Because these six places are very famous, people flock to them. Although they are not in danger of being accidentally squeezed into the water like the West Lake in Hangzhou, they are also very crowded. Therefore, some people found another way and found an ancient water town with few people but equally fun.
Among the ancient water towns discovered later, there are four in Shaoxing, namely Anchang, Doumen, Ke Qiao and Dongpu. Together, they were named the four ancient towns in Shaoxing. Among them, Anchang ancient town is the most famous, which is a rare treasure in the history of Shaoxing ancient town.
Anchang was originally named Changle. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Dong Chang proclaimed himself emperor in Yuezhou (now Shaoxing). Chang Dong will oppose Qian Liu's claim to the throne, send troops to crusade against Dong Chang on orders from Tang Zhaozong, and station troops in Changle. After the rebellion in Dong Chang was pacified, Changle was renamed Anchang. Since Qianliu put down the Dongchang Rebellion, Anchang Ancient Town has a history of 1 100 years, and it is a real ancient town with a thousand years. If you count the Changle era, the ancient town of Anchang has a longer history.
After Qian Liu put down the rebellion in Dong Chang, he was appointed as the ambassador of Zhenhai and Zhendong by Tang Zhaozong, later he was named King Yue and King Wu, and later Wu Yueguo was established. During his reign, he adopted the policy of protecting the environment and people, recuperating and maintaining health, with prosperous economy, fertile land and rich humanities, which made him a rare country to live and work in peace and contentment during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. As a part of the territory of Wu Yue State, Anchang is naturally rich in economy and culture, and has gradually formed a prosperous town. During the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, the newly-built block in Anchang was opened, and it began to form a pattern of residential buildings and markets on one side, which has been preserved to this day.
From the map, the ancient town of Anchang looks like a huge trapezoidal field and the deck of a cargo ship. More than a dozen small rivers crisscross each other, forming the water system of Anchang ancient town. A major river runs through the middle of the ancient town from west to east, and countless ancient bridges span the river.
It was noon in September when I went. When I approached the ancient town, I saw a tall single-hole stone arch bridge with "Shi Zhi Bridge" written in the middle of the railing. After a few steps, I saw a "Gao Qiao".
Not far from Gao Qiao, there is a three-hole stone arch bridge called Anchang Bridge. On Anchang Bridge, there is a long corridor with red columns and red tiles. The side plaque is engraved with "The First Corridor of Breeze", and a couplet is hung on the left and right wooden pillars, which reads "Daming Hongzhi opens the market, and Anchang is named Sheng Tang Gan Ning." A simple couplet summarizes the origin and prosperity of Anchang ancient town.
Further on, there is a double-hole stone arch bridge named Yangming Bridge connected with Anchang Bridge. Next to these two bridges, there is a wide river, with residential buildings in the south and markets in the north. The ancient streets are lined with green slates, but they are full of ancient wooden shops with rich historical traces. This shop is a two-story building, which is tall and cramped, which makes the market a little cramped. Stepping on the bluestone board is like entering a deep historical tunnel.
Connecting the house and the market are stone bridges of different shapes across the water. There are dozens of these bridges, including Ankang Bridge, Ying 'an Bridge, Temple Bridge, Hongzhi Bridge, Anji Bridge, Sanbanqiao Bridge, Zhongnan Bridge and Shui Ge Bridge. Each of them has a story.
Standing on these bridges and staring, there is a long river on the bridge, with quaint houses and markets on both sides. It is very pleasant for tourists to take a short rest on a bench on the street or sit in a teahouse near the water to drink tea and chat. A Wu Peng boat came slowly from the bridge, drew several ripples on the water, sailed leisurely and disappeared behind another arch bridge.
Wupeng Boat is a unique scenery in Shaoxing and an indispensable part of Anchang ancient town. Wandering in the streets of the ancient town, you can always see a row of awning boats moored on the water, or a solitary boat passing quietly on the water.
Walking in the ancient town of Anchang is like walking into a water city. There is water everywhere, and there are bridges everywhere. Small bridges and flowing water set each other off, showing the charm of Jiangnan. It is no exaggeration to describe this place with Venice in the East. Water is the blood of the ancient town, the bridge is the skeleton of the ancient town, and the boat is the soul of the ancient town. Anchang ancient town is lively because of water, convenient because of bridges and smart because of boats.
In Anchang ancient town, the most famous custom in the past was water wedding, which was inseparable from water, bridges and boats. In Ningbo and Ninghai, Shili red makeup is the most famous when getting married, while in Shaoxing, the water wedding fleet is better than Shili red makeup. It is said that when a large family got married in the past, the fleet carrying dowry was vast and stretched for dozens of miles. When the wedding boat passed by, adults and children stood on the bridge to watch. When the children are not looking, they will stand on tiptoe and climb the bridge fence to squeeze forward. When I visited the splayed bridge in the old city of Shaoxing, the tour guide told me that a stone cave on the splayed bridge was kicked out by children watching the wedding boat.
Due to the development of modern transportation and the change of lifestyle, the vast scene of water wedding may not reappear, and people are now keen to take wedding photos in ancient towns and streets. The ancient sense of history with modern festivals also has a unique flavor.
On both sides of this river, there are many scenic spots, such as the City God Temple, the former site of China Bank, Suikang Qianzhuang, Stone Carving Museum, Folk Museum, Xuanjuan Museum and Stone Page Museum. Each of them records the glory of Anchang ancient town.
In Shaoxing, sauce products have become a must. In Shaoxing people's kitchens, soy sauce is always indispensable. Anchang Ancient Town has a century-old name-Renchang Sauce Garden, which brings sauce culture to the extreme. Founded in the 18th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, it has a history of 100 years. It still retains the traditional soy sauce making process. Now, when you walk into Renchang Sauce Garden, you can see hundreds of peaked sauce jars stored in the garden. Renchang Soy Sauce Garden has appeared in CCTV's China on the Tip of the Tongue and Gourmet China.
When it comes to Anchang cuisine, sausages are indispensable. In winter, Anchang people began to get busy, chopping the hind legs of lean pigs into minced meat, pouring them into the small intestines of high-quality pigs, making sausages and hanging them in front of their own doors or yards. At this time, sausages are hung in front of every household, which has become a unique landscape of Anchang ancient town.
Now there are more and more tourists in Anchang ancient town. Although it was a working day when I went, there were still many tourists wandering around the town, but compared with the six ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River, there were still many fewer. Walking in the quaint and deep streets, it seems that you can breathe the taste of history. The shadow of the awning boat is swaying, full of artistic conception of small bridges and flowing water, and the charm of Jiangnan water town is coming.
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Admission: free. The exhibition hall in town needs tickets.
Transportation: Search "Anchang Ancient Town" with navigation software, drive or take a bus, or get off at Anchang People's Hospital in Shaoxing 1 18, 806, 8 16, special 1028 and walk.