Xixingzhen Xixinglaojie

Xixing, a thousand-year-old town, is an antique old street from Banqiao to Tielingguan. It is about1.500m long and about1.6m to 2.5m wide, parallel to the East Zhejiang Canal. In the past, there were many shops and businessmen. The shop is mainly a two-story building, with the front shop and the back river connected by the steps on the bridge. Ancient bridges built in Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as Wuziqiao, Cang Qiao (rebuilt) and Zifuqiao, span the canal, with small bridges running water and white walls and tiles, which are typical features of ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Xixing has been prosperous since ancient times. The old street faces the river and the water, and the main road is in a hurry, which occupies the benefits of transportation. 2500 years ago, it was the ancient crossing of Qiantang River, and it was an important "crossing Tianjin" for the exchange of people between North and South and the trade of goods between East and West. The Guling Post Station is the only way from Huiji, the capital of Yue State, to Gusu, the capital of Wu State, and it has become "the oldest market in Xiaoshan". In the Western Jin Dynasty, it was the starting point of the East Zhejiang Canal and became a transportation hub connecting the north and the south and connecting the middle of Zhejiang. Court officials, businessmen and scholars keep coming and going, and everything is handled here, and the market is prosperous.

In the Tang Dynasty, Xixing became the entrance of the "Road of Tang Poetry in East Zhejiang", and scholars, bureaucrats and celebrities gathered to enjoy the ancient times, watch the tide and recite poems. The draft of Xiaoshan County Records in the Republic of China said: Xixing "Qiantang is a metropolis between Zhejiang and Guangdong." In the Five Dynasties, Xiling set up a town. Because it is an important frontier defense place, Hanjiang camp was set up, guarded by more than 500 people. After the Song Dynasty crossed to the south, Xixing and Changhe River faced the capital Lin 'an (Hangzhou) across the river, and a large number of northerners went south, bringing advanced production technology and promoting the development of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce. In Xixing Street, there are many manufacturing workshops, and the business of iron-striking, knife-cutting, painting, hoop-hoop-cutting, tailoring, tofu-making, incense-making and secret-making is booming. All kinds of cars are floating in the driveway, noisy, the market is prosperous and the people are rich. Zhao Zi, a scholar of Xiaoshan in the Yuan Dynasty, gradually described it as follows: "Xiling communicates with merchants in the north and south, and the ancient post waits for envoys; The pavilion algae class cooks the sea, and the villagers admire the benefits of Xianghu Lake, either with silk as raw material or with fields as gifts ("Xiaoshan Fu"), which is a bustling scene of water towns.

The commodity economy began to prosper in the Ming Dynasty, and a large number of agricultural products were processed into commodities. Xixing once became a distribution center for tea, tobacco, homespun, sea salt and other commodities. The government set up the Salt Department here to collect taxes from salt merchants, making it the "first pass in eastern Zhejiang". Wang Shixian, the magistrate of Xiaoshan County, commented: "Xixing is the first in eastern Zhejiang, the throat of Ningshaotai and a metropolis in the southeast. There are many people, and there is no virtual day. " (Topic of Xixing Tea Pavilion) In the early Qing Dynasty, Kanggan made a southern tour, and the East Zhejiang Canal was dredged on a large scale.

In the 28th year of Kangxi (1689), Emperor Kangxi sacrificed in Shaoxing and returned to Xing. In the sixteenth year of Qianlong (175 1), Emperor Qianlong offered sacrifices in Shaoxing, passing through Xixing and chanting Xixing. All these objectively promoted the prosperity and development of Xixing economy. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, with the development of modern capital, Xixing Old Street became a famous living water wharf in eastern Zhejiang. 1903, Hangzhou-Xixing-Xiaoshan-Shaoxing telephone was opened, with 60 or 70 transshipment shops, more than 500 rickshaws, 32 tea shops and nearly 200 large and small shops, among which Fu, Tian and other flower and rice shops 16 began to take shape. Zhao Shunchang, Pan, etc. 12 Southern goods stores are well supplied; Cotton shops in Dalai, Yang Yonghe, etc. have quite operational characteristics; Wang's wine sauce shop, Yufeng's and Xu Jinchang's oil candle shops, Yanchuntang's and Wanshoushan's Chinese medicine shops are all famous in the four townships.

In addition, hotels, restaurants, inns and snack bars face each other across the street. Every morning, farmers in four townships enter the market for trading. The fish, shrimp and snails in the lake, bamboo shoots, hats, chrysanthemums, oranges and bayberry on the sand are all dazzling and full of market. At that time, people called it "a bustling city with thousands of businessmen", which was the heyday of Xixing. Xixing is windy along the river, and merchants need lighting at night, so "Xixing Lantern" came into being. At night, the streets are full of lanterns hanging high, just like "the market in the sky". After that, "Xixing Lantern" sold well in the whole province, and making lanterns became an industry.

The draft of Xiaoshan County Records in the Republic of China stated: "Women in villages near Xixing live on lanterns. There are wide shells, fragrant rings, monofilaments, double strands, Fiona Fang, toilets and toilets, which are sold all over the province. " In 2007, Xixing Bamboo Lantern has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage in Zhejiang Province, and Xixing Bamboo Lantern will reappear. The rise and fall of the East Zhejiang Canal is the rise and fall of Xixing.

In February of the 15th year of the Republic of China (1926), Xiaoshan-Shaoxing highway was opened to traffic. In the 20th year of the Republic of China (193 1), the Hangjiang Railway (from wharf along the river to Zhuji) was opened to traffic. In the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937), the railway floor of Qianjiang Bridge was opened to traffic. In the same year 1 1 month, Xiao Yong Railway (Xiaoshan to Cao E) was opened to traffic. The opening of cars and trains is first affected by the transportation industry of the East Zhejiang Canal. The passenger and freight traffic is decreasing day by day, and the pond is neglected, and the corresponding teahouses, restaurants and hotels are rarely visited.

1940, the Japanese invaders occupied Xixing, most merchants moved, shops closed down one after another, and the East Zhejiang Canal was almost closed. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, although the tobacco, cotton, rice, southern goods, oil candles and other industries quickly recovered, Gong and Tong Bingji's tobacco industry was once known as the "King of Tobacco in Xixing", but with the loss of the function of the canal, Xixing's commercial glory no longer exists. The East Zhejiang Canal and Xixing became "memories of yesterday".