“Hangzhou City Dragon Hunt Citywalk Plan” is Coming!

A long time ago, there was a jade dragon and a gold phoenix in the sky, and they found a piece of white jade on a fairy island. Together they "cut" and "polished" it into a bright pearl.

Wherever the auspicious light of the pearl shines, there will be beautiful mountains and clear waters, blooming flowers, and abundant harvests.

The Queen Mother of the West had somehow learned of this, and, desiring to have the pearl for herself, had sent out a heavenly troop to scramble for it. In the process, the pearl fell into the mortal world and transformed into the sparkling West Lake. The Jade Dragon and the Gold Phoenix followed the pearl to the mortal world and transformed themselves into the Jade Emperor Hill (Dragon Hill) and the Phoenix Hill. The two hills are joined, end to end, and forever guard West Lake.

If you visit the Zhejiang Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, you will see this legend about West Lake. To this day, an ancient ballad is still circulating in Hangzhou, "The pearl of the West Lake falls from the sky, and the dragon and the phoenix come to Qiantang (now Hangzhou)".

The dragon head-patterned jade bracelet from Liangzhu Culture, Longxiang (Dragon Flies) Bridge, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Cave, Longjing (Dragon Well) Village, Fuyang's Longmen (Dragon Gate) Ancient Town, Xiaoshan's Heshang Dragon Lantern Pageant, Jiande's Shouchang Dragon Dance... Hangzhou, a blessed land, has from time immemorial been closely associated with the dragon, which blesses the mountains and waters and the people of the land.

Do you know of any other dragon-related elements in Hangzhou?

To welcome the Jiachen Year of the Dragon, which happens once in 60 years, the 2024 "Song Dynasty" Blessing Hangzhou Year campaign that is organized by the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism is about to kick off.

We sincerely invite all citizens and visitors to participate in the first activity of the campaign, "Hangzhou City Dragon Hunt Citywalk Plan": seeing the city as a museum, slowing down your footsteps to explore streets and lanes, and hunting for dragon-related culture, geography, folk customs and Hangzhou-related memories of the Year of the Dragon.

01 Where is Hangzhou's earliest known dragon?

"Dragon is one of the important symbols of Chinese traditional culture. The culture of the Chinese nation admiring the dragon has a long-standing history and the culture is diverse and all co-exist." Shi Chao, an associate researcher at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, showed us various graphic and text materials that have been stored on his mobile phone for many years. "In ancient times, the dragon symbolized the supreme imperial power and the emperors (known as the true dragon and the son of the heaven); it also refers to the dragon king that can control wind and rain, and stands for good weather for the crops and the country in prosperity and the people at peace." It is the only mythological animal among the twelve zodiac signs. All people in the world want their children to have a bright future, and that is expressed as "wanting their children to become a dragon in the future" in China. Also, best wishes are integrated with expressions like "the vigor of a dragon or horse", "a lively dragon and an active tiger" and "the prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix".

It is difficult to identify the real facts about the dragon from the complex archaeological data. We can only speculate and demonstrate continually, so many hypotheses have been formed.

One of the famous theories is the "fusion theory" proposed by the modern scholar Wen Yiduo in his "Fu Xi Study". That is, the dragon, the totem of the Chinese civilization was formed after a long-term integration of various tribes in ancient China by mixing a part of each tribe's totem together. Hence it has the head of a lion, the horns of an ox, the snout of an alligator, the neck of a turtle, the body of a snake, as well as the scales of a fish, the palm of a tiger, the talons of an eagle, the tail of a goldfish, etc.

According to Mr. Shi Chao, according to archaeological studies, the earliest dragon-related cultural relics discovered in China were unearthed from the Xishuipo site in Puyang, Henan, dating back more than 6,400 years. On the east and west sides of the tomb owner, there are patterns of a dragon and a tiger made of clam shells. The oldest jade dragon is the Hongshan C-shaped dragon, which represents Hongshan culture.

So what about Hangzhou's earliest dragon? Where is it?

Reliefs, which feature the entire body of the dragon, can be seen on the Xumi Base of the two stone Buddhist scripture pillars that stand in front of the Hall of the Heavenly Kings on the east and west sides, respectively, in Lingyin Temple. They are perhaps one of the oldest extant dragon images in Hangzhou that can be seen in person.

The two stone pillars were built in 969, the second year of the Kaibao Years of the Northern Song Dynasty by the king of the Wuyue Kingdom. It was originally placed in the interior of the Fengxian Temple, a family temple of the King Qians, before being relocated to its current location by the then abbot of the Lingyin Temple, Yan Shan, in 1035, the second year of the Jingyou Year of the Song Dynasty. They jointly witnessed the last sadness and the determination of the King of the Wuyue Kingdom before the Wuyue Kingdom "surrendered its land to the Song Dynasty".

02 The dragon is the messenger carrying ancient emperors' prayers for rain to the Dragon King by the West Lake. It is also the patron saint of Gongchen Bridge, and it has strengthened the roof of Deshou Palace.

Historically, although the Wuyue Kingdom only existed for 72 years in troubled times, it set the 1000-year-old tone and style for Hangzhou, leaving behind cultural landmarks such as Leifeng Pagoda, Liuhe Pagoda, and Baochu Pagoda, in turn, earning the city the reputation of "Paradise on Earth". The various dragons hidden throughout the city also tell stories of the glorious culture of the past.

Anyone who has been to the Zhejiang Provincial Museum may have been impressed by a majestic little golden dragon.

In the 1950s, during a large-scale dredging and filling of West Lake, a golden dragon and silver slips from the Wuyue Kingdom were unearthed. The former was preserved to this day as the "messenger" of "Toulong (Giving text slips to the Dragon King to pray and remove ill fortune) Slips" and is housed inside the Provincial Museum.

“Toulong” is an ancient ritual for the emperors to pray for good luck and remove ill fortune. Emperors carved their wishes on silver slips, such as prayers for rain in drought years, and threw them into mountains and rivers together with the golden dragon (there were also the silver dragon and the bronze dragons). They believed that the golden dragon would bring the silver slips to the god.

West Lake was known in ancient times as Qiantang Lake. The people at that time believed that the Dragon King lived in the lake. As early as the Tang Dynasty, the Jiaze Dragon King Temple was built on the lake, where offerings were made in the spring and autumn seasons to pray for good weather and bumper years. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, "Toulong" ceremonies had been held every time there was a severe drought.

Also, in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum collection is a gilt bronze statue of Sakyamuni from the Wuyue Kingdom. It is the largest statue among the relics unearthed from the Leifeng Pagoda. In the lower part of the Xumi Base, a dragon is seen wrapped around a dragon pillar, showing its teeth and claws in a lifelike manner.

Dragon has an extremely large mythological family and a wide range of folk beliefs. It also embodies the ancient Chinese's perception and aesthetics of the world. "For example, the Kangjin Dragon is one the twenty-eight constellations in Chinese mythology, the Green Dragon in the 'Four Gods' represents the east... In the Ming and Qing dynasties, ceramics were largely decorated with dragon patterns, and dragon patterns-featured Ming and Qing ceramics are commonly seen in major museums in Hangzhou." Mr. Shi Chao continued to explain.

As a derivative legend, the "Nine Sons of the Dragon" is widely circulated. Most of them appear as auspicious ornaments on buildings and daily necessities. You may have come across them inadvertently many times.

Under Gongchen Bridge, there are four mythical beasts on the anti-collision piers in the water. One of them is Baxia, also known as Gongfu. It is said to be most fond of water, and for this reason, is often placed on the top of the balustrades of stone bridges, and has become the patron saint of ancient bridges. Bixi, excavated from the Hanhui Pavilion in Hupao, is also one of the nine sons of the dragon. It symbolizes longevity, good luck and immortality, and often serves as the base of stone monuments. The fallen leave-made dragon outside the red walls of Deshou Palace has become a new Internet celebrity, but do you know that the Chiwen on the main ridge of the main hall of Deshou Palace is the ninth of the "Nine Sons of the Dragon"? It serves the purpose of adorning and strengthening the ridge of the roof...

As the Year of the Dragon approaches, some young people have begun to post their newly bought Aoyu (a mythological creature with the head of a dragon, the body of a fish and four feet) lanterns on social media platforms, taking the auspicious meaning of "being the best". Mr. Shi Chao said, "Images showing this kind of creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a fish can also be seen in the well-preserved brick carvings from the Song Dynasty in Liuhe Pagoda."

03 Hangzhou invites you to join the "Hangzhou City Dragon Hunt"

Do you know of any other elements associated with dragons in Hangzhou? As an important part of the 2024 "Song Dynasty" Blessing Hangzhou Year Campaign, the "Hangzhou Dragon Hunt Citywalk Plan" activity to be launched soon is waiting for all citizens and tourists to participate: All are invited to look for the dragon-related aspects of Hangzhou during the walk such as geography, culture, history and folk customs, as well as Hangzhou-related memories of the Year of the Dragon, and leave a message to tell us about it.

At the end of soliciting, Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism will select more than 30 "dragon" themed experience contents and produce an online hand-painted long scroll "Hangzhou Dragon Hunt". At the time, citizens and visitors could click on the long scroll to interact and experience.

"Dragon" themed citywalk experience points will also be selected from them. Focusing on these experience points, it is planned to launch ten "Dragon Hunt for a Prosperous Year" citywalk routes at the launch ceremony in late January, including Good Luck in a Row, One Night's Fish and Dragon Dance, Descendants of the Dragon, Dragon Hunting Treasures, etc., bringing stories of the dragon into people’s everyday life from a new perspective. By choosing a route you are interested in, you can start a "Dragon Hunt Tour in Hangzhou" with your family and friends during the Spring Festival and hope for a prosperous Year of the Dragon.

In addition to the city-wide dragon hunt, the 2024 "Song Dynasty" Blessing Hangzhou Year Campaign will also launch the "1+6+X" section, which includes a total of 264 activities and 83 special products.

This includes the unique New Year interactive experience of "welcoming dragons and sending blessings", a series of special tourism product promotions and other activities, such as the Hangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Grand Canal Umbrella New Year Goodies Festival, Qinghefang Street “Year of the Dragon” Spring Festival Parade Lantern Festival, Deshou “Year of the Dragon” Spring Festival Aesthetic Art Exhibition, Spring Festival Praying for Luck Conference and Gongshu District's 18th "New Year Luck • Pray for Blessings" walking activity, etc. Stay tuned for more information on the campaign and a Hangzhou New Year filled with Song Dynasty culture.

04 #Hangzhou Dragon Hunt# Participation Method

Activity time: From now until 24:00 on January 16, 2024

Way of participation:

1. Download the App of "橙柿互动"; click "橙友圈" on the navigation bar at the bottom of the homepage and find the "旅行– 出去玩" section;

2. Use the hashtag #杭州寻龙记# to share the dragon-related elements you saw in Hangzhou: it can be scenic spots, place names, cultural relics, food, plays, intangible cultural heritage items, folk activities, etc.; share it in the form of pictures, texts or videos (please attach a short description).

Prizes:

Fifteen participants will be selected based on the quality of their posts and number of likes, and each will receive a New Year tea set.