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December 23, 2015

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Zhejiang awash in historic watertowns

By Wu Huixin | December 23, 2015, Wednesday | Print Edition

THE beautiful watertown of Wuzhen, in east China’s Zhejiang Province, caught the world’s attention recently when it hosted the 2nd World Internet Conference.

Actually, Zhejiang is home to scores of towns like Wuzhen, many of which feature crisscrossing watercourses and unique architecture. Here, Shanghai Daily is pleased to single out three of the province’s best preserved and most historically significant riverine communities.

Nanxun Town

Situated at the border of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces is Nanxun Town. Due to its location along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it prospered during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties as trade flourished.

Historically, Nanxun residents made a living by producing silk. This commodity lifted the town to newfound heights of wealth and affluence in the mid-Ming Dynasty, when most of its extant buildings and gardens were originally built. During this time, many said that Nanxun had as much wealth as an entire county, a saying that reflected the town’s commercial success.

Today, the town boasts a plethora of scenic spots worthy of visiting. One such spot is the Jiaye Book Collection Pavilion, erected in 1920. Many see this pavilion as a perfect blend of antique library and Chinese garden; complete with ponds, zigzagging slab paths and odd-shaped stones.

The Qing-era Xiaolianzhuang Villa is another iconic example of Nanxun-style architecture. In addition to its antique buildings, the villa’s surrounding garden features a 5,000-square-meter pond which comes alive with undulating lotus flowers every summer.

Also popular with tourists are the homes of former Nanxun luminaries such as Zhang Jingjiang and Zhang Shiming.

To preserve and honor the town’s silk industry, local authorities built the Tian Gong Silk Pavilion where visitors can watch artisans produce the exquisite silks which made it famous.

Xitang Town

Xitang is crisscrossed by nine rivers and connected by numerous centuries-old bridges. It is also rich with black-roofed homes, antique temples, ancestral halls and its veranda-covered riverbanks.

To many foreign visitors though, it’s perhaps best known for its appearance in “Mission Impossible 3.”

The history of the town dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Xitang is regarded as the birthplace of Wuyue culture, given its location at the border of the Wu and Yue kingdoms during that period.

Later when the Grand Canal was dug, Xitang served as a vital port for the trade of salt, porcelains, tea and silk.

The town attracts flocks of tourists every day, many of whom come to appreciate its characteristic charms. With its stone bridges, ivy-covered arches, lofty trees, black-tiled and white-walled buildings, strange-stone sculptures and ponds, Xitang embodies the traditions of Jiangnan — or regions in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Delta — style architecture.

Within the town, Songzilaifeng (literally “sending a son and a daughter”) Bridge is extremely popular among tourists. In the past, it was believed that people who wanted a child would have their wish granted if they walked across the bridge.

Qiantong Town

Unlike other traditional watertowns, Qiantong is marked by its unique layout inspired by the bagua, or eight trigrams of Daoist mythology.

The town also distinguishes itself with its natural rivers, whereas the waters of Nanxun and Xitang were diverted from outside sources.

The town dates to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Like other nearby watertowns, it flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Today, it is well-known for its many examples of Ming and Qing folk architecture, being home to over 1,300 protected antique structures. Many of these structures feature up-turned eaves, carved beams and painted rafters. Its ancestral halls and temples are well maintained and still used by locals.

Compared with other nearby watertowns, Qiantong’s tourism industry has developed slowly, which in turn helps it maintain its tranquil atmosphere.

Hangzhou


 

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