Qiaoxi Historic District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

Qiaoxi Historic District is named after its location west of Gongchen Bridge. It is about 800 meters long and 200 meters wide. The main attractions are one bridge, two streets, two temples, four alleys, and five museums. The bridge is Gongchen Bridge, the southernmost landmark of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The two streets are Qiaonong Street and Qiaoxi Street, the most distinctive old streets along the canal in Hangzhou. The two temples are Zhang Daxian Temple and Caishen Temple, which are full of grassroots legends. The four alleys are modern residential alleys that continue the city's memory: Jixiangsi Alley, Ruyi Alley, Tonghe Alley, and Jingsheng Alley. The five museums are the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum, China Knives, Scissors, and Swords Museum, China Umbrella Museum, China Fan Museum, and Handicraft Live Exhibition Hall, which are housed in old warehouses, old factories, and new cultural buildings. Qiaoxi Historic District flourished in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China and is a microcosm of the Jiangnan towns along the canal. The entire district covers the architectural features of Hangzhou's residential buildings in various periods of modern times. In this 7.83-hectare historic district, not only are the factories, warehouses, shops, docks, and wharves of modern industry and commerce preserved, but also a large number of residential buildings: houses along the canal, courtyard-style traditional houses, alley buildings from the Republic of China, simple "public houses" from the 1950s and 1960s, and "tube buildings" from the 1980s, which almost condense the architecture of modern China. Like the Grand Canal, it is a "living cultural heritage," a "flowing Chinese civilization, a paradise painting." Qiaoxi Historic District is a collective memory of "old Hangzhou," a cultural heritage, and a contemporary life. The district has become an "open-air Song Dynasty cultural museum," with various activities such as tea tasting, Song Dynasty cultural exhibitions, Song-style woodwork exhibitions, and Hanfu parades. In 2014, Qiaoxi Historic District was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site of the Grand Canal and is the only historic district in Hangzhou to be listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site.