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What do you think of Shaoxing? Is it a water town? Is it the Wupeng boats? Is it Lu Xun? Is it rice wine? Is it Keqiao? Or is it the Xinchang Buddha?
When you think of Shaoxing, do you ever think of the festive atmosphere? Stone villages? Ancient canoe paths? Today, I'll introduce you to a different Shaoxing: a Jiangnan water town brimming with festive spirit, a stone city featured as a filming location in Journey to the West, and a wonderland on the ancient Grand Canal.
The flavor of Anchang can be found in the leisurely drifting black-sailed boats, in the rich and intoxicating aroma of soy sauce, in the eaves hung with sausages, in the gentle waving of the folding fan of the lawyer, and in the blessings lingering in the fragrance of incense and candles...
Anchang is known for its preserved meats, a place that evokes the full flavor of the Lunar New Year. The annual Layue Festival is a ritual; the eaves draped with preserved sausages are a reminder of human connection; and the bustle of people flocking to Anchang Ancient Town to buy New Year goods is a vibrant scene. This is the flavor of the preserved meats of the Jiangnan water town.
The ancient town is overflowing with cured meats, sausages, air-dried fish, and marinated duck, a reminder that the Lunar New Year is approaching. Anchang's sausages are unforgettable, said to be stuffed with pig intestines. The elaborate process yields a rich, crimson sauce that's instantly alluring.
The riverside market sells cured meats, while the houses on the other side are decorated with red lanterns and the Chinese character for "Fu." Strings of dried fish are the perfect decoration for the eaves.
Aside from the preserved meats, Anchang Ancient Town remains a prime example of a water town. Two to three kilometers long, it's crossed by a river, dotted with old houses and inhabited by people. At mealtime, the aroma of delicious food wafts through, making one crave it.
The old street is built along the river, with residential areas to the south and commercial markets to the north. An ancient bridge connects the two banks. It was first built during the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods of the Ming Dynasty.
Starting from Gaoqiao in the east and ending at Qingdun Bridge in the west, the streets are paved entirely with Shaoxing bluestone slabs, juxtaposed against the river. Along the river are covered corridors, traditional shops and workshops, a staggered arrangement of arcades, bluestone paths, quaint houses, and secluded alleys, all embodying the typical Jiangnan water town scenery.
During the Anchang Festival, if you are lucky, you can also see the community operas from Lu Xun's works.
From the City God Temple at the east end of the old street in Anchang Ancient Town, looking at the south bank of the Jiehe River, you can see four large characters written on the quaint white wall - Renchang Soy Sauce Factory. This is the Shaoxing Renchang Soy Sauce Factory, the manufacturer of the time-honored Chinese brand "Renchangji" soy sauce.
Renchang Sauce Factory was founded in 1892, the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, and boasts a history of over 120 years. Founder Mr. Xu invested 12,000 silver dollars to rent the ancestral halls of the Lou clan's Songyin Hall and other branches, equipped himself with nearly 100 soy sauce vats, and established the small, front-of-house, back-of-house sauce factory, Renchang Sauce Factory.
The secret to Anchang's delicious sausages comes primarily from the Renchang Sauce Factory in the ancient town. The soy sauce produced here is rich in flavor, brownish-red in color, and clear in texture, making it a must-try for visitors. Recommended by the program "A Bite of China," Anchang sausages and Renchang soy sauce are a must-try when you're here.
There are still some historical sites on both sides of the river, such as the Bank of China, which dates back to the Republic of China era. Behind the former Bank of China site is the important vault, and next to it is an exhibition hall that introduces the ancient town's commercial and financial situation.
Across the patio is the exhibition room of the old site. There is a large counter with lifelike wax figures inside. Stop and take a closer look. There are some account books, table lamps, abacus, electric fans and other things placed on several tables inside the counter. Next to the old cabinet against the wall, there is a wall clock and an old telephone under the wall clock.
There are also some newly built buildings, such as the Folk Customs Museum and the Lawyer's Museum, which reflect the life, culture and customs of the old Shaoxing people.
Anchang not only has a charming water town style, but is also the "hometown of legal advisors". The Shaoxing Legal Advisor Museum is located in the former residence of Anchang legal advisor Lou Xintian.
This is the only museum in the country that displays this kind of content. The museum displays the "Shaoxing Legal Advisors", a special social group in the history of late Chinese feudal society, and reflects special political and cultural phenomena.
So what is a "shiye" (a legal advisor)? During the Ming and Qing dynasties, a "shiye" (a legal advisor) was a non-official assistant hired by the chief official (chief) of local government offices to assist him with criminal law, financial affairs, and clerical matters. Assisting the chief official with their specialized knowledge and skills in criminal law, accounting, and paperwork, they were known as "zuomu," "zuozhi," or "zuomu." They were equivalent to today's consultants or lawyers.
Because there are many legal advisors in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, there are sayings in the book that "all the clerks and accountants in the thirteen departments of the Ministry of Revenue are from Shaoxing" and "without Shaoxing, there can be no yamen", so the word "Shaoxing" is often added before "legal advisor", that is, "Shaoxing legal advisor".
Wupeng boats are a major feature of Shaoxing, and taking a boat here is very cheap, only a few dozen yuan a way. Listening to the sound of the oars and taking in the surrounding scenery is a real pleasure.
Sit back and forth on a swan boat, cross a small bridge, gaze at whitewashed, black-tiled wooden houses, watch elderly people washing clothes and chatting by the river, smell the aroma of freshly made millet cakes, and drift along leisurely. This is the life of the old Shaoxing people. Finding a teahouse on the riverbank and simply sitting and enjoying a cup of tea is also a great option.
Clear water flows through the streets and connects thousands of residents. You can take a boat across the three most famous bridges, namely Fulu, Wan'an and Ruyi. It is said that when people in the ancient town marry their daughters, they must walk across all three bridges.
And what's a trip to Anchang without trying some local delicacies? First and foremost is the Chinese sausage, a salty sausage that goes really well with rice. Next up is the braised duck, which is truly amazing and a perfect side dish for rice.
(Bamboo shoots with fermented bean curd flavor)
Shaoxing is famous for its rice wine, and the rice wine popsicles made with it are a must-try when you're here. Highly recommended! Besides the rice wine popsicles, they also offer rice wine milk tea, rice wine egg tarts, and rice wine pudding. Unfortunately, it was too crowded on the weekend, so I didn't get to try the rice wine egg tarts or pudding, only the rice wine milk tea.
Anchang is a world for foodies. In addition to the homemade wind-dried sausages, there are also Shaoxing duck, pulled white sugar, air-dried fish, honey cake, Shaoxing fragrant cake, wine-flavored mooncake, osmanthus fragrant cake, osmanthus fried rice cake, fish skin wonton, heavy crispy sesame cake, pine nut cake, fried crispy fish, xiangling, fragrant cake and many other snacks that are hard to name. They are mouth-watering. Before returning home, you can buy some specialties here as souvenirs to take home.
At the market along the river, you can see roasted sausages and quails along the way. It is a good choice to just have a skewer of them.
(Kong Yiji's fennel beans and pulled sugar)
The intangible cultural heritage of pulling white sugar is to pull the amber-colored sticky sugar liquid into white, and then cut it into small pieces to make malt sugar blocks.
Shaoxing is renowned not only as a "water town" but also as a "stone town." Stone quarrying in Shaoxing began during the Liang Dynasty (1144-1184) and later developed into a major sector of Shaoxing's handicraft industry. In the past, Shaoxing's roads were paved with stone slabs, and there were tens of thousands of stone bridges, countless stone pavilions, stone tablets, and stone ornaments such as stone lions, stone figures, and stone horses. Stone memorial archways were also common. All of these architectural and decorative stones were sourced locally in Shaoxing.
Yangshan Stone City is named after the sheep-like rocks on the mountain. The Yangshan Stone Buddha Scenic Area is located in Qixian Town, in the northern suburbs of Shaoxing County, 12 kilometers from downtown Shaoxing. The eastern part of the area is the Stone Buddha Scenic Area, the central part is Yangshan Park, and the western part is the Stone City Scenic Area.
Shicheng is divided into two areas, east and west. The west is mountainous, surrounded by cliff peaks, jagged rocks, winding paths and stone chambers, and green ivy winding around the rocks. Curious people have given them names such as: Dawang Peak, Turtle Peak, Duckbill Peak, Camel Peak, and Tianzhu Peak.
However, one of the peaks is several dozen feet high, with a small tree on top that resembles the Dream Brush Flower on Huangshan Mountain. The scene "Pray for Rain in Fengxiandu" from "Journey to the West" was filmed here. This is a scenic spot characterized by strange rocks and cliffs.
Entering the mountain gate, it is like looking at the sky from a well, surrounded by cliffs and peaks, peaks rising one after another, and strange rocks standing in a forest. Their shapes are varied and the momentum is quite spectacular.
There are numerous strangely shaped rocks, winding paths, countless stone quarries and pools, and winding stone paths in the city. The mountaintops are covered with green grass and trees, the valleys are full of strange rocks, and birds and frogs are singing day and night, showing a series of majestic, beautiful and unique natural stone wonders.
According to historical records, during the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty, Duke Yang Su built Luocheng, which became a remnant of mountains and waters, with cliffs all around and strange rocks and peaks inside, shaped like a stone city.
In ancient times, enthusiasts carved out caves on the highest peak of the isolated rock. Inside the caves, they carved a stone Maitreya Buddha with a kind face and vivid spirit. Later, a Stone Buddha Zen Temple was built on the rock. The Buddha statues we see in the Stone City today are all newly carved.
Because the information on the Internet all links the Yangshan Stone Buddha and the Stone City together, I have also sorted out the relevant information here, and I hope that everyone can further understand the Yangshan Stone Buddha scenic area.
According to a temple stele, during the Sui Dynasty's Kaibao period (581-600 AD), Duke Yang Su of Yue State, to defend against rebellion by powerful Yue tyrants, mobilized laborers to mine stones from Yangshan Mountain to build Luocheng, Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing). This resulted in numerous cliffs and isolated peaks. During the Tang Dynasty, monks selected these peaks and chiseled the stone to build the Stone Buddha Zen Temple, a project that took 30 years to complete. The Yangshan Stone Buddha, despite millennia of vicissitudes, retains its original beauty, presenting a magical spectacle of "Buddha in stone, stone in water, and water in mountain."
Does this scene remind you of the Shaoxing Keshan Giant Buddha, one of the four Jiangnan Stone Buddhas? (The four Jiangnan Stone Buddhas are: Xinchang Giant Buddha, Shaoxing Xiafangqiao Yangshan Stone Buddha, Shaoxing Keshan Giant Buddha, and Hangzhou Baoshishan Stone Buddha.)
Another stunning example of Shaoxing's stone culture is the Ancient Towpath, where bluestone slabs, stone bridges, and stone pavilions are all vividly displayed.
The Ancient Towpath—the passage used by ancient people for boating and carrying tow ropes—is a marvel of the ancient Grand Canal and a unique feature of the Jiangnan water towns. The Ancient Towpath offers a beautiful experience, with the road, bridge, water, and boats seamlessly integrated into a stunning landscape painting.
Spend a day exploring a different Shaoxing and experiencing the most Shaoxing flavor.
If you like it, you can take a self-driving trip from December to February, or be lazy like me and just take the China-TravelNote route. I believe this route will not disappoint you.
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