bitter, it's said to be healthy.
The snack lane at the east end of Hefang Street is always packed, so if you are traveling with a group, ask one or two to claim seats while others grab food; then you can take turns searching for more snacks.
How to get there: Buses No. 284, 216, 206, 212, 404, Y7, Y8, 8, 25,35, 40, 59, 60, 514, 850 to Wushan Square stop.
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