April 13, 2009, Monday
Hangzhou is not only a famous city for its natural scenery but also one of the six ancient capitals in China. Although it served as the capital for a short period and did not leave behind any splendid palaces or majestic city towers, it still left a significant mark in history.
The Qinghefang area at the foot of Wushan Mountain has always been a bustling part of Hangzhou. During the Southern Song Dynasty, this place was lined with shops, taverns, and teahouses, attracting merchants from all over. It was the center of political and cultural activities in Hangzhou. Next to Hechang Street was originally Emperor Gaozong's residence. Zhang Jun, a grand tutor during the Southern Song Dynasty, achieved remarkable military success against the Jin army and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Qinghe. He built the Qinghe Marquis Palace on Taiping Lane of Hechang Street, hence the street's name "Qinghefang Street."
At 8:52 PM, Huichun Hall on Hechang Street.
Huichun Hall was founded during the Shunzhi era of the Qing dynasty, more than three hundred years ago, as an old traditional Chinese medicine hall. Its name symbolizes "the miraculous ability to restore health."
Further ahead, on the south side, there is a tall wall inscribed with large characters in traditional regular script reading "Huinengyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hall."
Huinengyutang is as renowned as Beijing's Tongrentang, often referred to as "Tongrentang in the north, Qingyutang in the south." Interestingly, Huinengyutang was established earlier than Tongrentang by the famous red-topped merchant Hu Xueyan.
Inside the high walls lies the best-preserved ancient traditional Chinese medicine hall in China, a complete cluster of commercial buildings from the Qing dynasty. In contrast, the ancient structures and original workshops of Beijing's Tongrentang have not survived. Unfortunately, I missed the opening hours for a visit and could only see the boundary wall from a side alley.
Hechang Street retains its historical prosperity and vibrancy: on the northern side, there are several time-honored teahouses. Decorated in Ming-Qing style, through the carved windows, you can see Yue Opera performances while tea connoisseurs enjoy their aromatic teas, truly delightful!
Hangzhou is rich in traditional crafts and specialties, and Hechang Street gathers numerous century-old brands. Zhang Xiaquan scissors, Wangxingji fans, West Lake oil-paper umbrellas, Du Jingsheng brocade...the variety is dazzling.
The "Song Dynasty Sandbag" game involves hitting a wooden sculpture of Qin Hui with sandbags. For ten yuan, I played once and won a wooden slingshot, hehe.
Hechang Street has many branches with numerous ancient buildings and celebrities' former residences. I didn't explore them all.
This lane is brightly lit; looking up, the archway reads "Qianhuang Collection," presumably a place for buying and selling artworks and antiques.
As the saying goes, "antiques flourish in peaceful times, gold in turbulent ones." The Southern Song court, content with the status quo and indulging in pleasures, likely took great delight in appreciating antiques.
Walking along, I saw many folk crafts. For example, micro-carvings on small jade pieces featuring the poem "Nostalgia for Jiangnan":
Jiangnan is beautiful, its scenery familiar to me. At sunrise, the flowers by the river shine redder than fire; in spring, the water turns green like lapis lazuli. How can one not yearn for Jiangnan?
Recalling Jiangnan, what I miss most is Hangzhou. Searching for osmanthus seeds under the moonlight at the mountain temple, watching the tides from the pavilion. When will I revisit?
"The Magic Picture Show" business is purely a scam, zxy_Sina Blog! For five yuan, you watch once and feel deceived, yet the experience feels amusingly laughable. Inside the wooden box, you can see scenes like Wu Song fighting the tiger and Zhu Bajie abducting a bride... You might feel curious and want to take a look even if you know it’s a trick.
Close to the west end of Hechang Street, Baohetang is quite interesting. They placed a statue of Xu Xian at the entrance with a wooden sign that reads:
Xu Xian (the protagonist in the Chinese four great folk legends 'The Legend of the White Snake,' an apprentice at Baohetang Pharmacy), in early spring, amidst continuous drizzle, Xu Xian walks towards the West Lake, entering a thousand-year love story on the Broken Bridge...
After seeing the micro-carving, I encountered a nut carving. The "Record of a Walnut Boat" I read before refers to this craft. Popular in Suzhou and Yangzhou, nut carvings use peach pits, apricot kernels, and olive pits to create art pieces, made into pendants, fan attachments, and beads for scholars to appreciate.
Picking up a string of nut carvings, gently shaking them produces a clicking sound as they collide. The shopkeeper introduced that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, royalty and wealthy young men enjoyed appreciating nut carvings. The following two photos show olive pit carvings and peach pit carvings. The store also sells larger hand-rubbing walnuts made from hickory nuts, which strengthen the body when rubbed between the palms!
Folk crafts are so creative, reaching extraordinary levels of craftsmanship and artistic realms. A stroll through Hechang Street leaves deep impressions.
"An eight-hundred-li lake and mountain landscape, known since what year as a painting, ten-thousand-household fires all converge here on these terraces." This is a true evaluation of the prosperity of ancient Hangzhou's Qinghefang area.
To be continued, more pictures are stored in the space album...