Speaking of Jiangnan ancient towns, people will naturally think of the six Jiangnan ancient towns: Zhouzhuang, Tongli, Luzhi, Xitang, Wuzhen and Nanxun. When I was in college, the then district captain talked about tourism at a regular meeting. She said that she must visit the six ancient towns in Jiangnan once in her life. They were very beautiful. She even asked us about the pronunciation of "Lu".

Because these six places are so famous, people flock to them. Although they are not like West Lake in Hangzhou, where you are in danger of being squeezed into the water if you are not careful, they are still overcrowded. Therefore, some people find another way to find ancient water towns with fewer people but no less fun.

Among the ancient water towns that were later discovered, there were four in Shaoxing, namely Anchang, Doumen, Keqiao and Dongpu. Together they are known as the Four Ancient Towns of Shaoxing. Among them, Anchang Ancient Town is the most famous and can be said to be a rare treasure in the history of the ancient city of Shaoxing.

Anchang’s original name was Changle. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Dong Chang established himself as emperor in Yuezhou (today's Shaoxing). Qian Liu, the general of Dong Chang's tribe, opposed his proclaiming the emperor, and sent troops to attack Dong Chang on the order of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty, and stationed troops in Changle. After the Dong Chang rebellion was put down, Changle was renamed Anchang. Since Qian Liu pacified the rebellion of Dong Chang, the ancient town of Anchang has been in existence for more than 1,100 years and is truly a millennium ancient town. If you include the Changle era, the history of Anchang ancient town is even longer.

After Qian Liu put down the Dong Chang rebellion, he was appointed by Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty as the envoy of Zhenhai and Zhendong. He was later named King of Yue and King of Wu, and later established the Wuyue Kingdom. During his reign, he adopted policies to protect the environment, secure the people, and recuperate. The economy prospered, the land was fertile, and the people gathered together. It became one of the few countries in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period that allowed people to live and work in peace and contentment. As a part of Wuyue Kingdom, Anchang is naturally economically prosperous and culturally prosperous, and has gradually formed a prosperous town. During the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, the newly built blocks in Anchang were opened for business, and a pattern of residential buildings on one side and markets on the other began to form, which has been preserved to this day.

From the map, Anchang Ancient Town looks like a huge trapezoidal field or the deck of a freighter. Dozens of small rivers criss-cross and form the water system in Anchang Ancient Town. One of the main rivers passes through the middle of the ancient town from west to east, and countless ancient bridges lie across the river.

It was a noon in September when I went there. As soon as I approached the ancient town, I saw a tall single-hole stone arch bridge with "Shizhi Bridge" written in the middle of the bridge railing. After walking a few steps, we saw another "high bridge".

Not far from the Gaoqiao there is a three-hole stone arch bridge called Anchang Bridge. Anchang Bridge is covered with a corridor with red pillars and black tiles. The plaque on the side is engraved with "The First Corridor of Qingfeng". A couplet hung on the left and right wooden pillars reads, "The market was opened during Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty, and Qianning in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was named Anchang." "A simple couplet summarizes the origin and prosperity of Anchang Ancient Town.

A little further along, there is a double-hole stone arch bridge connected to Anchang Bridge, called Yangming Bridge. Beside these two bridges, there is a wide river. To the south of the river are residential buildings and to the north of the river are markets. The bluestone slabs on the ancient street are arranged neatly but unevenly, carrying strong traces of history. On both sides are old wooden-fronted shops. The shops are two-story buildings, high and cramped, making the market a little cramped. Stepping on the bluestone slabs, it feels like walking into a deep historical tunnel.

What connects the residential buildings and markets are stone bridges of various shapes spanning the water. There are dozens of these bridges, large and small. Some of them are named Ankang Bridge, Ying'an Bridge, Si Bridge, Hongzhi Bridge, Anji Bridge, Sanban Bridge, Zhongnan Bridge, Shuige Bridge, etc. Each of them has a story.

Standing on these bridges and staring at the river, there are quaint houses and markets on both sides. Tourists take a nap on the benches on the street, or sit in the teahouses near the water to drink tea and chat, which is very pleasant. A awning boat sailed gently from the bridge, making a few ripples on the water, then sailed away leisurely, and disappeared behind another arch bridge.

The awning boat is a unique scenery in Shaoxing, and of course it is indispensable in Anchang Ancient Town. Wandering on the streets of the ancient town, you can see a row of awning boats moored on the water at any time, or a lone boat passing quietly on the water.

Walking in Anchang Ancient Town is like walking into a water city. There is water everywhere, and there are bridges everywhere on the water. The water bridges complement each other, showing the charm of the south of the Yangtze River. It would not be an exaggeration to describe this place as the Venice of the East. Water is the blood of the ancient town, bridges are the skeleton of the ancient town, and boats are the soul of the ancient town. Anchang Ancient Town is alive because of water, convenient because of bridges, and agile because of boats.

In Anchang Ancient Town, the most famous custom in the past was the water wedding, and this wedding custom is inseparable from water, bridges and boats. In Ningbo and Ninghai areas, Shili Hongzhuang is the most famous for weddings, while in Shaoxing, the wedding fleet on the water is better than Shili Hongzhuang. It is said that when wealthy families got married in the past, the fleets carrying dowries were mighty and mighty, stretching for dozens of miles. When the wedding boat passed by, both adults and children stood on the bridge to watch. The children couldn't see it, so they would stand on tiptoes, climb on the bridge railings and squeeze forward. When I visited the Bazi Bridge in the ancient city of Shaoxing, the tour guide at the time told me that a stone nest on the Bazi Bridge was kicked out by children watching the wedding boat.

Due to the development of modern transportation and changes in lifestyles, the grand scene of weddings on the water may not reappear. People are now keen to take wedding photos in ancient towns and streets. The ancient sense of history matches the modern joy, and it has a unique flavor.

On both sides of this river, there are attractions such as the Chenghuang Temple, the former site of the Bank of China, Suikang Bank, the Stone Sculpture Museum, the Folk Customs Museum, the Xuanjuan Museum and the Shiye Museum. Each of them records the glory of Anchang Ancient Town.

In Shaoxing, sauce products have become a specialty. Soy sauce is always indispensable in the kitchens of Shaoxing people. There is a century-old brand in Anchang Ancient Town - Renchang Sauce Garden, which brings the sauce culture to the extreme. It was founded in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 100 years. It still retains the traditional soy sauce making technology. Now when you walk into the Renchang Sauce Garden, you can still see hundreds of pointed sauce jars stored in the garden. . Renchang Sauce Garden has been featured in CCTV's "A Bite of China" and "Food China" columns.

When it comes to Anchang delicacies, of course sausages are indispensable. In winter, people in Anchang start to get busy. They chop the lean pork hind legs into minced meat, stuff it into high-quality pig intestines, make sausages, and hang them in front of their homes or in their yards. At this time, sausages were hung in front of every house, which became a unique scenery in Anchang Ancient Town.

Nowadays, there are more and more tourists in Anchang Ancient Town. Although it was a working day when I went there, there were still many tourists wandering around the town. However, compared with the six major ancient towns in Jiangnan, there were still fewer a lot of. Walking in the quaint and deep streets, it seems that you can breathe in the flavor of history. The shadows of awning boats pass leisurely, and the eyes are full of the artistic conception of small bridges and flowing water, and the charm of the Jiangnan water town comes to your face.

Tips

Tickets: Free, tickets are required for exhibition halls in the town.

Transportation: Use navigation software to search for "Anchang Ancient Town" and drive or ride there, or take Shaoxing No. 118, 806, 816, or 1028 and get off at Anchang People's Hospital. Walk there.