After breakfast at the hotel, the group walked to Chaozhou Archway Street.
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Chaozhou Archway Street is located in the center of the ancient city. It is an ancient cultural street integrating intangible cultural heritage, traditional crafts, special snacks, etc. The characteristic building of Archway Street is a combination of Chinese and Western arcades. The 22 Chinese-style Ming and Qing stone archways stand in contrast to the Nanyang-style arcades on both sides. The arcade buildings with Nanyang architectural style were introduced in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, forming a unique hometown of overseas Chinese that combines Chinese and Western styles. style. The shops in the arcade of Paifang Street mainly focus on Chaozhou intangible cultural heritage: Chaozhou embroidery, hand-pulled pots, ceramics, Gongfu tea, etc., as well as Chaozhou delicacies: Chaozhou three treasures, beef hotpot, rice noodles, licorice fruits... When in Chaozhou, go there In Archway Street, you can learn about the past and present life of the ancient city of Chaozhou.
Chaozhou City was historically the political center of eastern Guangdong, where state, road and government administrations were located, and where many high-ranking officials gathered. After the Song Dynasty, talented people emerged in large numbers and humanities gathered together. Therefore, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, many archways were built in Chaozhou City.
According to relevant historical records, there were 91 archways in Chaozhou in history, including 39 on Taiping Road, 44 on other streets, and the rest in Jinshan, Hanshan, and Xiangzi Bridge. In addition, there are 57 archways in towns and villages, so people call it the "City of Archways". The archways concentrated on Taiping Road (Main Street) are mostly two pillars and one gate across the road. They are large in scale, row upon row, and unique in style. Because of its extraordinary momentum, it is known as "Armor Street".
Taiping Road and Dongmen Street are the sections with the highest concentration of ancient archways in Chaozhou. According to historical records, there are 39 stone archways on Taiping Road in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Among them, 34 were built in the Ming Dynasty and 5 were built in the Qing Dynasty. The earliest one was built in the 12th year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1517). The "Zhu Shi" Fang built by Xu Hongyou, the censor, was built in the 50th year of Qianlong's reign (1785) at the latest. It was the "Holy Dynasty Ambassador" Fang built for Zheng Dajin, the governor of Zhili.
Among the archways in Chaocheng, except for "Gongbao Shangshufang" and "Liuxianfang", which are wooden structures, "Shijingjie Xiaofang" and "Qiutaifang" which were rebuilt after collapse are made of bricks. , the rest are all stone structures. These archways have "two pillars and one door, or four pillars and three doors. They are made of stone with tops, pillars, beams and other small parts, and three stacks of archways are set up. On both sides of the plaque, some are decorated with stone carvings of 'Double Dragons Playing with Pearls' or 'Double Dragons Playing with Pearls'" "Dragon and phoenix scroll grass" and other decorations, and stone lions or stone drums inserted into the column bases are added to the sides of the columns. The trendy people commonly call them pavilions.
Due to natural and man-made factors in history, by the time Chaocheng was liberated in October 1949, there were 39 archways in existence, including 19 on Taiping Road, 3 on Ngee'an Road, and 13 on other streets and alleys. Jinshan and Hanshan 4 (quoted from the archived "Records of Chaozhou Ancient Archways in 1955"). In the photos of archways preserved in the museum, there are 17 archways on Taiping Road. The collapsed "Bai Sui Xiang Bin Fang"; Block 2, Ngee Ann Road, lacked "En Shen Guangdong Hai Fang", confirming that the above figures are accurate).
The remaining archways in Chaocheng were in disrepair and were loose and damaged. In addition, the content was "praising the virtues of feudal literati". Therefore, an accidental accident led to the destruction of the entire archway group. According to reports, on the afternoon of December 17, 1950, the "100-year-old Xiangbinfang" located at the entrance of Xiashuimen Street (commonly known as Xiashitou) suddenly collapsed, killing Xu Huankun, a passing postal worker. On the 19th, the first meeting of Chengguan Town, Chao'an County The Consultative Committee of the People's Congress convened people from all walks of life to discuss and approved the demolition of archways throughout the city and the establishment of a "Committee for Demolition of Abandoned Pavilions", which was submitted to the Chao'an County People's Government for approval and implementation. By April 1951, in addition to the three archways of "Yuebo", "Shenglang" and "Zhongjie", the Communist Party of China had demolished 36 archways in the city, and the two "Yuebo" and "Shenglang" archways were also difficult to demolish. To escape the misfortune of the "Cultural Revolution", only the "Zhongjie Fang" located on the second pillar and the first gate of Beima Road remained.
Regarding the reasons for the demolition, according to the Chengminzi No. 520 document submitted by the Chengguan Town People's Government to the county government, there are three reasons: first, "it obstructs traffic"; second, "it is in disrepair and is in disrepair." Yu; The third is that "during the air defense period, it is even more necessary to dismantle them."
In fact, in addition to the above reasons, there are also internal factors that affect business operations and "feudal content". Therefore, although the enlightened Liu Yishao proposed to preserve a few valuable archways or relocate them, they were not adopted. And although the resolution calls for intensive protection of components with cultural relic value, to this day, there are very few survivors.
After Chaozhou was listed as a national historical and cultural city in December 1986, with the establishment of the Famous City Office of a specialized agency and the improvement of people's understanding of history and culture, the restoration of Archway Street began to be put on the agenda. However, due to subjective and objective reasons The conditions are not yet met, so it cannot be implemented. After entering the 21st century, under the instigation of the "tourist city", a number of key projects such as the ancient city wall, East Gate Tower, and Guangji Bridge were started one after another. The restoration of Archway Street has once again become an important project in the construction of a famous city. With the attention of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government and the enthusiastic support of folks at home and abroad, planning and design began in 2004, and the foundation stone was officially laid in September of the same year. After 2 years of construction, the installation, acceptance and acceptance of the archway were basically completed by the end of 2007. Repair the arcades on both sides and lay stone pavement.
It is said that there are 22 ancient archways that have been restored, including 20 on Taiping Road (excluding the "Sanyang Gate" and "Ten Phases Recording Square" at the southern entrance that are planned to be added). Gate Street Block 2. In the restoration project, the principles of "original site, original appearance" and "original shape, original structure, raw materials, and original craftsmanship" were adopted. However, because only 15 of the 22 buildings have photos, and due to changes in the environment and layout considerations over half a century, Reasonable, so "original location, original appearance" can only be the majority in principle.
In April 2004, the restoration of Chaozhou Archway Street began, and 22 ancient archways were restored, including 20 on Taiping Road and 2 on Dongmen Street. The "Sanyang Gate" and "Ten Gate" were added. "Xiangliu Shengfang" 2 archways. The project was completed and officially opened to the public on October 1, 2009. It has become as famous as Guangji Bridge and a unique landmark attraction in the world. It is also the largest ancient archway street in China. Through the "central axis" of Archway Street, Chaozhou has gradually restored and built a cultural tourism center with diverse styles and rich content, which fully reflects the humanistic environment, historical features and economic life of Chaozhou's history and culture. It is divided into traditional cultural blocks and characteristic industries. Five major functional areas, including the tourist boutique block, the residential inn block, the snack street, and the entertainment and leisure block, are open to the outside world and are key tourist attractions in Chaozhou.
According to Engineer Qiu Chuangping, the main designer of the archway, among the 22 restored archways, 18 were built from 1517 to 1637 in the Ming Dynasty, and 4 were built from 1736 to 1785 in the Qing Dynasty. , 268 years before and after. The contents of the memorial arch include Zhuangyuan Square, Bangyan Square, Shangshu Square, Zhushi Square, Da Zongzhi Square, Fourth Jinshi Square, Qijun Square, as well as Ruifang of Mu Tianren who was a Jinshi at the age of 88, and Ke's father and son who were both Jinshi. Jiaji Meifang, Jinbang Lianfangfang, etc. The structure of the archway has 12 pillars, 8 pillars, and 4 pillars. It can withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8 and achieve the goal of "not being damaged by a large earthquake and not falling by a small earthquake." At the same time, based on the extensive collection of original archway components, *** used 42 original components, including the plaques of the three archways of "Qijun", "Cijin Chongguang" and "Mutianrenrui", as well as the imperial edict plaques and bluestones. Through carving, relief and other components.
The restoration of Chaocheng Archway has realized the dream of Chaozhou citizens for half a century and reflected the new atmosphere of the Great Governance Year; at the same time, it has restored an important traditional block in the famous city of Chaozhou, creating a unique cultural landscape in the country . This will have a significant impact on the protection and construction of historical and cultural cities and the development of tourism.
I really like the simplicity of life preserved in the ancient city.
Along the quaint streets, we walked all the way to Guangji Bridge, where the kapok blossoms were in full bloom.
Guangji Bridge, commonly known as Xiangzi Bridge, is located outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chaozhou, across the Han River, connecting the east and west banks, and was an important transportation link between Fujian and Guangdong in ancient times. Together with Zhaozhou Bridge, Luoyang Bridge and Lugou Bridge, it is also known as the famous ancient bridge in China.
The bridge integrates a beam bridge, a pontoon bridge and an arch bridge. It is an unique example in the history of Chinese bridges and a unique cultural relic tourist attraction. The ancients said that "if you don't get to the bridge when the tide comes, your trip will be in vain." Bridge expert Mao Yisheng once wrote an article and pointed out: "There is a section of the Guangji Bridge that is connected by ships to form a pontoon bridge. It can be untied to make way for the waterway and become a movable bridge that can be divided and combined. It is a special case in the history of our country's bridges." 1988 In March 2016, it was announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council.
The bridge was built in the 7th year of the Southern Song Dynasty. It was originally a pontoon bridge. Later, piers were built from the east and west banks toward the center of the river. As far as Shaodingyuan, 13 piers were built in the eastern section and 10 piers were built in the western section. Lasted for 57 years. The 89-meter section in the center of the river was unable to be built due to strong currents, and 24 boats were still connected as a pontoon. In the 10th year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty (1435), Wang Yuan, the prefect, presided over an unprecedented scale bridge repair project. 12 pavilions and 126 bridge houses were built on the bridge, and the bridge was named "Guangji Bridge". In the eighth year of Zhengde (1513), the prefect Tan Lun built an additional pier. In the ninth year of Jiajing, six boats were reduced, forming the unique style of "Eighteen shuttle boats and twenty-four continents". In the second year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1724), the prefect Zhang Ziqian built the Guangji Bridge and cast two oxen. They placed the eighth pier of the west bridge and the twelfth pier of the east bridge respectively, with the intention of "controlling the bridge and protecting the water". In the 22nd year of Daoguang (AD 1842), there was a flood and the Dongdun Niu fell into the river. Therefore, there is a folk song that goes: "Chaozhou Xiangqiao is so romantic, with eighteen shuttle boats on twenty-four continents, twenty-four towers and twenty-four kinds, two bullocks and one gliding." The total length of the bridge is about 520 meters, and there are 21 ancient bridge piers.
There are four huge stone beams on each span of Guangji Bridge. The largest one is about 15 meters long, 1 meter wide, 1.2 meters thick and weighs about 50 tons. It fully demonstrates the wisdom and superb architectural art of the ancient working people. Its piers are so large that they can be called the largest ancient bridges in my country. Mr. Mao Yisheng, a famous bridge expert, once described it this way: "The piers built on the Guangji Bridge are all made of stone, with different sizes and shapes. The north and south ends are all pointed, and there are no gaps between the stones. The mortar is made of mortar, but it is combined with mortises and tenons, but it is huge and unusual, which is unheard of. "The different forms of pavilions and pavilions on the bridge are one of the wonders of the bridge. Because they also serve as merchant shops, there are "Twenty-Four Towers and Twenty-Four Towers". It is known as "one mile long bridge and one mile city".
With the changes of dynasties and historical changes, Guangji Bridge was in dilapidated condition on the eve of liberation. In 1958, the government allocated funds to strengthen and repair the entire bridge, dismantled the eighteen-shuttle boat, and rebuilt it into a three-hole steel frame and two high pile-bearing bridges. It was expanded again in 1976. The original 7-meter bridge deck was used as a roadway, and both sides of the bridge were widened by 2 meters for sidewalks.
In October 2003, Guangji Bridge began to undergo comprehensive repairs. The overall restoration was based on the Ming Dynasty style, and its function was positioned as a tourist pedestrian bridge. The project took four years to complete. Nowadays, 12 pavilions and 18 pavilions of different shapes and antiques have been rebuilt on the 21 ancient bridge piers. The eighteen-shuttle boat pontoon in the middle has also been restored. The thousand-year-old ancient bridge and boat are combined with the gorgeous appearance of the double pavilion. Reappearance. The pavilions and pavilions are also engraved with couplets and plaques written by many famous calligraphers in my country, which are of high artistic appreciation value.
Xiangzi Bridge is located outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chaozhou. It was first built in the Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. It is a famous ancient bridge along with Zhaozhou Bridge and Marco Polo Bridge in my country. The Xiangzi Bridge spans both sides of the Han River and has 24 piers. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, it is still as strong as ever. In the case of backward productivity in ancient times, it was extremely difficult to build such a bridge across the river, so Chaozhou folk There is a legend that "immortals and Buddhas built bridges".
It is said that Xiangzi Bridge was built by Han Xiangzi and monk Guangji. Back then, the stones from Phoenix Mountain in Baxianba turned into a herd of pigs, rushing to the east of the river. When the bridge was built to the center of the river, the stones disappeared. He Xiangu turned the lotus petals in her hands into 18 wooden boats. Monk Guangji threw down his Zen staff and turned it into big vines to tie the 18 boats. In this way, the entire bridge was completed. In order to commemorate the achievements of immortals and Buddhas working together to build the bridge, people called this bridge "Xiangzi Bridge" or "Guangji Bridge".
There is now an iron ox on the bridge. There were originally two, cast for controlling water and tying ships. However, during a heavy thunderstorm, the one on the east bridge was struck into the water by lightning, so there are The folk song says: "Chaozhou Xiangqiao is so romantic, with eighteen shuttle boats on twenty-four continents, twenty-four towers and twenty-four kinds, two cows and one gliding."
In this season, the pontoon of Guangji Bridge (Shuttle boat) connection time is 10.00-17.30 hours. We originally planned to see how the pontoon bridge would be opened to navigation at 17.30, but we learned that the bridge would be closed for clearance at 17.30, so we had to give up with regret.
(Part of the text introduction comes from the Internet)