Ancient sea dyke in Fengxian to be developed into heritage park
Print Edition
A historic flood prevention wall in the city’s southern outskirt will be developed into a heritage park, along with a number of other nearby historical and cultural sites.
The 4-kilometer-long remains of the Huating Ancient Stone Dyke in Fengxian District, dubbed the “Great Wall on the Sea,” has also applied to be listed as a national cultural heritage site, said Zhuang Mudi, the Party secretary of Fengxian.
The dyke, located in the district’s Zhelin Town, originally stretched 33 kilometers along Hangzhou Bay. The bulk of the structure was built in 1713 to stave off both flood waters and pirates.
The surviving section was unearthed at the seaside area in 1996. Built with four layers of stone bricks, it is about a meter high and follows the outline of the coastline to resist flooding more effectively, said Zhuang.
“I always recommend tourists from both home and abroad to also visit the ‘Great Wall on the Sea’ in Fengxian, Shanghai, apart from the wall in Beijing,” Zhuang said in an interview with the city’s radio station yesterday. The dyke in Fengxian is slated to become a “maritime Great Wall heritage park,” he added.
People began building flood prevention walls along the coastline in the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Local people originally used clay for these walls, but then switched to more durable stone materials, said Liu Hongjun, a history professor at Shanghai Institute of Technology.
Dyke building technology was further improved in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when the stone wall was also used to resist Japanese pirates, Liu said.
The most solid section of the dyke was built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) with granite bricks, Liu said. Part of this section remains in Zhelin today.
However, the dyke was later buried by the passage of time and its history was forgotten, even among many nearby residents, Liu said. It was listed as a city-level cultural heritage site in 2002.
Other historical sites will be developed along with the dyke to form a cluster of cultural relics in the southern outskirts, Zhuang said. These include the East Sea Guanyin Temple, dating back to the early Ming Dynasty, and the historic Wanfoge Temple.
Several new cultural landmarks will also be built around those historical venues, Zhuang said.
One highlight, the Nine Tree Art Center in Nanqiao Town, is set to become a major cultural landmark in the southern suburb. The center, designed by French architect and designer Frederic Rolland, is set to serve as one of the main sites for the opening of the national art festival. It will open to the public in October 2019.
The art center will be surrounded by a forest park and feature outdoor concert halls, Zhuang said.
Furthermore, the Fengxian Urban Museum, which includes the district’s urban planning exhibition hall, will be completed in September 2018. It will showcase both the history and future of Fengxian, as well as becoming an important public venue for residents.
Shanghai Fish Lake — also know as Jinhai Lake — will be completed in 2019. It’s the city’s largest artificial lake, covering 8.74 square kilometers, and is designed to be an iconic scenic lake, not only for Fengxian but the city at large, according to the district government.
Over 100 parks will be built across the district within five years and open to residents with themes such as recreation, culture, sports and health, Zhuang said.
The district is also developing itself into an “Oriental Beauty Valley” that will develop and promote local cosmetic brands globally and help turn the city into Asia’s largest “beauty and health” industry center.
The valley aims to be on par with France’s Cosmetic Valley in Ile-de-France and Japan’s Saito Life Science Park in northern Osaka, the district government said.
- 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.
