Located in Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, Xinghua is a poetic and picturesque town with a history of more than 2,000 years. With its profound heritage, there are still many century-old shops that have witnessed the changing of local customs and era. So, when you are here, you may as well walk into these time-honored brands, seeing the cultural accumulation and searching for a century of memories.
Shangchizhai, the Century-old Pharmacy
Jindongmen Old Street is an ancient street with a thousand years of history. With the Avenue outside the Dongcheng Gate as its main street, the fishbone-shaped traffic is formed. There are many shops on the street full of warmth and vitality. Meanwhile, there are also many relics of the Ming-and-Qing-style buildings. Among them, Shangchizhai, a century-old traditional Chinese pharmacy, is located. This old building was built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Nowadays, it is a site for provincial-level cultural relics protection in Jiangsu.
Stepping into the pharmacy, the strong scent of herbs will waft around you. The wooden listing plate with prominent gilt characters was made in its early years. With its 300 years of history, it has become a testimony to the shop’s history. Besides, the store’s layout also has a long history. With the carved doors and windows, black lacquered counters, wooden drawers, weighing scales, grinding troughs, and pounding barrels, everything in the medicine shop still maintains the traditional style and appearance, with remote antiquity.
Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine still see patients all year long. Here you can try medicated meals and learn about the profound culture of traditional Chinese medicine. It is said that there is an eye of rare living spring in the pharmacy, full of vitality like the century-old shop itself.
Address: Jindongmen Old Street
Yangheyuan, an Old Huaiyang Restaurant
The land and water of a place will nurture its unique people. In such an ancient city with a pastoral appearance, the people in Xinghua are down-to-earth, honest, elegant, and intelligent, which can be reflected in their cuisine. If you want to taste local specialties, the 150-year-old Yangheyuan is a place you shouldn’t miss.
Yangheyuan was founded in 1876, the second year in the reign of Emperor Guangxu. During its 145 years of history, the restaurant has preserved its traditional characteristics. While the breakfast here is cheap and delicious, the lunch and dinner menu are also varied. The cooking methods include fry, sauté, quick fry, stir fry, stew, simmer, roast, braise, past, boil, and steam, forming a dozen kinds of classical dishes, such as the roast duck, the grilled hooves, Dongpo pork, and eel and pork stew, etc.
Source: Traveling in Xinghua
While inheriting the Huaiyang cuisine tradition, the restaurant also embodies the characteristics of Xinghua cuisine. Therefore, it remains a historical testimony to Xinghua’s food culture. Nowadays, the Yangheyuan is packed with guests almost every day. Besides, it is also worth mentioning that the restaurant has also trained abundant chefs specialized in Huaiyang cuisine during its centuries of development, which has played a vital role in developing Huaiyang cuisine.
Address: No. 18, Beixiaojie Street
The Curtains-like Spring, a Hundred-year-old Bathhouse
“The morning swallowing water, the evening soaking in water” is an accurate portrayal of the leisurely slow life of the Xinghua people. This traditional way of life has been here for thousands of years. The so-called “swallowing water” represents the consumption of the morning tea, while the “soaking in water,” of course, means the evening bath. Apart from tasting the Taizhou morning tea, you can also experience a relaxing bath in a local bathhouse.
Source: Seeing and Hearing Taizhou
Public bathhouses appeared early in Xinghua. Located west of Lengjia Alley, Ximen Street, the Curtain-like Spring was a century-old public bathhouse established during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. With the changes of eras and hands, the bathhouse still preserves its traditional process for the memories of hundreds and thousands of old customers. The bathhouse is roughly divided into the changing and resting area and the bathing area. In the resting area, everyone lies on the benches, chatting over a cup of tea, lively and authentic.
Nowadays, the time-honored bathhouse still plays an irreplaceable role in the lives of local people, which has increasingly become a “paradise of bath” preserving the unique appearance of the Ximen Old Street.
Address: 53 Xichengwai Street
While marking the prosperity of the Xinghua City, the time-honored brands are also the bearer of memories and old spirits. So, let’s be curious about the traditional culture in actual events and anecdotes of the time-honored shops in Xinghua
