Tangxi, or often referred to as Tangqi, is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in

Linping District Linping is a district of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. It officially become a district on April 9, 2021. Linping District has a total area of 280 Square kilometers as of April 2021. Linping ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province, China, 10 kilometers away from the city center of Hangzhou. Tangqi was established 1,000 years ago, and it is famous for its unique fruit called

Loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family R ...

, also the

Prunus mume ''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...

in the neighborhood area of Chaoshan Mountain.

History

Tangqi Town has a long history of more than 1,000 years, first built in the

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

(960–1127). It used to be a small fishing village. During the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

, Zhang Shicheng broadened the Grand Canal, and then the local fishermen gradually settled down on both sides, first settling the town. In the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, the Tongji Bridge (通济桥) connected both sides, and the town was enlarged. The local record of history named Tangqi Zhi has the specific details. During the Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

dynasties, ancient Tangqi town ranked the first of top ten famous towns in the

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

region. Originally, Tangqi town was under the administration of

Renhe County Renhe may refer to the following places in China: *Ren River, a river in Chongqing, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, the longest tributary of Han River system *Renhe District, a district of Panzhihua, Sichuan Towns, townships, and subdistricts ;Chongqing * R ...

. During the

Republican era Republican Era can refer to: * Minguo calendar, the official era of the Republic of China It may also refer to any era in a country's history when it was governed as a republic or by a Republican Party. In particular, it may refer to: * Roman Rep ...

, Hang County was established, and Tangqi was removed to Hang County. Before 1949, the ancient Tangqi town consisted of north town and south towns, but the south town belonged to Hang County and north town belonged to Deqing County. In May, 1950, Tangqi ended the separation. Currently, Tangqi is the a town in

Historical sites

Guangji Bridge

Guangji Bridge was built in 1494. At 78.7 meters long, 5.2 meters wide, and 13.86 meters high, it was the only 7-arch stone bridge on the Grand Canal. It is rumoured that the Guangji Bridge was built in the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

and expanded in the Ming dynasty. There are 80 steps on each side of the bridge.

Qianlong Stele

The Qianlong Stele was originally located in the branch of Hangzhou Water Conservancy Office in the early

. The office site was destroyed but the stele was reserved because it was embedded into the wall of house of Lu Jinjiang, who was the first executive officer of Chongyu silk production factory. The height of the Qianlong Stele is 5.45 meters. The header part is 1 meter high, 1.5 meters wide with the relief of "Two dragons playing a pearl" on it. The main body part is 3.35 meters high, 1.4 meters wide and 0.5 meters thick. The uncovering bottom part is 1.1 meters high 1.8 meters wide, and 0.8 meters thick. The stele was engraved with 429 Chinese characters as the main text and 10 Chinese characters as the signature of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

. The written characters served as the regular script. The Stele is decorated by carvings of cloerds and dragons. The main content of the stele describes that the Qianlong Emperor rewarded

to pay enough amount of grains as taxes even during the period of the natural disaster when he inspected southern China in 1751. The emperor specially permitted Zhejiang province to reduce the land tax and poll tax by 30 million

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the

. The scene of plum-blossoms here is world-renowned for its distinguishing features, that is, "old, wide and rare". It has a reputation of "a fragrant sea of plum-blossoms" in history. *Old—China has five sorts of ancient plum-blossoms named the Jin, Sui, Tong, Song, and Yuan breeds, and Chaoshan Mountain is boasts of two; the Tang and Song

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

tree. Tang Plum Tree: Tang Plum Tree is located in front of fragrance Pavilion. It said that Tang Plum Tree was the incarnation of fairy named Jiangmei. It was very graceful and particular sculpting indeed. With the history of more than one thousand years, it has experienced years of wind and frost, but it blooms every year, with enchanting blossoms. Song Plum Tree: Among Chaoshan plum trees, the one most worth mentioning is the Song Plum tree, which is located in front of the hall of Great Brightnees. The body of the original plum tree has already withered to a large extent, looking like a half a piece of bark with nothing in its trunk and moss on the surface. The trunk is bent like an old dying man. However, it still sprouted out and bloomed out of six petal flowers in spring. It was quite thought-provoking to see the new blossoms and the old trunk. However, it died in the end. *Wide—Chaoshan Mountain at its golden days had a sea of plum-blossoms which extended for miles. It was a "fragrant sea" for good reason. Nowadays, there are still hundreds and thousands of plum-blossom trees, with a variety of more than ten categories such as scarlet, pink, red and green breeds, and it is reputed as "Plum fragrance can be felt within 10 miles" and " Chaoshan plum blossoms are second to none" . *Rare—It is rather rare that the plum-blossoms here in Chaoshan Mountain have six petals, while those in other places usually have five petals. As plum-blossoms bloom every year in early spring, there are spectacular scenes of petals dancing in the air as snow flakes.

Wu Changshuo Wu Changshuo (, September 12, 1844 – November 29, 1927, also romanised as Wu Changshi, ), born Wu Junqing (), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and seal artist of the late Qing Period. Life Wu was born into a scholarly family in Huzho ...

, the neoteric master of inscription, Chinese painting and calligraphy, as well as the first president of Xiling Seal Society, was very fond of plum-blossoms in Chaoshan Mountain.

Traditional cuisine

* Cì máo ròuyuán (刺毛肉圆) Cì máo ròuyuán is considered one of the most famous foods for the Tangqi Town. It consists of

meatball A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, egg (food), eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are ...

and

glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

. It was said this dish was invented by a local chief at a time when the

once travelled down south from Beijing via the Grand Canal. * Xìshā yáng wěi (细沙羊尾) Xìshā yáng wěi is a dessert. It is a fried

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...

with large amount of

red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or g ...

inside it. It is named after its shape, which is very much like the tail of a sheep (yáng wěi 羊尾).

Tradition

* Lìxià Dog (立夏狗) It is believed that eating a dog shape made of 80%

and 20% of

rice vermicelli Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as 'rice noodles' or 'rice sticks', but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rathe ...

during

Lixia ''Lìxià'' is the 7th solar term according to the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which divides a year into 24 solar terms (節氣). It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 45° and ends when it reaches the longit ...

could protect children from chronic summer fever. Lixia Dog

Notable residents

Wu Changshuo

Born in Anji, Zhejiang Province,

(1844–1927) was a central figure in Chinese painting during the early years of the 20th century. Wu influenced a later trend in painting that belonged to a Chinese artistic movement known as the

Shanghai School ''Haipai'' (, Shanghainese: ''hepha'', ; literally "hangai style") refers to the avant-garde but unique "East Meets West" culture from Shanghai in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is a part of the culture of Shanghai. Etymology The term was coin ...

. This highly influential cultural trend became dominant in painting as well as in cinema, music and literature. The Shanghai School had a romantic character and stressed the idea of "art for art's sake", it combined eastern and western aesthetics and reflected the great changes that cities such as Shanghai were going through. Wu started painting rather late during his thirties and he was fully able to express his diverse skills and talent. After his death, he was interred under the Chaoshan.

Feng Zikai

One of the most famous Chinese artists in the 20th century,

Feng Zikai Feng Zikai (; November 9, 1898 – September 15, 1975) was an influential Chinese painter, pioneering '' manhua'' () artist, essayist, and lay Buddhist of 20th-century China. Born just after the First Sino-Japanese War and dying just before the e ...

enjoyed the sign and

of Tangqi.

References

{{reflist Geography of Hangzhou Towns of Zhejiang