Wuxi’s old canal like time-travel machine
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 11, 2013
More than 100 ruins of ancient kilns are found along Dayao Road on the east bank of the Bodu River. Among them stands this museum in a typical Jiangnan-style building with white walls and black tiles, with four ancient kilns among its highlights. Huang Rencheng, who is in charge of the museum, comes from a big tile-making family on Dayao Road. The road has a long history of tile-making that dates back to the Ming Dynasty. It encompassed several hundred kilns at its peak. With the high content of iron in the river mud, which was the main raw material, the tiles that were produced here were famed for being solid and durable, and making a metallic sound when tapped. The convenient location also made shipping efficient. Therefore, the tiles became quite popular in the country, with most of the demand coming from the rich and the nobility. Kilns here produced more than 80 kinds of bricks and tiles, including tomb bricks, pavement tiles and carved tiles. Its bricks also were used to build the ancient city wall in Nanjing. Visitors can experience the process of making the most basic tiles by making their own bricks.
Opening hours: 9am-9pmAdmission: 10 yuanAddress: 27 Dayao RdJiulianhuan (Chinese puzzle ring) store
A small store located under the Qingming Bridge sells the enigmatic puzzle game jiulianhuan, or Chinese puzzle rings. A typical jiulianhuan has nine rings made with copper wire that are entangled with each other, and a player is required to unravel the rings without breaking any of them. Since the game makes use of many theories of mathematics, it is also called zhihuan (wisdom rings) or jiuhuan (nine rings). It is among the most popular puzzle games of folk tradition, along with qiqiaoban (tangram or seven-piece puzzle) and jiugongtu (magic square). The father of the family, Ruan Genquan, has invented more than 40 variations of many different shapes of jiulianhuan, such as a fish, butterfly, dragonfly, pagoda, crescent and pear. The puzzles are hailed as an intangible cultural heritage of Wuxi. As you enter the store, a number of different puzzle rings are displayed on a small table in front of his daughter, Ruan Hanying, the family’s third generation of puzzle-makers. The number of rings varies from seven to 13. Each set of puzzle rings costs between 15 yuan (USS$2.5) and 40 yuan, depending on the complexity of the game. Try starting with the simple ones, and the Ruans will kindly help you out when you come to your wit’s end.
Opening hours: 5pm-9:30pmAddress: 333 Nanchang StTofu pudding stall
Wang Ercheng has been using a shoulder pole to deliver a wooden bucket of steaming hot tofu pudding to sell every day for three years on Nanchang Street. Wang, who doesn’t have a fixed shop, is the only tofu pudding vendor left on this street, and he has gained fame for his efforts. Many people come to have a taste of what some call “Wuxi’s most authentic tofu pudding.” The 58-year-old Jiangyin (in Jiangsu Province) native learned in his 20s to make tofu pudding from his father, and he has been selling the pudding for 35 years. Wang and his wife begin selling his tofu pudding every day around noon, and they shut down the stall whenever the bucket is empty. They usually can get 50 to 60 bowls from each bucket. On weekends, he makes two buckets to sell. While Chinese netizens have been debating online recently whether tofu pudding should be sweet or salty, Wang’s tofu pudding is mostly salty, though he adds some sugar to bring out the delicate flavors. A regular disposable cup of milky white, tender tofu pudding, with a spoon of soybean sauce (which he calls his secret ingredient), a little sugar, some spring onions, small dried shrimp and zhacai (salty pickled mustard tuber), costs 5 yuan (82 US cents). Though it’s slightly more expensive than most local breakfast eateries, foodies and locals frequently visit to satisfy a craving for authentic tofu pudding, a Wuxi hometown treat.
Opening hours: Begins every noonAddress: Near Kuatang Bridge, no set location How to get there:
Dozens of trains including hiågh-speed trains leave for Wuxi at two railway stations in Shanghai every day from 6:30am to 9pm, and take about 50 minutes to arrive. It’s a 15-minute drive from Wuxi Railway Station to the Qingming Bridge Ancient Canal area.
Travel tips:
The canal cruise is open every day, 1-9pm. The ticket costs 100 yuan (US$16.3) per person, including admission to two museums and the former residence of Zhu Dachun, the late local business tycoon. The whole sightseeing tour takes about one and a half hours. Visitors can get aboard from either the dock at Kuatang Bridge or at nearby Nanchan Temple.
More to visit:
Nanchan Temple: First built in AD 547, Nanchan Temple is a remnant of a complex that is said to have included more than 480 Buddhist temples in southern China. Today, the still popular Buddhist sanctuary is also home to local delicacies, like various pastries, dumplings and braised spare ribs in soybean sauce.
Yangchun Lane: Much like a combination of Shanghai’s Xintiandi and Sinan Mansions, the Yangchun Lane area includes rows of renovated 1930s-style houses with upmarket bars, restaurants and cafes.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)