Shanlian () is a small town located in northern
Zhejiang province in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, in the
Nanxun District
Nanxun District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Nanxun Town, an ancient Venetian town, is located in the district. It is one of the most well-preserved old towns in this region and is known for ...
of the
prefecture-level city Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...
. It is renowned as the sole source of the prized Huzhou
writing brush
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitut ...
, which has been manufactured in the town for over 2,000 years.
An extensive canal system criss-crosses the town, and a good deal of agriculture is done in the outlying areas surrounding the town. In addition there are extensive groves of
mulberry
''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
bushes grown throughout the district for
silk production. The land upon which the town is built is made up of very gentle, rolling fields, and the climate is quite temperate - snow in the winter is possible but rare. Agriculture is possible nearly the whole year round.
, a large new
Buddhist temple is currently under construction next door to the old temple. It is planned to eventually include the old temple grounds. The east side of town has been experiencing significant growth for several years now, while the older, western part of town is very gradually being abandoned.
Image gallery
Image:ShanLian.jpg, View of ShanLian
Image:Shanlian_-_East_side_of_town_looking_south.jpg, East end of town looking south
References
External links
Huzhou Writing BrushShort video clip of Hu writing brushes being manufacturedShort video clip of one of the main streets in town
Cities in Zhejiang
{{Zhejiang-geo-stub