Old village wins place on heritage site listing
January 15, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
XIATANG Village in Sijing Town recently won official listing among China's "traditional ancient villages" - part of a nationwide campaign to preserve heritage sites, some on the verge of extinction.
The northeastern Songjiang District watertown has a history dating back almost 1,000 years. It was originally sited in an area crisscrossed by rivers, ponds and canals.
The architecture of its old homes features the strong styles of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
Ancient Xiatang locals believed a giant dragon lay under the town's river. They constructed three stone bridges across the river and built a seven-story tower on its banks - forming a bow and arrow configuration designed to suppress the dragon.
The cobblestone streets are still intact, but a 1.5-kilometer wooden corridor that passed along the front doors of households was lost in urban development. The corridor protected locals from the rain and provided shade during the summer.
A preservation blueprint for Xiatang calls for renovating old houses, restoring the long corridor with vintage timbers and repairing roofs and brick walls. Two restored residences are due to open to the public this year.
Xiatang was the native village of many famous sons, including newspaper tycoon Shi Liangcai (1880-1934) and Ma Xiangbo (1840-1939), an educator and one of the founders of Fudan University.
Plans also are afoot to protect and promote some of the heritage arts, such as luogushu opera and shadow plays.
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