Hefang Road

Qinghefang Road, reflecting the features of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), is one of the most famous historic roads in Hangzhou and the only well-preserved miniature of the long history of Hangzhou. Having chosen Hangzhou as the capital, Southern Song Dynasty set up continuous walls to protect the imperial palace and opened a long road outside the wall (Zhonghe Zhong Road), along both sides of which the imperial lineage and influential officials built their own palaces. The Jiandeshou Palace was located to the east of Zhonghe, Kaiyuan Palace on Shanghuaguang, the Palace of King Hui on Houshi Road, and Longxiang Palace on Huimin Road, while Qinghefang Road originated from the story about the official named Zhang Jun at that time. In the year of 1129, Zhangjun defeated soldiers from Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and was made Governor of Qinghe Prefecture with considerable imperial favor, where he established his own palace. Qinghefang Road then was in deed booming with lots of shops, restaurants and entertainment centers, and the prosperity lasted through Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Republic of China (1912-1949), till the liberation of China.

Qinghefang Road was especially prosperous during Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, and most of the ancient buildings now on the road were set up at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty when most of the shops with the history of over 100 years were established, such as Hu Qing Yu Tang famous for traditional Chinese medicine, Wan Long for ham and the restaurant for lamb soup. These buildings and shops still remain culture-flavored after experiencing hundreds of years of vicissitudes of history. From April 8, 2000, the government of Shangcheng District of Hangzhou City launched a plan to develop new sites as well as restoring the existing ancient buildings strictly according to their original features. Now, with an area of 13.66 hectares, Qinghefang Road is dealing with antiques, calligraphy, paintings, souvenirs, articles of handicraft, and some special products in Hangzhou, in addition to the hundred-year-old shops. The historic and cultural atmosphere on the road will surely attract much business interest, thus promoting tourism, which undoubtedly contributes a lot to the overall development of Hangzhou City.

Publishes at : 07-08-06 21:22

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