Anchang Ancient Town was built in the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was burnt down many times due to the war and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Its architectural style inherits the typical characteristics of Jiangnan water town, simple and elegant.
On Sunday morning, led by our friend Xu from Ke Qiao, the three of us came to Anchang Ancient Town, crossed the alley next to Ankang Temple and reached the riverside of the ancient town. I saw rows of old houses standing side by side on both sides of the river, with bright shop name flags floating in front of the eaves. There are rows of traditional old shops along the street, selling a wide range of local specialties. In particular, traditional foods such as sausages and sugar made by ordinary people on the spot have unique flavor and local characteristics.
Many ancient bridges span the two banks and closely connect the two banks of Guzhen River. The south of the river is residential, and the north of the river is commercial. There are covered corridors, sun protection and rain protection, as well as shops and workshops with various traditional characteristics. On the other side of the river, there are bluestone paths, antique houses and narrow alleys. From Gao Qiao in the east to Qingdun Bridge in the west, there is a street by the river, which is close to each other. Streets are paved with local bluestone slabs in Shaoxing.
There are thousands of people living in Bishui Street, and the rainbow crosses the seventeen bridges. Among them, the most distinctive is Anchang Bridge, with all kinds of "arches, beams and pavilions". The most famous bridges are Fulu Bridge, Wan 'an Bridge and Ruyi Bridge. When people in ancient towns marry their daughters, they have to walk on all three bridges. Lively water town social drama, festive boat wedding, traditional hand-made wine, and boat trips through Wu Peng. . .
Thousands of years of folk customs in Shaoxing have been preserved and continued in Anchang ancient town. Some people say that all the touts in the world are from Shaoxing, but few people know that Shaoxing touts are mostly from Anchang. For more than 200 years, it is said that there are more than 10,000 touts coming out of Anchang. Nowadays, many former residences and museums are scattered on both sides of the river.
The three of us walked cheerfully through Anchang Ancient Street, eating snacks and taking beautiful photos. It also took 40 oceans to ride in the river of the ancient town on an awning boat. People who don't know about wupengchuan may not believe that boatmen paddle wupengchuan mainly by their feet rather than their hands, so many people call it "paddling with their feet".
Wearing life jackets, we rowed all the way on Wu Peng's boat, crossed one ancient bridge after another, and saw Qingshi Hutong, Chenghuang Temple, Suikang Bank, Folk Museum and Shiye Pavilion on both sides. I also took a photo with Mr. Xu on the boat as a souvenir. 1000 meters river, at the foot of the ferryman, it takes more than 20 minutes to reach the dock, and it doesn't feel enough.
As we were going to Hangzhou in the afternoon, the three of us stayed in Anchang ancient town for more than an hour, then left Anchang ancient town and returned to Xu head office. After eating Chinese food, we went to Hangzhou, the provincial capital.
Hangzhou Notes on the Night of August 30th, 2020