Everyone has a dream about Jiangnan Water Town. The ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River have a comfortable, ethereal and graceful charm, such as small bridges, flowing water, stone alleys, slightly drunk years and intoxicating warm wind. White walls and white tiles, misty rain and misty sky, this is the most common background color and appearance in Jiangnan; The old streets and lanes, the slate is green, which is unforgettable and nostalgic in the memory of people in the south of the Yangtze River. For Jiangnan, the most incisive expression is the ancient town that has been preserved from the past.
Xincheng Ancient Town is located in Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. Xincheng was once known as “Xincheng”, “Shilin” and “Xinxi”. The town was built in the first year of Huichang, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, with a history of 1175 years. It is a veritable thousand-year old town. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Xincheng had already become the top of the four towns in Xiushui County and the center of the northwest of Jiaxing. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China, Xincheng’s business has been relatively prosperous; In the early years of the Republic of China, it was the first town of Jiaxing Prefecture and the distribution center of silk and rice industry.
The ancient town is built by the river, and the new stream of the city river runs through the town from west to east, with a total length of 1680 meters. The street is built near the river, forming a layout with the city river as the axis and two streets sandwiched by one river. The historical blocks are mainly distributed along the banks of the Shihe River, with a length of more than 1000 meters from east to west and a length of 50-100 meters from north to south. They are mainly composed of the Southwest Street, Sanyuan Street, Northwest Street and Zhongbei Street on both sides of the Shihe River, including the Fengle Street and Northeast Street, which still have the traditional pattern north of the Shihe River in the east, with an area of about 1.75 square kilometers. This is the existing relatively large and well-preserved ancient town block in Jiaxing. The folk houses are built in line with the water, and the layout is neat and concise. “People sleep on the river, small bridges flow”, which continues the traditional pattern of Jiangnan water town composed of water lanes and streets.
The old houses on both sides of the street have been built for hundreds of years, with white walls and black tiles and mottled walls. The bluestone road in front of the door has accumulated cultural heritage and penetrated the curtain of time and history. The ancient town of bluestone road, which has been pounding with high-heeled shoes of many tourist girls and girls for hundreds of years, makes a clear sound of “Dudu Dudu”. The weathered stains on the beacon wall are like ink paintings, recording the vicissitudes of history.
The old town still retains the old appearance of the commercial street in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the ancient door hole, the ancient window lattice and the ancient goods platform are still visible. There are wooden signboards hanging on the front door. There are many small shops selling jade and stone, antiques, embroidery, blue prints and traditional wooden cloth products.
The ancient town has not been demolished and rebuilt, nor has it been polluted by commercialization. There are no repeated but distinctive food stalls. Each food store here has its own history and amazing taste. In Jiaxing people’s minds, as long as Xincheng is mentioned, the taste buds have already surged, and the city of food is not famous. Although there are no delicacies or grand state banquet, every delicious food in Xincheng is integrated with the authentic smell of fireworks, which is inseparable from people’s life.
On the old food street of the ancient town, most of the time-honored brands are concentrated, such as Laowang Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle), Amao Cake, Tongxing rice dumpling, Xu Zhenzhai, and so on. The ancient town has Gao Gongshun’s bad egg, Li Yongtai’s raw sugar crackling, crab fork three Wonton, Wang Ji’s moon cake, Luodong steamed pot mutton noodles, etc. If you come here in the morning, it is very lively. You can have a good meal in the morning, and then continue to visit the ancient town scenic spots.