Anecdotes about Yuliang Village

Impressions of Yuliang

She County was still the seat of Huizhou Prefecture during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Therefore, the ancient village of Yuliang came into being because it was close to the Xin'an River and became the most prosperous village in Huizhou at that time. Water transport port and commercial district. When talking about Yuliang Ancient Village, you have to mention "Yuliang Dam". This ancient water conservancy project is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The dam is 143 meters long and 27 meters wide at the bottom. Whenever the water rises in spring and summer, the turbulent water rushes down along the three water gates. The roaring waves and the emptying of snow waves are very spectacular. The dam is made of granite blocks weighing several tons.

The lower end of Yuliang Dam is the "Xin'an First Pass". This pass was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Huizhou merchants passed this "pass", which means that there are more "passes" waiting to be overcome.

Hu Xiaoxiang, a resident of Yuliang Street, is over 70 years old. When she was young, she worked as a porter on the water transport terminal for a long time. She told reporters that Yuliang Ancient Village was once a gathering place for merchants, sailors, and porters, as well as a transit place for all kinds of goods.

When Huizhou merchants were at their most prosperous, there were often more than 300 large and small ships docked at the pier. Thousands of sailboats raced across the wide Xin'an River, and porters and merchants shuttled between the pier and the trading houses. "This prosperity continues For hundreds of years."

Before and after liberation, She County built a road to Hangzhou, and a large hydropower station was built in the lower reaches of the Xinan River. The water transportation route from Yuliang to the Qiantang River was artificially "cut off". Yuliang, which has been prosperous for hundreds of years, It has since declined.

Today, when you walk on Yuliang Street, you will see the quaint old-style wooden houses on both sides of the green and green; you will see many ancient shop names and old shops that are vaguely identifiable, and you can still taste the strong Huizhou charm. .

The century-old "Tonghe Hall"

There are still more than a hundred old houses on Yuliang Street. The most complete one that is still inhabited is the "Tonghe Hall".

The 74-year-old Xu Guangfu is the sixth generation owner of "Tonghetang". Xu Guangfu said that this old house has a history of more than 100 years, and his grandchildren are already the eighth generation of "successors".

"Tonghetang" has 10 large and small rooms, and the space layout is open, which shows the generosity of the original builders. Although it has gone through hundreds of years of vicissitudes, the Xu family's old house is still well preserved. The window grilles, door edges, and wooden pillars are all intact and the carvings are very exquisite. "This is due to the whole family's desperate protection." Lao Xu said that in the ultra-left era, they used mud to paste the carvings on the house and then put "slogans" on them. "The carvings on the old house escaped. "

Xu Guangfu said that the streets were very lively when he was a child, and his family was relatively prosperous due to business. Lao Xu said that his ancestors were from Zhejiang and were in the farm tools business, and later switched to the cloth and clothing business. Because Yuliang had convenient transportation, he bought this old house.

Although it has become dilapidated and depressed, and has lost its former prosperity, Xu Guangfu, who has lived here all his life, does not want to leave. He likes the plants and trees here, the old houses here, and the smell of the Xin'an River.

The transformation of ancient trading houses

The most distinctive feature of the houses in Yuliang Old Street is that they are both shops and houses. There are front shops and houses in the back, and shops in the front and houses in the back. , the lower store and upper house style, the square and house mixed style. The "Badolf Transportation Guotang Store" is a typical building with a shop in front and a house in the back. It mainly sells tea and other groceries.

Nowadays, judging from the area of ??the stores that have been preserved on Yuliang Street, "Badolf Transport Crossing the Pond" is the largest business store on Yuliang Street. "Badolf" is a person's name, and "Guotangxing" means a goods transit wholesale store.

The furnishings here are still the same, but the busy scene of the past is no longer there. There is a huge counter in the middle of the front hall of the shop. The owner told reporters that the counter had been there for nearly a hundred years and had never been moved.

When the reporter walked into this business, seven old people were sitting inside chatting. 71-year-old Hu Xiaoxiang said that they are all in their 70s and 80s because it is cool in this old house. When nothing happens, the surrounding elderly people like to gather here to chat. After the business collapsed, old people often came here to play chess or chat in a leisurely manner. The former business has now become an "elderly activity center."

"Fish Head" Drinking Black Water

82-year-old boatman Xie Shengbin said that in the past, when people were thirsty, they could bend down and take a gulp of river water and drink it, but the water here is Even washing clothes feels dirty, the changes are so drastic.

Yuliang Street is about 1,000 meters long. The entire ancient village is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is high in the middle and low at the two ends, very much like a big swimming carp.

The entire road is paved with large and small cobblestones, resembling "fish scales". Like mist and rain, the whole village seems like a huge carp swimming slightly...

The reporter saw that at the entrance of Yuliang Street At this location, a stream passes through the "Fish Head". Due to the weeds on both sides of the stream, tourists generally only hear the sound of the stream but cannot see the flowing water clearly. However, when the reporter went down the river to find the intersection of the creek and the Xin'an River, what he saw was a rush of black water.

The locals don’t know where the black water comes from. Mr. Wei, a resident of the old street, said that he has lived on Yuliang Street for decades and is very familiar with every plant and tree here. When he saw the black water flowing into the Xin'an River, he was very worried that the river would be polluted.

In addition, the daily domestic sewage of thousands of residents on Yuliang Street is also discharged directly into the Xin'an River. The drainage system in the street has lost its original function.

Unbearable "Fire Hazard"

Both the shops and old houses on Yuliang Street are all wooden structures. However, this feature also brings huge problems to fire prevention.

The Baweizu Memorial Hall on the old street is located in the middle of Yuliang Street. It was carefully restored by the descendants of the Ba family. Inside, there are the "Baweizu Memorial Hall" given by Emperor Kangxi to Grandpa Baweizu. The plaque of "Lianshu Changchun" and the plaque of "Stars Shining in the Southern Sky" given to ancestor Bawei by Emperor Qianlong are very precious. This house has three entrances to the second floor and four patios, which shows the prominent status of the owner.

In addition, "Fang Sizheng Hall" was built in the early Qing Dynasty. The internal building components adopt the "hollow three-dimensional brick sculpture" among the three sculptures of Huizhou, and the characters and storylines are lifelike.

There are many ancient buildings like this with great protection value and historical and cultural value, but they are always in danger of fire. Most of the people living in the neighborhood are the elderly and children, and the street wires are like spider webs running between ancient buildings.

Wang Enjian, an expert in the protection of ancient buildings and former director of the She County Construction Committee, said that the biggest hidden danger of the old wooden houses on Yuliang Street is fire protection. Since the houses are connected, once a fire breaks out, the consequences will be disastrous.

After Yuliang Street is included in the protection plan of the national historical and cultural district, the protection project will be launched during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period. Prior to this, the fire prevention problem in the old street had attracted attention. Fire hydrants were installed in the blocks, and the neighborhood committees and others formulated fire prevention plans. The street always regarded fire prevention as the top priority.