Located at No. 368 Zhongshan West Road, Xu's Pawnshop is the only ancient pawnshop building preserved in Songjiang to this day, with high cultural relics protection value and cultural inheritance value. Walking between the courtyard corridors of Xu's pawnshop, three into seven open rooms, moving easy scenery, quite a bit of "the courtyard is deep and deep".
Xu's pawnshop was built in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, originally a pawn shop surnamed Xu, its frontage is the entrance hall, and the second entrance is a pawnshop building, a warehouse building and a house building, the building is in the form of a hard mountain top, with a strangely small three-mountain screen wall. From the first year of the Qing Dynasty (1862) to the eve of liberation, 29 pawn shops were opened in Matsue Castle, and only one was opened west of the Xiuye Bridge, which was the Xu pawnshop. The total area of 1745 square meters coupled with strong capital and unique management policy made Xu's pawnshop famous in Songjiang at that time. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Shihu Dangye clan opened a pharmacy "Tianhetang" here. After more than 150 years of wind and rain, Xu's pawnshop has gradually broken down in the dust of history. In 2016, after some renovations, the old house has returned to its former appearance. In order to ensure the "original taste" of the old house building, during the renovation period, the staff strictly followed the principle of "repairing the old as old" and adopted a difficult mortise and tenon structure in the construction process. It is worth mentioning that there is not a single nail on the beams and wooden columns of this building, and after careful polishing and paint spraying, it is difficult for the viewer to see the traces of restoration.
A few days ago, after the renovation, the old mansion was unveiled in a new "identity": a "Chinese tourism bookstore" - the Cross-Tang Yue Bookstore was born here, which is the initial attempt of the District Cultural and Tourism Bureau and the China Tourism Publishing House to jointly create a new format of cultural and tourism integration. The carefully arranged library has a vestibule, atrium and a back garden, a corridor and a half-pavilion, a powder wall dewa, and an elegant and cohesive atmosphere. "It will become a 'cross-border' shared space that integrates reading conferences, leisure salons, quyi art collections, research forums and tourism product launches." Li Weifeng, the head of the Cross-Pond Chengyue Bookstore, put forward many new ideas in the development of the bookstore, "This place used to be a pawnshop, and the characteristics of the pawnshop can be inherited." For example, a child who comes here can redeem points for his articles or works, and when the number of points reaches a certain number, they can redeem a book or a class, which is another form of pawn. At this time, the pawn is not the value of the item, but the happiness obtained because of it, and in the change, the former Xu's pawnshop is being conceived into a "worry relief pawn shop".
If the pawnshops of the past were more reflected in the commercial value, then today's "pawnshops" have been given more cultural connotations. "I don't want to build a bookstore with a strong commercial flavor, I want to provide a space for citizens to accumulate positive energy and help more people." For example, Li Weifeng, for example, there are contradictions between some children and parents now, so they can fully communicate and untie the knot by participating in activities such as book clubs, "I hope that people who come here can pour out their troubles and sorrows and bring happiness home." ”
In Li Weifeng's view, the tourism concept of a travel bookstore can be very rich, "If you go out to travel, we can help you plan a picture book or photo album, or create some related tourism products." The reason why this tourist bookstore was named "Book Garden" instead of "Academy", Li Weifeng explained to reporters the deep meaning behind it: "The word "Yuan" means that it brings together academics and humanities, extends the connotation of this space, and gives this bookstore more possibilities.
Stepping out of the library, through the transparent glass wall, you can see that many books have been placed on the beige wooden shelves in the store. The pawnshop of the past, the bookstore of today, the passers-by are in a hurry, hoping that this "Chinese tourism bookstore" can become the spiritual habitat of passers-by.
■ Photo by reporter Zhu Yinghong Wen Zhu Yinghong
■ Text editor Yang Lu Lu Jia
■ Column Editor-in-Charge Shu Zhengyu ■ Column Editor-in-Chief Zhang Jinzhou