The old street originated in the Song Dynasty, and became the material distribution center of Huizhou in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At first, the old street was just a winding street called "Bajia Station". Now the road next to the old Tunxi Bridge is where Bajia Station used to be. It can be said that this is the real entrance to Tunxi Old Street and the birthplace of the whole Tunxi. From the "Bajia Station" in the west to the inscription on the memorial archway of the old street in the east, the whole old street is 65438+. The sidewalk is paved with large pieces of ochre. Many buildings on both sides of Tunxi Old Street inherited the style of Lin 'an (today's Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, thanks to Song Huizong. When he moved the capital, he collected many Huizhou craftsmen to build Song Cheng. After the craftsmen built Song Cheng, they returned to their hometown to build shops in imitation of Song Dynasty, so Tunxi Old Street is also called "Song Cheng Today". The houses on both sides of the old street not only inherit the architectural style of the Southern Song Dynasty, but also reflect the characteristics of Huizhou architecture. These houses are small in area, elegant in color and exquisite in shape. The white horse-headed wall, the roof covered with small blue tiles, the beautifully carved casks on the windowsill, and the octagonal exquisite lamps hanging on the lintel all reveal the rich ancient charm of Huizhou.
As shops, most of the buildings on both sides of the old street are designed as front shop backyard, front shop backyard, front shop backyard, or downstairs shop upstairs backyard. Shops facing the street are all flexible rows of doors. When the rows of doors are removed, the shops are fully unfolded, which is convenient for business. Houses with shops not facing the street adopt patio layout, that is, patio is used for lighting, which means "four waters return to the hall" and "gathering wealth". It is this elegant and rich architecture that makes Tunxi Old Street have the reputation of "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival".
The shops in Tunxi Old Street mainly sell antique calligraphy and painting, Four Treasures of the Study, bonsai root carving, and some local products and tourist souvenirs. There are many shops selling antiques. Most shopkeepers buy some antiques from local people to decorate their shops and sell them to tourists at the same time. However, these things are very expensive. A bronze mirror is said to be from Qianlong period, and the owner may charge 500 yuan. Tunxi Old Street also has some famous time-honored brands with a history of one hundred years, such as "Tongderen" pharmacy and tourists.
Tongderen Pharmacy was built in Tongzhi of Qing Dynasty for two years, with a history of 120 years. The layout of the storefront is still antique, the Chinese medicine business is still based on prescription management, and the weighing instruments seem to have some history. The most commendable thing here is the professionalism of the employees in the store.
When I was photographing the small scale weighing on the counter in the shop, an old buddy came over and told me how to put it correctly, saying that if I photographed the small scale wrongly, I would be laughed at by my peers. The landmark film "Little Flower" in China's film history was shot in Germany, which attracted directors from China and even the world to Tunxi Old Street. Up to now, more than 100 film and television works have been shot in Tunxi Old Street.
Wancui Building is the first private museum in the form of ancient buildings in China, and it is also the crystallization of its owner, Mr. Wan's collection and design for many years. Wan Cuilou was bought by Mr. Wan on 1996, which is mainly used for the display of private collections. The layout of the whole building and the cultural relics in each room were designed according to the Huizhou style, which took three years before and after. Wancui Building has four floors, the most interesting of which is.
The "Nine Hundred Ink Museum" in the lobby on the first floor mainly displays four famous inkstones and Four Treasures of the Study, especially an inkstone platform known as "the first inkstone in the world", which weighs more than 2,500 kilograms. Not far behind the front hall, an antique bridge was built by using the waterway in the house. There is a dragon algae above the bridge, and the dragon's mouth emits a cloud of light. The whole layout is taken from the concept of "a round of red sun and nine continents", which looks very unique: on the west side of the main hall, the duty room and bathroom are built in the way of "wearing clothes inside" in Huizhou garden courtyard.
The duty room is hung with "Antai" plaque, and the men's and women's toilets are hung with "stay green" and "stay in spring" plaque; The rooms in the back hall on the first floor are arranged according to the rooms of ordinary people in ancient Huizhou. In fact, seemingly random placement is very particular. There is an ancient clock in the middle of the table, a vase on the left and a mirror on the right. The placement of these three things actually expresses the desire of Huizhou people to "keep the clock (bottle) quiet (mirror) all their lives". In many ancient houses in Huizhou, such an ancient otaku culture is preserved.
On the second floor, the owner will show some works of art, such as porcelain, calligraphy and painting, where you can find many impromptu works of Chinese and foreign celebrities after visiting Wancui Building. On the third floor, Mr. Wan's living room is also a place to receive guests. If you are lucky enough to meet Mr. Wan at home, you can chat with this gentle old man for a while, which I believe will benefit a lot. There is a yard on the fourth floor overlooking Tunxi Old Street and the surrounding old houses.
Huangshan Painting and Calligraphy Institute and Tunxi Museum are both in Tunxi Old Street. Huangshan Painting and Calligraphy Institute will hold exhibitions of Chinese painting, oil painting, sculpture and calligraphy from time to time. Tunxi Museum is a government museum, which mainly collects furniture and some antique calligraphy and painting in Ming and Qing Dynasties. You can also go and have a look if you are interested.