Riverside tales of street life in the ancient past
Print Edition
XIATANG streets are riverside thoroughfares with less-developed commerce in a water town compared to their main commercial streets.
Jiading Town has Xiatang streets in the east, west, south, north and middle, which connect with the main commercial streets. They were constructed during the Song Dynasty (960-1276).
Japanese invaders in the 1930s destroyed part of Jiading Town and nowadays most of the Xiatang streets are included in gated neighborhoods. Only the middle Xiatang street is left completely for pedestrian use.
Middle Xiatang Street — Jiading’s last xiatang street
Middle Xiatang Street starts at Defu Bridge in the east and ends at Shuiguan in the west. It is 1,030 meters long and two to nine meters wide. It forms a T junction with Nandajie Street and has been Jiading’s political, cultural and commercial center.
Zhouqiao Bridge used to be Denglong Bridge and after Jiading was upgraded to a prefecture, the bridge got its current name. To the north of the bridge is the old county government residence. Now the area around the bridge has been turned into a cultural reserve.
After the reform and opening in the 1980s, the middle and west sections of Middle Xiatang Street were converted into a gated neighborhood and the former Sanhuang Bridge and Hai’er Bridge reconstructed with steel and cement. Only the east section of the area retains its old appearance.
South and North Xiatang Streets
North Xiatang Street is 630 meters long and has two bridges built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and four bridges built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Charity institution Qingjie Hall was founded in 1891 at the north of Shijia Bridge and now only the bridge is left.
To the south of the former hall site, Chen Luping’s Western style house and Zhu Limin’s garden are protected as intangible cultural relics inside the Jiading District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.
South Xiatang Street is 970 meters long and at the north end is a rice shop and a dock.
At the south end of the Shenjia Bridge is a Western-style house once owned by Pan Yangyao which Pan donated to the government in 1949 after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It now serves as the office of the district committee of local political advisers. The house is inside Jiading Villa.
Huilongtan, a scenic lake in Jiading Town, is at the west of South Xiatang Street.
After 1980s, the north section of North Xiatang Street and south section of the South Xiatang Street have been included into gated neighborhoods.
East Xiatang Street
East Xiatang Street is 416 meters long, the shortest of all xiatang streets but it has the most well-preserved stone road.
Xichun Bridge is in the south of City God Temple of Jiading Town and connects the street and a lane. Southwest of the lane is Huang Chunyao’s former residence, the hero who led Jiading people to rise up against the Qing Dynasty.
East Xiatang Bridge is in the middle of City God Temple and Yangshu River and it used to be a favorite spot for tourists but the Japanese Invaders bombed the region in the 1930s destroying the area to force the rich people to run away so the place’s prosperity only exists in people’s memories.
The east section of West Xiatang Street is a gated neighborhood and a supermarket but the west section still preserves some its former appearance.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
