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Taking a trip down city's memory lanes
By Wu Huixin |
October 29, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
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THE Twenty-three Lanes of Royal Street of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), a newly opened Hangzhou scenic spot, is centered around the ruins of Southern Song Imperial Ancestral Temple. It starts from Gaoshifang Lane in the south and ends at Wugong Hill in the north, extending to Zhongshan Road S. in the east and connecting Wushan and Ziyang hills in the west.
As the name says, the new scenic attraction is indeed made up of 23 lanes. In these, most residences are wooden or brick and wood structures of traditional Hangzhou residential housing built in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and early Republic of China (1912-1949).
However, over the years these once-elegant buildings had fallen into disrepair. In 2011, the government began renovations - without having to relocate residents - and completed the work this summer. Today, these protected buildings are back to looking their traditional best, and residents are able to enjoy living in gleaming homes.
The Twenty-three Lanes also boasts a rich cultural heritage, including the ruins of Three Councils and Six Ministries of Southern Song Dynasty, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and Ziyang Academy.
Shiwukui Lane and Sipailou are two of the 23 lanes that are home to cultural relics.
It's said that the original name of Shiwukui Lane was Shiwugui - "stone turtle" in Chinese - as there was a stone turtle in Huizhou Clan House in the lane long time ago. However, since the name was deemed vulgar in locals' eyes, people renamed it as "Shiwukui".
The name of Sipailou ("four tablets") commemorates four sages from history: Yue Fei, a military general of the Southern Song Dynasty; Yu Qian, a Chinese defence minister during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); Chu Suiliang, a talented calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907); and Wu Zixu, a famous Chinese scholar and military general in Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).
Shanghai Daily takes a walk in these two lanes and discovered three gems there - a carpenter's store, a curios house and a traditional pastry shop.
Tangqi Laodao Pastry
Hangzhou natives favor traditional pastry and consider the Laodao pastry made in Tangqi Town of Yuhang District the best. Some Laodao fans even spend several hours on the bus traveling to Tangqi to buy some.
However, sweet-toothed residents living in Twenty-three Lanes need not go that far, as a branch shop selling authentic Laodao brand pastry is located in Sipailou.
There is a tale attached to Laodao pastry, which said that the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty once arrived at Tangqi during a southbound trip and tasted Laodao pastry there and found it delicious.
Laodao still enjoys such as reputation throughout Hangzhou. Although the facade of the shop in Sipailou is inconspicuous, plenty of people are attracted there by its famous and tasty goodies.
Bean crunch candy, walnut slices, sesame cake - also known as "starvation cake" - and loquat candy are among the best-selling lines with customers Laodao.
Address: 44 Sipailou
Drum Tower Wooden Tub Store
The owner of this store is known simply as Old Yang by many locals. And as a highly experienced carpenter, Yang can turn out daily necessities in from timber plus bamboo.
From wooden dustpans, wooden stools and wooden bathtubs to bamboo flyswatters, bamboo baskets, bamboo trays and cane brooms, most products on sale are handmade by Yang.
While it takes Yang only several minutes to finish a wooden washing board, he has to spend several days making a wooden bathtub.
Yang bolsters his work with wholesales products from market.
All the wood and bamboo used are transported from Yang's hometown Lin'an, a county of Hangzhou renowned for timber and bamboo.
Every day Yang sits in the bamboo chair he made himself in front of his store and sells his craft works to passersby.
A carpenter for 30 years, Yang says he has noticed that fewer and fewer people learn carpentry nowadays and fears that one day this craft will be lost in China.
Address: 121-8 Shiwukui Lane
Baichuan Curio House
The owner Zhang Qinghai is a freelancer in design, photography, painting and antique. He redecorated the house alongside Shiwukui Lane and arranged his collection here.
The antiques vary from stones, tablets, jades to porcelains.
In the left of the house is a gourd-shaped Tai Lake stone dating back to Ming Dynasty with a carved character shou (êù), which means longevity. In China people call gourds hulu, sounding like fulu (?￡??) with the meaning of fortune and happiness. When shou is added to fulu, it is traditionally believed that fortune and longevity will increase.
Zhang says stones from Tai Lake of Jiangsu Province possess huge ornamental value due to their unusual shapes. On the wall there are four scrolls of Hunan embroidery and a Tang Dynasty tablet and wood carving leaning against the walls.
Zhang says when he spots curios during trips, he buys them up and mails them home.
On the table are traditional "scholar's four jewels" (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper), jade from Tibet, and ebony sculptures.
In Zhang's own words, he collected his fascinating antiques not only to sell, but also for fun.
Address: 25 Shiwukui Lane
As the name says, the new scenic attraction is indeed made up of 23 lanes. In these, most residences are wooden or brick and wood structures of traditional Hangzhou residential housing built in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and early Republic of China (1912-1949).
However, over the years these once-elegant buildings had fallen into disrepair. In 2011, the government began renovations - without having to relocate residents - and completed the work this summer. Today, these protected buildings are back to looking their traditional best, and residents are able to enjoy living in gleaming homes.
The Twenty-three Lanes also boasts a rich cultural heritage, including the ruins of Three Councils and Six Ministries of Southern Song Dynasty, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and Ziyang Academy.
Shiwukui Lane and Sipailou are two of the 23 lanes that are home to cultural relics.
It's said that the original name of Shiwukui Lane was Shiwugui - "stone turtle" in Chinese - as there was a stone turtle in Huizhou Clan House in the lane long time ago. However, since the name was deemed vulgar in locals' eyes, people renamed it as "Shiwukui".
The name of Sipailou ("four tablets") commemorates four sages from history: Yue Fei, a military general of the Southern Song Dynasty; Yu Qian, a Chinese defence minister during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); Chu Suiliang, a talented calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907); and Wu Zixu, a famous Chinese scholar and military general in Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).
Shanghai Daily takes a walk in these two lanes and discovered three gems there - a carpenter's store, a curios house and a traditional pastry shop.
Tangqi Laodao Pastry
Hangzhou natives favor traditional pastry and consider the Laodao pastry made in Tangqi Town of Yuhang District the best. Some Laodao fans even spend several hours on the bus traveling to Tangqi to buy some.
However, sweet-toothed residents living in Twenty-three Lanes need not go that far, as a branch shop selling authentic Laodao brand pastry is located in Sipailou.
There is a tale attached to Laodao pastry, which said that the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty once arrived at Tangqi during a southbound trip and tasted Laodao pastry there and found it delicious.
Laodao still enjoys such as reputation throughout Hangzhou. Although the facade of the shop in Sipailou is inconspicuous, plenty of people are attracted there by its famous and tasty goodies.
Bean crunch candy, walnut slices, sesame cake - also known as "starvation cake" - and loquat candy are among the best-selling lines with customers Laodao.
Address: 44 Sipailou
Drum Tower Wooden Tub Store
The owner of this store is known simply as Old Yang by many locals. And as a highly experienced carpenter, Yang can turn out daily necessities in from timber plus bamboo.
From wooden dustpans, wooden stools and wooden bathtubs to bamboo flyswatters, bamboo baskets, bamboo trays and cane brooms, most products on sale are handmade by Yang.
While it takes Yang only several minutes to finish a wooden washing board, he has to spend several days making a wooden bathtub.
Yang bolsters his work with wholesales products from market.
All the wood and bamboo used are transported from Yang's hometown Lin'an, a county of Hangzhou renowned for timber and bamboo.
Every day Yang sits in the bamboo chair he made himself in front of his store and sells his craft works to passersby.
A carpenter for 30 years, Yang says he has noticed that fewer and fewer people learn carpentry nowadays and fears that one day this craft will be lost in China.
Address: 121-8 Shiwukui Lane
Baichuan Curio House
The owner Zhang Qinghai is a freelancer in design, photography, painting and antique. He redecorated the house alongside Shiwukui Lane and arranged his collection here.
The antiques vary from stones, tablets, jades to porcelains.
In the left of the house is a gourd-shaped Tai Lake stone dating back to Ming Dynasty with a carved character shou (êù), which means longevity. In China people call gourds hulu, sounding like fulu (?￡??) with the meaning of fortune and happiness. When shou is added to fulu, it is traditionally believed that fortune and longevity will increase.
Zhang says stones from Tai Lake of Jiangsu Province possess huge ornamental value due to their unusual shapes. On the wall there are four scrolls of Hunan embroidery and a Tang Dynasty tablet and wood carving leaning against the walls.
Zhang says when he spots curios during trips, he buys them up and mails them home.
On the table are traditional "scholar's four jewels" (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper), jade from Tibet, and ebony sculptures.
In Zhang's own words, he collected his fascinating antiques not only to sell, but also for fun.
Address: 25 Shiwukui Lane
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