Editor’s observe: “Ancient Towns in Shanghai” is the primary installment in a sequence of books below the banner “Jiangnan from the Perspective of Cultural Relics” produced by the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Conservation and Research Center and printed by Tongji University Press. The e book options 11 historic cities, specializing in their origins and cultural connotations. The following is an excerpt:

Jiangnan, actually “south of the river,” is the title given to the area south of the decrease reaches of China’s Yangtze River, and is one among three main cultural manufacturers in Shanghai, holding profound connotations and timeless appeal. From historic cities to historical structure, Shanghai has lengthy nurtured its distinctive Jiangnan cultural traits. The “Jiangnan from the Perspective of Cultural Relics” sequence explores this tradition from six points: previous cities, gardens, bridges, pagodas, temples and halls, and conventional residences. The first e book within the sequence, “Ancient Towns in Shanghai,” seems to be on the essence of Jiangnan tradition to higher perceive town’s evolution into the bustling metropolis we see at the moment.

Shanghai’s shoreline alongside the East China Sea started taking form greater than 6,000 years in the past, spanning at the moment’s districts of Jiading, Qingpu, Songjiang, Minhang, and Jinshan. In the Qin and Western Han dynasties, round 200 B.C., the realm was a part of the Kuaiji commandery, with the title “Huating” — now modern-day Songjiang District — first showing in historic information throughout the subsequent Eastern Han dynasty, which is when farming and water conservancy actions started to develop within the area.

The area prospered within the Tang dynasty (618–907), particularly in locations across the Wusong River, comparable to Qinglong Port and the city heart of the then Songjiang prefecture, in addition to Jiading County to the north. The areas at the moment comprising Pudong and Fengxian districts step by step developed salt fields and noticed building of army garrisons. With rivers serving as the primary transportation routes, buying and selling hubs shaped, and shops and residences have been constructed alongside the waterfront, step by step creating into conventional market cities throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Most of those market cities have been engaged in cotton textiles and rice manufacturing, with some turning into regional commerce facilities, comparable to Zhujiajiao and Fengjing. Pudong’s market cities profited from salt manufacturing, fishing, agriculture, and textiles because of their coastal location.

The atmosphere and financial construction of those market cities formed their layouts, city improvement, and architectural kinds. Trade actions led to the formation of lengthy streets, whereas the developed water methods resulted within the building of bridges, docks, and embankments. The integration of city structure with rivers, water methods, and fields added a various and complicated texture to Jiangnan market cities. Residential buildings primarily exhibited the standard Jiangnan model, with whitewashed partitions and grey tiles. Later, because of inhabitants migration and business exchanges, architectural parts such because the Huizhou horse head wall and folding display partitions started to be included, showcasing Shanghai’s open and inclusive nature. After the opening of the Qinglong Port, constructing supplies used within the West, together with coloured glass and mosaic tiles, have been additionally launched and adopted, presenting a cultural attribute of “fusing East and West.”

While materials civilization was taking form within the Shanghai space, non secular civilization within the type of artwork and literature was additionally creating. Huating was the birthplace of the literary figures Lu Ji and Lu Yun, whereas Qinglong was residence to famend artisans and intellectuals comparable to Su Shi and Mi Fu. The Songjiang Painting School, led by Dong Qichang (1555–1636), dominated the artwork world within the late Ming period with its open and indifferent model, profoundly influencing the route of Chinese portray.

The metropolis’s tradition can also be mirrored in intangible cultural heritage comparable to festivals, handicrafts, delicacies, and clothes. The farm track of Qingpu, bamboo carving of Jiading, straw weaving of Xuhang, steamed xiaolong buns of Nanxiang, woolen embroidery of Gaoqiao, and dragon boat rituals of Luodian exhibit not solely the life-style, mindset, and aesthetic style of the Shanghai space in historical instances but additionally the cultural traits of its market cities, which have been influenced by agrarian civilization and included parts of maritime civilization.

Some of Shanghai’s conventional cities have endured, largely in Jinshan, Qingpu, Pudong, Jiading, and Baoshan. These embrace 11 well-preserved websites with wealthy historic worth that, since 2015, have been honored as “national famous historical and cultural towns.” In addition to presenting historic context, the cities type a necessary a part of Shanghai’s city character and the muse for its future, taking part in an essential position in shaping town’s spirit and enhancing its smooth energy.

In current years, the municipal authorities in Shanghai have explored and promoted methods to allow residents and guests to discover town’s historical past and expertise its cultural imprints by “reading its architecture.” “Ancient Towns in Shanghai” compiles the historic origin, cultural connotations, and worth of those historical cities, introduces key cultural relics, and combines images and drawings to objectively current the Jiangnan tradition in a number of contexts. It hopes to seize Jiangnan’s historical cities in addition to tales of Shanghai’s previous, permitting town’s appeal to be loved around the globe.

Zhujiajiao Town

Zhujiajiao Town, nestled on the shore of Shanghai’s western Dianshan Lake, is called the “Pearl of Jiangnan” and boasts many rivers and bridges, in addition to buildings and cultural relics from the Ming and Qing dynasties. A affluent market city, outlets of varied sizes line either side of its predominant streets. Walking in its historical lanes and alleyways, winding paths result in massive homes the place many celebrities and students have been born and raised.

The land on which the city stands is believed to have risen from the water round 7,000 years in the past. The space already had village communities throughout the Warring States interval (475–221 B.C.), and within the Song and Yuan dynasties it was residence to a market often called Zhujiacun.

The buildings in Zhujiajiao are largely characterised by grey tiles and white partitions, though a number of houses have been renovated because the first half of the twentieth century utilizing Western-style tiles.

Zhujiajiao is understood for its farm track of Qingpu, acknowledged as a Chinese nationwide intangible cultural heritage. It can also be residence to a conventional boat-rocking exercise, the Handalong sauce and fermented pickle store, a novel type of martial arts, the “bull horn dance,” and straw weaving.

Fangsheng Bridge

Initially in-built 1571, within the early reign of the Ming dynasty’s Emperor Longqing, and later reconstructed in 1812 throughout the Qing dynasty, Fangsheng Bridge is the biggest, longest, and highest five-arch stone bridge remaining in Shanghai at the moment.

This grand and delicately designed bridge spans the Caogang River on the japanese finish of Zhujiajiao. Its stone carvings exhibit distinctive craftsmanship, and on the east facet of the southern finish is a pavilion with three inscribed steles.

Kezhi Garden

Kezhi Garden is the biggest manor-style backyard structure within the historical city and consists of three components: the corridor, the rockery, and the backyard. Its distinctive format consists of greater than 200 buildings and dwelling quarters.

Chenghuang Temple

Chenghuang Temple is devoted to the City God, who's believed to guard the native space and its folks. It initially stood within the south of Zhujiajiao Town, beside Xuejia Creek. However, in 1763, throughout the reign of Emperor Qianlong, it was relocated to its present location.

The elegant format options 12 predominant points of interest, with the primary gate, a stage, and a corridor, with wing rooms to the perimeters positioned within the heart. In January 1964, the rear corridor and the bedchambers have been burned down. By 1985, the pavilions, towers, rockeries, and water ponds had additionally disappeared, however the primary buildings stay comparatively intact.

Former Site of the Qing Dynasty Post Office

The website was initially established as a personal communication station throughout the time of the Qing Emperor Tongzhi (1862–74). Later, shortly earlier than the tip of the nineteenth century, the imperial court docket of Emperor Guangxu established a nationwide postal service, and the location started dealing with all mail companies within the Shanghai space.

The two-story brick and wooden construction faces north. It has three bays and contains a European-style exterior façade, overlaying an space of about 70 sq. meters. Outside the primary entrance is a bronze-cast dragon-shaped mailbox, an imitation of the type used throughout the Qing period.

Dongjing Teahouse

Built within the late Qing dynasty, the Dongjing Teahouse was as soon as the Dagong Fair Rice Store. This brick and wooden construction faces north and consists of back and front buildings related on either side. Both the higher and decrease ranges of the south facet have six home windows with flower-embedded glass, whereas the north facet has a brick-carved ceremonial gate. It has Guanyin gable partitions and colonnades back and front, with palace-style hanging ornaments in its galleries.

Tongtianhe Chinese Pharmacy

Tongtianhe Chinese Pharmacy is the oldest pharmacy in Zhujiajiao Town. It was established by the rich Tong, a service provider household from Ningbo within the japanese Zhejiang province, throughout the Qing dynasty.

The constructing faces west and has an irregular two-story, two-yard format. It step by step decreases in dimension towards the east, with small courtyards back and front, overlaying greater than 200 sq. meters. The storefront going through the road contains a tall firewall, with a conventional shikumen entrance within the center, above that are 5 golden characters that learn “Tongtianhe Chinese Pharmacy.”

The constructing has well-preserved conventional counters, medicinal utensils, and drugs cupboards, embodying the standard model and look of an historical Chinese pharmacy. Many well-known medical doctors of conventional Chinese drugs practiced right here, together with Jin Naisheng and Ye Zhilian.

Handalong Sauce and Pickle Shop

The store, established within the early 1900s, has a typical design, with a retailer in entrance and a workshop to the rear. This west-facing brick and wooden construction at the moment features a entrance room, wing rooms, and again rooms, overlaying 250 sq. meters. The entrance of the so-called “Sauce Garden” is a big firewall with a shikumen entrance, adorned with a black double gate with iron nails. The colonnades of its two-story, three-bayed wing rooms are related to galleries in the back and front rooms, forming a hall, with a second courtyard in between.

Xi Family Residence

The Xi Family Residence was constructed between 1522 and 1566, throughout the Jiajing interval of the Ming dynasty. Later, the household’s descendants relocated from East Dongting Hill to Jiaoli, and by the Nineteen Thirties, they'd reached their tenth era, with a genealogical file of 27 branches and tons of of members. Notable figures from the household embrace Xi Yuqi, the founding father of the Shenbao newspaper; Xi Yufu, a newspaper tycoon; and the Qing mathematician Xi Gan.

The residence faces north, overlaying a complete space of 229 sq. meters. The surviving components embrace the entrance corridor, a brick-carved ceremonial gate, and back and front courtyards. The partitions surrounding the entrance courtyard are adorned with intricate brick-carved patterns, and there's a veranda behind the corridor. The pillars of the ceremonial gate characteristic water-grinded sq. bricks and are intricately carved with auspicious patterns.

This article is an edited excerpt from the e book “Jiangnan from the Perspective of Cultural Relics: Ancient Towns in Shanghai,” printed by Tongji University Press in 2024. It is republished right here with permission.

Editors: Xue Ni and Hao Qibao; contributions: Strapko Nastassia.

(In-text photographs: Courtesy of Tongji University Press)

(Header picture: An aerial view of Zhujiajiao, Shanghai, 2019. VCG)