10 hangzhouspecial THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012 CHINA DAILY

PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY caption. caption. History flows through Grand Canal

By ZHUAN TI this section began in 2002, the per. The temple’s solemn halls [email protected] Hangzhou government has are complemented with casual conducted many programs dining in its adjoining vegetar- China’s Grand Canal is the to improve the water quality ian restaurant. longest and oldest manually and repair ancient buildings to built canal in the world. form an area themed on water Industry heritages Starting at Beijing in the tourism. Three museums have been north, it passes through Tianjin Sitting in a boat floating built in some existing ware- and goes through the provinces down the Hangzhou section of houses along the canal to pres- of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu the Grand Canal tourists can ent precious collections and and Zhejiang before reaching appreciate the beautiful natu- splendid histories of swords, the city of Hangzhou in the ral scenes, bridges and other umbrellas and paper fans, south. buildings along the bank. They which were all traditional It is 1,794 kilometers long also can visit many heritage products in ancient China. and connects five major rivers sites and historical towns. The preliminary construc- in China: the Haihe River, the tion of these three museums Yellow River, the Huai River, Cultural relics finished in 2009, and they are the Yangtze River and the Fuyi Cang, a granary along now open for the public. The Qiantang River. the canal founded in 1884, wit- museums will play an impor- Construction on this canal nessed the heyday of the rice tant supporting role in the began in the fifth century BC, trade and canal transporta- Grand Canal’s application of and later the various sections tion. It’s an important part of World Heritage. were finally combined during Hangzhou’s cultural heritage, In the Museum of Knives the Sui Dynastry (AD 581- showing the rich history of this and Swords, tourists can see 618), linking the productive section of the Grand Canal. swords from ancient times southern fishing and farming It covers about 8,000 square and relive the long history of region to the northern capitals. meters, with a gross building the sword’s development in As an important water route for area of 3,000 square meters. As China. business, it allows faster trading a famous cultural scenic spot, it In the China Umbrella caption. and furthered the growing eco- also functions as a platform for Museum, all kinds of umbrel- nomic market in urban centers creativity and art. las can be seen, including some trict of Xiaohezhijie, which district is Qiaoxi, located on medicine and healthcare. channel. Hundreds of boats through all the ages since the Xiangji Temple, founded in from Hangzhou as well as other is located in a place where the western side of Gongchen Many famous traditional came and left from ports in Sui period. 978, got its name from Emperor areas of China and the world. three rivers meet. Xiaohezhi- Bridge. enterprises, such as Fanghui- this districts. Hangzhou is one of the thriv- Zhenzong of the Song dynasty. Visitors can also learn how to jie Street forms the center of It is known for its numerous chun Tang, founded in 1649, After the preservation pro- ing trading centers along the It is the first temple seen by visi- make an umbrella and how to the district. buildings from various differ- have open branches here. gram started in 2009, this dis- canal. The section of the Grand tors to Hangzhou arriving via dance with them. Many families living on this ent time periods. The last historical district trict has begun to regain its Canal in Hangzhou runs 39 km the canal, thus many people In the China Fan Museum, street have maintained their In this district, people can and the one with the longest former luster thanks to a ren- across four districts in the city, went to the temple first when tourists can get a clear picture lifestyles and occupations, see ancient buildings that have history is Dadoulu historical ovation of traditional build- and it has a basin area of 726.6 they went on shore after a long of the development of fans while other families have con- stood for thousands of years district, which has a length ings and booming business in square kilometers. travel and rested for a night in China through vivid pre- verted their traditional houses beside houses built in the first of 780 meters from south catering and trade. Thanks to its long history of there before they moved on. sentations using multimedia. into miniature galleries for years of last century and the to north and a width of 150 prosperity, the city possesses The temple has received Moreover, Hangzhou has been calligraphy and photographs. simple apartments of 1950s meters from east to west. numerous ancient buildings, thousands of visitors since the cultural center of the fan This street was listed as recom- as well as the tube-shaped The Fuyi Cang and Xiangji including not only ancient renovations were completed industry since Song Dynasty mended tourist site along the apartments of the 1980s. In Temple, mentioned in the docks and business streets but in 2010. (960-1297). Grand Canal in 2012. addition to residential hous- previous part, are also located also temples, academies for The refurbished temple, cov- This historical district also ing, lots of warehouses, work- here. classical learning and stone ering 16,855 square meters, Historical districts has many time-honored shops, shops and temples can also be The streets in these districts tablets. has embraced a new design The city of Hangzhou has such as Dinglianfang stuffed found here. formed the distribution center Since the protective devel- in terms of style, composition three major historical districts bun houses, which carry on Qiaoxi district has set a goal of rice, fish, paper and fruit opment of the rich natural and construction material by that border the canal. local traditions. of building at street with a after the Grand Canal became and cultural resources along using lots of wood and cop- The first is the historical dis- The second major historical focus on traditional Chinese an important transportation

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