Tunxi Ancient Street

Overview
 

Location

Tunxi Ancient Street is situated in the center of Tunxi District, the location of Huangshan City Government. Starting in the west from Zhenhai Bridge, a stone arch bridge crossing the river which was built in Ming dynasty, and ending up in the east with the tablet of memorial archways, it added up to 1273 meters long.

History

Tunxi Ancient Street with centuries-old history dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Emperor Huizong (1082-1135) moved his seat of government to Lin’an (now is Hangzhou), when many architects and workmen were conscripted to construct the new capital. After returning to their hometown, they imitated the structural style to build architecture along the street, so Tunxi Ancient Street was formed. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a merchant in Anhui invested money to build 47 stores so as to attract businessmen, which contributed to the communication of the street with outside world. Gradually it developed into the distribution center for materials in and out of Anhui in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

During the period of the Three Kingdoms, Mao Gan, a general of the state of Wu, once quartered his army in Tunxi. As for that the name Tunxi came into existence. Tunxi is a hill town, is the seat of the Huangshan Municipal Government. The lush Huashan Hill and Yangmei Hill lie across the city. The Xin’an River which is joined by Hengjiang River and Shuai Shui River flows through the city. Hence, Tunxi is also known as a river town. It is today a garden city as well as the tourist center of Southern Anhui. Tunxi has been a strategic location throughout the past dynasties. It became a thriving commercial city in the Ming and Qing Dynasties when trade was most prosperous in Anhui. Tunxi is also the birthplace of many renowned historical figures. There is located the residence of Cheng Dawei, a famous Ming mathematician as well as the magnificent residence of Cheng Minzheng, a noted Ming writer. The memorial museum for Dai Zhen, a famous Qing philosopher, is also in Tunxi. Tunxi is a city newly opened to tourist. It has area of 120 square kilometers and a population of 100000. As its buildings are after the fashion of the Song Dynasty, Tunxi is also called "Song City". It is an ideal scenic spot and the only way to the marvelous Huangshan Mountain as well

Features

The Street is 1.5 kilometers long and 7 meters wide. There are long lines of shops along the sides of the street. They are all made of brick and wood and have two floors. All of the buildings are in the Huizhou style and overflow with archaic charm. Although the shops in the old street are not very wide, they are relatively deep. Once a professor from America was amazed by the street and he said he had found an Oriental Ancient Rome. Nowadays the street is also used as a natural studio for films and TV series.

There are two well-known museums in the street. One is the Tunxi Museum with a display of furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties on the first floor and an exhibition of calligraphy, paintings and china upstairs. The other is Wancuilou, a four-storey structure which is the first private museum of ancient architectural style. Famous ink stones and the four treasures of study, writing brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs and paper are displayed or for sale on the first floor. Here you can find the biggest inkstone weighing more than 12,500 kilograms (about 27,558 pounds). Cultural relics and other artworks collected by the owner of the museum are exhibited on the second floor.

Along the street there are many shops that have existed for over one hundred years. The shops, workshops and residences form an organic whole, keeping the characteristic and operation layout of ancient store such as "front shop and back workshop" or "front shop and back house". The shop name in the ancient street, has a lot of culture meanings, embodying the specialty of that the merchants in Huizhou are scholar-merchants.  

The Tongderen is a Chinese traditional medicine shop. It was established in the second year of the Tongzhi Period of the Qing dynasty, so has a history of over 120 years. Qimen black tea and Tunxi green tea which are famous throughout the world are mainly distributed from Tunxi. All kinds of Anhui ink stick and Shexian ink stone can be found here. Products of "Huizhou Four Carvings" (brick, wood, stone and bamboo), Chinese painting in Anhui style, print, rubbing from a stone inscription, Goldstone seal cutting, Chinese pot gardening and root carving can be seen here and there. The old street has become a great place for tourists to browse and buy a special souvenir at a reasonable price.

Features
Two well-known museums in the street: One is the Tunxi Museum and Wancuilou-the first private museum of ancient architectural style Long lines of shops along the sides of the street Many shops having existed for over one hundred years