A Sketch of Nanxun
4 min readNanxun District is located in the east of Huzhou, the hinterland of the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain. It is adjacent to Zhenze Town on the northeast, and bordered by Qidu Town on the north in Jiangsu Province.
This district sits within the economic circle of Yangtze Delta formed by Tai Lake Basin and Hang-Jia-Hu Plain. Nanxun District covers an area of 716 square kilometers in all, including the central area of 141.3 square kilometers and the scenic area of 1.68 square kilometers. Now it has under its jurisdiction nine towns with the population of nearly 550,000 covering the town proper and a developing district. Nanxun Town, the administrative center, is 30 kilometers away from the downtown of Huzhou and 120 kilometers from Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province. It is marked by level topography with rivers and streams flowing through it. The ancient Grand Canal passes through Nanxun. It is the most popular tourist site in Huzhou.
Nanxun was founded at the end of the reign of Emperor Chunyou during the Southern Song Dynasty(1252), and has a history of 754 years. It has been enjoying the reputation at home and abroad for its excellent tsatlee silk and abundant raw silk with top quality. It used to be an important commercial hub and a prosperous town for its bustling markets and numerous businessmen. The Grand Canal has brought it a unique culture and favorable geographical advantages. The ancient town reached its ultimate glory between the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early years of the Republic of China (1912-1949). It is renowned as “the Top Town of the Republic of China”. Nanxun has also been a place endowed with intelligence, and propitious for giving birth to great men.A galaxy of talents emerged in its history, only in the time from the Early Qing Dynasty to the 1911 Revolution, more than 450 men of letters and scholars came out of the small town. It enjoys the laudatory title of “Land of Talents”.
Since ancient times, Nanxun has got much benefit from its location and the very convenient traffic by water and land. The long history has left it lots of historical interests and cultural relics. Many of them are in Nanxun Town and get well preserved, such as the Baijian Buildings, Jiaye Book Collection House, Little Lotus Manor, the Imperial Steles, Jingxiang Poetry House, Chongde Temple, Qiushu Li, and Guanghui Palace. The most valuable buildings and historical relics with the cultural connotations still lie at their original sites retaining their charms. Nanxun boasts of being the unique and rich tourist town just because of its long history and profoundculture. Since the policy of reforming and opening to the outside world has been put into practice in China, the local government has taken effective measures to invigorate the local economic business and pushed forward the development of the local tourist industry greatly. With the increasing of interchanges in materials, information and personel, the advanced techniques and skills have been constantly introduced into the town and used in production. Nanxun has successively built a batch of specialized markets, and the large distribution centers with strong stimulus, such as the Nanxun Building Material Market, one of the largest plywood markets in China. These specialized markets and trading centers produce the far-reaching influence, and attract more businessmen from the whole country. The growth of economy brings about the prosperity of Nanxun, which promotes the development of tourism at the same time.
After touring the ancient town, the local custom, the leisure fashion, and the two slabstone-paved streets facing each other on the opposite side of a river will leave a deep impression on visitors. The graceful stone arch bridges over the river, the white washed walls and dark green titles of the ancient dwelling houses guarded with engraved gates, and suspended buildings and fire walls all display the exquisiteness of constructions and the folk-style of the southern China. Ancient bridges, flowing streams and households along waterside as well as those celebrated persons in the history of Nanxun definitely reveal itself a typical water town with profound culture among all the ancient towns. Yet, the ancient small town presents not only the similar Chinese tradition, but also the exotic fashion.
That is exactly where the fascination of Nanxun lies.
Nanxun’s development in the past hundred years is an epitome of the modern Chinese history. As the political, economical and cultural center of the administrative district, Nanxun is one of the Ten Most Charming Historical and Cultural Towns in China. The small town with an antique flavour is ready to welcome tourists who are hungry for a taste of its historical culture of South China.
