Every day, I used to look at the distribution of the pneumonia epidemic in Jiangsu, and I actually found that Zhangjiagang City, which is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, has not had a column of pneumonia patients for fourteen consecutive days, which is surprising. In fact, as long as you have been to Zhangjiagang, there are many amazing places in the city, such as a tianzhuang ancient town that is not well known in the Jiangnan region, but it is a quiet and self-satisfied jiangnan water town.
There are many ancient towns in the Jiangnan area, and Zhangjiagang Tianzhuang Ancient Town, for many people, I am afraid that they have not even heard of the name. I also went for a spin when I was passing through Zhangjiagang in the late autumn of last year. Tianzhuang Ancient Town is located in Tianzhuang Village, Port Street, Fenghuang Town, Zhangjiagang City, which was also called "Tianzhuang" and "Tian Yang Zhuang" in the old days. In the "Jiangnan Tongzhi" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it is recorded that the town of Tianzhuang has a bridge across Xiputang, with thousands of residents, and the beginning of prosperity at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
Historical records record: The original Tianzhuang Ancient Town, there are five main streets, of which four and a half streets have opened shops. It is said that the streets of that year were all granite slate pavements, and there was no water accumulation on rainy days, which was convenient for pedestrians to pass. Xiputang, which runs through the ancient town, sails non-stop from south to north all day long, and the prosperity is far greater than that of the neighboring areas. It is only the current Tianzhuang Ancient Town, which only retains the North Street street adjacent to the Xiputang River.
Most people enter the ancient town of Tianzhuang, which is entered from under a tall archway on the edge of National Highway 204. The archway is engraved with the words "Tianzhuang", and when you enter, you find that both sides of the road are lined with shops, and it seems that they are also newly built. At first glance, I felt that this ancient town was similar to other ancient towns in Jiangnan, renovated ancient buildings and mixed commercial atmosphere. After asking the locals, I learned that the north street of the ancient town had to go all the way in.
On the left bank of the Xiputang River is the "North Street" of Tianzhuang Ancient Town, which is also an old street that tourists must visit. It is only 250 meters long and a little more than 2 meters wide at its widest point. Turning left from the middle street of the ancient town to enter North Street, you need to pass through a narrow doorway, except that the door opening is marked with the word "North Street", which is not at all public. So much so that I inadvertently crossed the middle bridge on the Xiputang River to the other side of the river on North Street, and looked back to find some of the densely packed white-walled buildings of Dewa on North Street.
North Street is not a straight street, with some twists and turns, mainly the architectural protrusions of the street, which somewhat obscure the view. So standing at the end of the street, you can't see what the end of the 250 meters is like, you can only see some of the old-fashioned houses in front of you. It can be seen that most of these brick and tile houses have been renovated by later generations, but they still retain the architectural style of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty.
There are not many tourists who come to Tianzhuang Ancient Town, and the streets are somewhat quiet, perhaps it is not famous. The houses on the river side of North Street are shorter in depth, while the houses on the other side are mostly deep courtyard houses. These houses, there are many residents living, although there are also some shops on the street, but there are not many businesses, most of the shops are iron generals to open the door.
The most famous thing on North Street is the former residence of Sun Cheng'en, which was built during the Qing Dynasty, also known as "Bangyan House". Sun Cheng'en, the head of tianzhuang during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, served as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and it is said that he was deeply appreciated by the Shunzhi Emperor. However, this "Bangyan Mansion" was not built by Sun Cheng'en himself, but was funded by Yang Dai, another celebrity in the ancient town.
Yang Dai, born in the second year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, in the ancient town of Tianzhuang, the Yang family is an absolutely large family. It is said that Yang Dai was a philanthropist who took out his own property and fields to repair the ancient town, build ancestral halls, build temples, and build righteous schools. In order to praise his good deeds and righteous deeds for his hometown, in the tenth year of Jiaqing (1805), he asked the imperial court to ask the emperor to specially issue a "Yang Filial Piety Fang" to Tianzhuang. Nowadays, when people go to Tianzhuang Ancient Town, they can still see the "Yang's Filial Piety" and the Yang's Old House located on South Street.
The history of Tianzhuang Ancient Town is not very long, but it is said that there have been 65 celebrities, including 4 high school champions, 1 list eye, and 31 jinshi. It's just that most of them are not well known to the outside world, and there are few traces left in the ancient town. Therefore, going to Tianzhuang Ancient Town, there is not much cultural atmosphere that can be felt, but the idyllic rivers and idyllic streets are impressive.
In fact, a section of North Street near the Xinglong Highway is the real entrance to the ancient town, where a new visitor center, a new parking lot, a new Tongji Corridor Bridge, a new lotus pond, and a lotus lamp are also put into the pool, so that as soon as people enter the ancient town, there is a kind of Jiangnan water town wind. Of course, if the tour group comes, at the entrance of the ancient town, there will be locals performing the "Heyang Mountain Song" sung in the Zhangjiagang dialect, which is a local intangible cultural heritage, and the tune is quite good.
Enter another alley parallel to North Street, where you can see many murals and sculptures that embody the human story of the water town on the white walls of the alley, and there are no shops in the alley, and there are few tourists. In the middle of the alley, there is also the ruins of the ancient town of Tianzhuang "Jiyuan Daoyuan". Originally the largest of the 11 temples in the ancient town, the "Jiyuan Taoist Temple", which was originally built during the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, has been completely destroyed, leaving only an empty space.
The entire Tianzhuang Ancient Town is free to open, but to enter the "Bangyan Mansion" and other visits, you need to buy a 30 yuan ticket. When this wave of intangible cultural heritage epidemic has passed, you can go to Tianzhuang Ancient Town, where there is no noise, there is very little commercial atmosphere, so that people can feel the quiet water town life of the years. About the author: Lu Jianhua Photography (photographer, traveler, self-media person)