Recently, the list of the second batch of Zhejiang provincial “Thousand-Year Ancient Town/Village” geographical name cultural heritage was released and Hangzhou has five places on the list, which are Xixing Street in Binjiang District, Linpu Town in Xiaoshan District, Dongzhiguan Village in Changkou Town, Fuyang District, and Wushi Village in Shouchang Town, Jiande City.
To be able to get the honor, these places must not only have a long history, but the name of these places must be used for thousands of years from ancient times to the present. The purpose of including geographical names in the cultural heritage protection list is to better protect these geographical names. These geographical names cannot be changed or revoked at will except for under special circumstances and legal procedures.
Xixing Street, Binjiang District
滨江区西兴街道
Xixing Street is located in the east of Binjiang District. Xixing was called “Guling (固陵)” and “Xiling (西陵)” in ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was the boundary between the State of Wu and the State of Yue and was the border of the State of Yue. It’s written in Volume 40 of “Shui Jing Zhu (水经注)” by Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty that “In the olden times, Fan Li (范蠡, a grand master of the State of Wu) built a fortress on the coast of Zhejiang, saying it can offer tenacious defense and named it “Guling (Tenacious Place)”, which is the current Xiling. The name “Xixing” was gained in the second year of Qianhua in the Later Liang Dynasty (912). According to Volume 1 of “Kuaiji Records (会稽志)” from Jiatai Years of the Southern Song Dynasty, “King Wu Su (Qian Liu) selected Qiantang (modern-day Hangzhou) as the capital. He thought that the name of Xiling was not auspicious (“ling” in Chinese means tomb), so he changed it to Xixing.” Xixing was established as a town in the Song Dynasty and in the December of 2003, it was changed into a street.
The old Xixingdu (西兴渡; Xixing Ferry) is a famous thousand-year-old ferry in Zhejiang. Xixing Wharf and Guotanghang Building Group (过塘行建筑群) are national key cultural relics protection units and important heritage sites of the World Cultural Heritage – Grand Canal. Xixing Old Street is one of the ten historically protected streets in Hangzhou.
Linpu Town, Xiaoshan District
萧山区临浦镇
Linpu Town is located in the south of Xiaoshan District. It is so named for its location of adjacent to Puyang River (浦阳江) and has a history of more than 1,000 years. Although it once belonged to Xiaoshan and Shanyin counties in history, it has always maintained regional integrity. According to legend, Xi Shi (西施), one of the four great beauties in ancient times, was born in Zhuluo Village* (苎萝村) in Linpu Town. Linpu still well preserves “Xi Shi Historic Sites”, including Fan Li Temple (范蠡庵), Yumeishi Gate (浴美施闸), Xi Shi Temple, and Zhuluo Pavilion (苎萝亭), Houjiang Temple (后江庙) and other historical buildings. They are arranged according to the clues derived from the stories of the Spring and Autumn Period.
*Some say that Xi Shi was born in Zhuji.
As it is close to the Puyang River and the water transportation is very convenient, Linpu has been the main distribution center for grain and goods along the river since ancient times. Its streets are designed to facilitate business and trade, and gradually form a pattern of “the rice rack street” that crosses horizontally and vertically, connects streets and lanes, and is functional and convenient. It still basically maintains the street pattern of an ancient town.
Shouchang Town, Jiande City
建德市寿昌镇
Shouchang Town is located in the southwest of Jiande City. Xinchang County was established in the fourth year of Wu Huangwu of the Three Kingdoms Period (225). In the first year of Emperor Taikang of the Western Jin Dynasty (280), Xinchang County was changed to Shouchang County, which means “to prolong life, prosper the country and the people”, and Shouchang has since been named. In November 1958, Shouchang County was revoked and merged into Jiande County and became a town. The town continues to use the name of Shouchang.
Shouchang has a profound cultural heritage and numerous cultural relics, including ancient buildings such as The Hongs’ Ancestral Hall (洪家祠堂), Fangbo Di* (方伯第), and Ziwei Di (紫薇第), ancient residences such as the Former Residence of Fang Tongsheng (方桐生故居) and the Former Residence of Ye Yongqing (叶永清故居), ancient sites such as Wulong Temple (乌龙庙) and Heshen Temple (合神庙), and ancient bridges such as Huitong Bridge (会通桥). Shouchang has a beautiful environment and is home to the Shouchang West Lake, which enjoys the reputation of “Of the thirty-six West Lakes in the world, Shouchang possesses one of them”.
*Di refers to the residence of a high official in ancient China.
Dongziguan Village, Changkou Town, Fuyang District
富阳区场口镇东梓关村
Dongziguan Village is located in the west of Changkou Town, Fuyang District. It was once named Qingcaoguan (literal meaning: Qingcao Pass; simplified Chinese: 青草关) and Dongzisai (literal meaning: Dongzi Pass; simplified Chinese: 东梓塞). During the Liusong period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sun Yao (孙瑶), a descendant of Sun Quan (孙权), relocated to Qingcaoguan. The village was named “Dongzi (East Catalpa)” because the branches of the catalpa on the grave of Sun Yao all bent eastwards. According to “Xianchun • Lin'an Records (咸淳•临安志)” by Qian Shuoyou of the Southern Song Dynasty, “Dongzipu, which is 51 li* southwest of the county and connects to Zhejiang in the east, is formerly known as Qingcaopu. The general Sun Yao of the Song Dynasty was buried here, and all the catalpa branches on his grave all bent eastwards, hence the name, Dongzi (simplified Chinese: 东梓；literal meaning: East Catalpa)”. In the 19th year of Hongwu’s reign of the Ming Dynasty (1386), the imperial court set up a patrol department in Dongzipu and sent troops to garrison it. It was then known as Dongzisai (Dongzi Fort) and later was renamed Dongziguan (Dongzi Pass).
Due to its superior geographical location and convenient water and land transportation, Dongziguan Village is known as the “First Pass of the East Current” of the Fuchun River and is a well-known millennium village along the Fuchun River. There are still more than 100 ancient buildings in the village from the end of Qing Dynasty to the beginning of the Republic of China Era, such as Anya Hall (安雅堂), Xujia No. 5 House (许家五房), Xujia No. 6 House (许家六房), Xujia Courtyard (许家大院), etc., as well as historical ruins such as Yueshi Temple (越石庙) and Guanchuan (Official Boat) Port (官船埠). The famous writer Yu Dafu went to Dongziguan in 1932 to find the famous doctor Xu Shanyuan (许善元) for the treatment of lung disease. He lived in the Xujia Courtyard for more than a month and created the novel “Dongziguan” based on the experience.
Wushi Village, Shouchang Town, Jiande City
建德市寿昌镇乌石村
Wushi Village is located in Shouchang Town, Jiande City, and was formerly called Wugang Village (乌冈村). It is named after the fact that the majority of mountain rocks are black (“Wu” literally means "black" in Chinese). The village is dominated by the people with the surname of Xu and is the settlement of the Xu clan. According to “The Genealogy of the Xu Clan (徐氏宗谱)”, in the twelfth year of Tang Yuanhe (817), Xu Shao moved from Gutang in Xixiang, Lanxi, to Wushi Village in Shouchang, which is the beginning of the Jiande Xu clan.
Due to its remote location, Wushi Village has been less affected by wars in history and has not been impacted by economic development. The original form of the village is well preserved. The street and lane system in Wushi Village is mainly “one vertical street and two horizontal lanes”. All streets and lanes are paved with bluestone. The ancient buildings are mainly in Huizhou style with brick and wood structures and horse-head-shaped walls. It is elegant and dignified. There are 2 ancient ancestral halls of the Ming Dynasty, 15 ancient houses of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and 1 ancient well. The village has a profound cultural background and has successively produced two Jinshi (simplified Chinese: 进士; literal meaning: people passed the country-level imperial exam). The two ancient ancestral halls of the Ming Dynasty–Fangbo Di and Ziwei Di, respectively, were built by the Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Sheng (徐昇) and Xuzhuang (徐庄).