Shajiabang Town, once known as Hengjing, is located in the southern corner of Changshu, Jiangsu Province. The year of 2003 saw Shajiabang Town and Tangshi Town undergo zoning adjustments and merge into Shajiabang Town. The town is about 14 kilometers long from east to west, and 6.8 kilometers wide from north to south, covering an area of 80.4 square kilometers.
Shajiabang has been listed as a National Civilized Town and Chinese Historical and Cultural Town. It has been awarded a China Habitat Environment Example Award and the title of Global Top 100 Examples of “Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment” issued by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Shajiabang Scenic Spot is a National Demonstration Base for Patriotic Education, 100 National Classic Red Tourism Scenic Spots and a National 5A Scenic Spot. Within the scenic area is a National Demonstration Base for Defense Education—Shajiabang Revolutionary History Memorial, and a national wetland park—Shajiabang Wetland Park.
A millennium town boasts of its large collection of literary elites;
One cannot help singing the praise of clear waves while paddling a boat and enjoying the view!
With a history of over 1,500 years, Shajiabang takes pride in its rich culture. During Emperor Tianjian’s reign of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties period (502—519), Fahua Nunnery was built in the town. In the 11th year of Emperor Daye’s reign of the Sui Dynasty (615), a fortress was built around the village, and a circle of clay city walls were built around Fahua Nunnery, known as Langcheng. In the second year of Emperor Baoyou’s reign in the Southern Song Dynasty (1254), there were villages such as Huangjing and Yangao under the Town’s jurisdiction, belonging to Moye Village of Shuangfeng Township under Changshu County. By Emperor Zhengtong’s reign of the Ming Dynasty (1436—1449), most local people had chosen to live along the banks of Youjing River in the town, around which a marketplace gradually formed, known as the Tang Market, since most of the people there took the surname “Tang.”
By the Southern Dynasties, the Shuiyue (meaning “water and moon”) Pavilion had been built in Fahua Nunnery, which was a place for generations of literati and scholars to live and do literary creation on a temporary basis. Yan Ne, the head of the Ministry of Personnel and the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Valor in the Ming Dynasty, wrote his famous poem “Reading on an Autumn Night at Langcheng.” At the beginning of Emperor Jiatai’s reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1201—1204), a local man with the surname Su, a pious follower of Buddhism who constantly provided for monks, built Chongfu Temple in Hengjing Village. In the seventh year of Emperor Zhengde’s reign of the Ming Dynasty (1512), Qian Renfu, the vice director of the Ministry of Works, wrote “A Memorial to the Main Hall of Chongfu Temple.” The essay was later written down by the famous Wu-school calligrapher Zhu Yunming, and then carved onto a stone tablet erected in the temple. At the end of the Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the famous book collector and publisher Mao Jin built the libraries named the Jigu Pavilion (meaning “studying and collecting ancient books”) and Rigeng Pavilion (meaning “working diligently every day”) for book collection at the place called Qixin Bridge (meaning “seven stars”). Mao made his living by collecting and block-printing books. The books he collected amounted to over 84,000, which made him famous at home and abroad. His contemporary Yang Yi built Fengji Tower in the town for meeting literati and scholars from Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu. These scholars formed an association to chant poems, lectured on morality and scholarship, and founded the “School of Tang Market” which became a renowned school of learning in the south of the Yangtze River. According to the old local records, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shajiabang alone had 12 people successful with the highest level of imperial examination, 28 people succeeding in the provincial-level imperial examination, and 138 published writers who had produced hundreds of books and articles. People who were good at calligraphy, painting and chess was great in number as well. This cultural and scholastic tradition has continued for generations. Since the founding of New China, Shajiabang has produced even more talented people, for example the theatric master Hu Weimin; Dai Song’en, an Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Gong Kunyuan, an expert in toxicology of insecticides, etc.
Traditional opera sings praise of the renowned revolutionary base;
Historical records mark those pioneers’ courage and sacrifice.
Shajiabang has a glorious revolutionary tradition. There have been 43 revolutionary martyrs who were locals and sacrificed their lives for our country. During the War of Resistance against Japan, the town was the area centre of the guerrilla war against Japan covering Suzhou, Changshu and Taicang. It also served as the seat of the CPC Special Committee of the South of Yangtze River, the government office of Suzhou and Changtai, and Suzhou County Government. Furthermore, the town hosted the rear hospital of New Fourth Army and witnessed the formation of the eastern route headquarters of Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army in the South of the Yangtze River (hereinafter referred to as “Xin Jiang Kang”, meaning “New Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army”).
In April, 1928, the CPC Hengjing Rural Branch was established with Su Beichun as its secretary. It was the first mixed rural branch of the Party and Youth League in Changshu. In May, 1939, under the leadership of the commander Ye Fei, the Sixth Regiment of the New Fourth Army advanced into areas such as Changshu in southern Jiangsu under the name of the Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army (hereinafter referred to as “Jiang Kang”). From then on, Tangshi Town and Hengjing Town became the centers of the Su-Chang-Tai Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Area. In September of the same year, Jiang Kang troops moved westward. In November, 36 wounded and sick soldiers of the New Fourth Army who were left in the reed marshes for recovery established “Xin Jiang Kang” in Tangshi, with Xia Guang as the commander and Yang Haolu as the deputy commander and director of the political department. In Februar, 1941, this unit underwent reorganization and became the 18th Brigade of the 6th Division of the New Fourth Army, with Tan Zhenlin as the division commander and Jiang Weiqing as the brigade commander. During the War of Liberation, it developed into an elite troop of the East China Field Army, known as the “Champion of Hundred Brigades.” Cui Zuofu, a reporter of Xinhua News Agency, paid a two-month visit to the Yangcheng Lake area of Changshu in the summer of 1957 to conduct in-depth interviews, which enabled him to publish the documentary novel entitled Xue Ran Zhe De Xing Ming (meaning “blood-stained names”). In the same year, General Liu Fei wrote his memoir Huo Zhong (meaning “the sparkle”). He later selected relevant chapters and had them published under the title Yang Cheng Hu Pan (meaning “at the beach of Yangcheng Lake”) in journals such as Meng Ya (meaning “sprouts”) and Yu Hua (meaning “rain flower”).
Greatly inspired by Cui Zuofu’s Xue Ran Zhe De Xing Ming and General Liu’s Huo Zhong, Chen Ronglan, deputy director of the Shanghai Huju Opera Troupe and party branch secretary, and the screenwriter Wen Mu of the Troupe composed the Huju opera “Green Water and Red Flag”, which was later renamed as “Lu Dang Huo Zhong” (meaning “sparkles in the reed marshes”) in 1958. In January, 1964, the opera was staged in Beijing and soon the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe adapted it into a modern Peking opera. On April 27th of the same year, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, and other leaders of the Communist Party of China and the country watched the modern Beijing opera version of “Lu Dang Huo Zhong”. Soon after, Chairman Mao Zedong watched the opera and suggested changing the title to “Shajiabang.” The year 1968 saw the birth of its film adaptation and its nationwide release, which has turned Shajiabang into a household name.
Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets to us.
Tourism and holidays are beneficial to people’s livelihoods!
Since the reform and opening up in 1978, Shajiabang has made good use of its red heritage as an important resistance base against Japanese aggression. Thanks to the joint efforts of successive governments, the town has been gradually built into a national 5A-level tourist attraction and national demonstration base for patriotic education.
With its long revolutionary history, rich folk cultural heritage and effective ecological conservation, Shajiabang Scenic Area has been expanded and the local tourist industry has accordingly been enhanced. Its education area on revolutionary history accommodates a large screen wall, Dongjin Bridge, the Shajiabang Pavilion and the Reverence Square. The Red Stone Village of Folk Culture in the scenic area houses a stone memorial archway, the God of Literature Pavilion, the God of Earth Temple, a gallery for tree-root carving works, an exhibition hall focusing on local marriage and child-bearing customs, and Chunlai Teahouse and the Grand Stage. The green tourist section around the lake, regarded as a “paradise” and “natural oxygen bar” in the area, has a dike with willows on both sides, a small fishing village, Wanzhu Island, stone tablets bearing famous calligraphers’ works, Luhua Village, a maze in reeds, a labyrinth garden, a batch of cabins and restaurants offering local cuisine. Shajiabang Wetland Park boasts of its reed houses, botanical garden, fishing park, crab beaches, shrimp hunting area, Qingshui Pond and Zhuoshui Pond. The Film and Television Production Base at Old Hengjing Street features ancient city walls; a city moat; Diaozhudu Bridge; Wengjia Dregs-Making Workshop; the Residence of the Diao Family; Chunlai Teahouse; workshops for dyeing, weaving, embroidery and blacksmith; and the Museum of Folk Customs in South of Yangtze River, etc. There is also a performance area for popularizing scientific knowledge concerning wetland. Chunlai Street is in the scenic spot. Other tourist attractions include the Shajiabang Tourism Festival, Food Festival of Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs, Aqingsao Folk Customs and Tourism Festival, Beer Festival, Kite Flying Festival, dragon boat race, and performances of water-town wedding ceremonies and Shiwan folk songs, etc.
The wetland covered by reeds in the scenic area has 400 hectares, where the amount of negative oxygen ions in the air is more than 25 times of that in the urban area. It makes a home for 89 species of birds which live and breed here. The fresh air allows the scenic spot to become a natural oxygen bar.Shajiabang has become a renowned place of red tourism.
A town of fish and rice abounds with natural resources;
Hairy crabs and black sticky rice are best known among eight local delicacies.
With abundant resources, Shajiabang is one of the famous lands of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River. The well-known hairy crabs bred in Yangcheng Lake have been awarded the title of “Famous Brand Product of Jiangsu” for several times, and have passed the national-level origin certification. Autumn is the best season to enjoy crabs every year, which is vividly depicted in the farmer’s proverb: “When the west wind blows, crabs have strong feet and become sporty.” When autumn wind blows, most crabs reach their best growing stage, whose two pincers are fiercely strong and eight claws firm. The saying that “September is the best time for crabs with round navels while October is the season for crabs with narrow triangular abdomens” means that female crabs taste best in September in the lunar calendar, while male crabs are the top-grade ones in lunar October.
Black sticky rice is a famous local specialty in Changshu and its surrounding areas, whose crude protein reaches 13.3%. The Chinese pudding made of this rice with eight delicacies is a traditional snack of Shajiabang. Shajiabang stewed chicken and Jiaohua chicken (“Jiao Hua” means “a beggar”) both have a history of over a century, whose key ingredient is the local breed of chickens. The two dishes are processed with traditional cooking methods and each of them needs more than ten natural spices. Today, their producers apply the techniques of vacuum packaging and sterilisation to make packaged versions with no additives. Such a practice brings much convenience to consumers, since what they need to do is as simple as opening the package and then enjoy the tasty chicken. The packaged specialties make ideal gifts for one’s friends and relatives. Shajiabang is also known for its aquatic products. In addition to the four major cultivated breeds of silver carps, grass carps, mackerels and breams as well as shrimps and crabs, there are “three minor whites” (rhodeodeus sinensis, anchovy and culter alburnus), “three minor blacks” (dark sleepers, loach and snakeheads), “three minor yellows” (hemibarbus maculatus, anchovy, warble-billed pelteobagrus fulvidraco), “three minor delicacies” (river snails, field snails, freshwater mussels), and “three minor specialties” (pufferfishes, soft-shelled turtles, mandarin fishes).
The renowned reportage writer He Jianming, a native of Shajiabang, wrote in his book My Paradise, “My hometown Shajiabang is truly a paradise on earth.” In the era of reform and opening up, the ancient water town has cherished and carried forward its red gene, history and culture. Today it is creating new historical chapters.
This is the hometown of the famous opera character “Ah Qing Sao” (meaning “Ah Qing’s wife”)—Shajiangbang.
