Time has passed quietly in our life and only leaves marks on those seemingly lifeless stones. Historical buildings built of these lifeless stones are great sources for us to reminisce about history. So let’s embark on a journey to explore history on these historical buildings.
Ancieng Fengshan Gate
Fengshan Gate, one of the Hangzhou’s ancient city gates, is the southern city gate of Hangzhou in ancient times. It is so named for its location near Fenghuang Mountain (Feng Huang Shan). Follow the Zhongshan South Road (simplified Chinese: 中山南路; pinyin: zhong he nan lu) to the south until reaching the intersection of Zhonghe Road (simplified Chinese: 中河路; pinyin: zhong he lu) and you will see the Fengshan Water Gate spanning Zhonghe River(中河).
The water of Qiantang River flows to Fengshan Water Gate through Longshan River (龙山河) and enters the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal from Wulinmen (武林门) Water Gate after flowing through the city in crisscross waterways in the city. Fengshan Water Gate is not just the northern point of Longshan River, but also the gateway of the Grand Canal to Qiantang River. In 2014, Fengshan Water Gate was listed as an intangible cultural heritage for being a part of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Dynasties change and people die and were born. As the only real ancient city wall and city gate, the hole of Fengshan Water Gate is like a window to dust-laden history and shows us an olden-time memory.
Old Site of Haicao Temple
During the Wanli Years of the Ming Dynasty, the eminent monk in Hangzhou, Master Lianchi, asked his disciples to build a large temple beside the embankment outside Caoqiao Gate in the ancient city to for the purpose of spreading Buddhism and benefit all people. Inside the temple, there are the hall of heavenly kings, the bell and drum tower and the great Buddha’s hall. Because it’s adjacent to the Qiantang River estuary, people in the temple can hear the sound of the ebb and flow of the tide both in the mornings and evenings, hence the name Haicao (Tide) Temple.
In 1944, Haicao Temple caught fire due to lightning stroke. The fire was so big and flames soarded into the sky that no one dared to fight the fire. The main buildings of the temple like Depository of Buddhist Sutras and the great Buddha’s hall were burned to the ground. Only the hall of heavenly kings, the scripture hall, monks’ dormitory and some ancient trees survived the fire.
Now, the hall of heavenly kings of Haicao Temple, as one of the few existing Qing-dynasty wooden temple hall with double eaves, is a precious material to study the history of Buddhism and temple architecture in Hangzhou and it has been inscribed on the list of Hangzhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Unit.
With time passes, these priceless historical buildings, symbolizing cultural marks and embodying the elements of civilization, blend into the vicissitudes of the city and people’s blood vessels.
Those weathered bricks, tiles and stones are nothing ordinary or cold. They hide in the crisscross streets and lanes of the city, lying there quietly, and waiting for people to explore.
Wansong Academy
Wansong Academy was originally built in 1498, the 11th year of Hongzhi’s Reign of the Ming Dynasty. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides with the fourth side facing water. It used to be the largest and the most influential gathering place of scholars with longest history in Zhejiang Province. It was ranked as one of the Top Four Academies of Hangzhou.
Many famous Chinese scholars have been lectured here, including Wang Yangming (王阳明) of the Ming Dynasty, Qi Zhaonan (齐召南) and Qin Yin (秦瀛) of the Qing Dynasty. For hundreds of years, Wansong Academy has cultivated a countless number of talents for Zhejiang, if not the entire country, and it enjoys a unique historical position and played an important role in the formation of the traditions of showing respect to teachers and attaching great importance to education of Hangzhou, the cultural and historical city.
Wansong Academy display not only the academy culture of the Ming Dynasty and what the imperial examination system was like, but also shows the visitors the tragic love story of the Butterfly Lovers (Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai) who studied threes together here in the academy. The Butterfly Lovers is one of the Top Four Folk Legends of China. The current Wansong Academy will host all sorts of traditional activities regularly to help pass down these historical stories.