Located on the east bank of Yangcheng Lake, Bacheng is the largest town under the jurisdiction of Kunshan with an area of 157 square kilometers. Its location in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Belt allows the town to have a strong economy. In the town, lakes are all connected, including Yangcheng Lake, Kuilei Lake, Dongyangcheng Lake (Manli Lake), Bacheng Lake and Zhicheng Lake, which are known as the “Five Pearls.” Clear water in these lakes makes this area the birthplace of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.
Bacheng was founded during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is the birthplace of Kunqu Opera, known as “mother of all Chinese operas” and granted the status as a World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage item. Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, first bred here, never fails to excite Chinese people’s taste buds. Bacheng is the heroic astronaut Fei Junlong’s hometown. It has a history of civilization of over 6,000 years whose urban area was built over 2,500 years ago. In 2021, Bacheng was ranked the 24th among Top 100 Comprehensively Competitive Towns of China.
The ancient city in south of the Yangtze River is quiet and reserved;
Yushan makes an ideal place to create Kunqu Operas.
Bacheng is an ancient water town with a long history in the south of the Yangtze River. According to archaeological findings, there is a Neolithic cultural site called “Chuodun Site” which can be dated back to over 6,000 years ago. It houses cultural relics of previous eras from Majiabang Culture to Maqiao Culture, from 3,800 B.C. to 1,200 B.C. The carbonized grains of rice discovered here has a history of over 6,000 years and serve as solid historical evidence for the cultivation history of rice in the world.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, King He Lv of Wu State demanded Wu Zixu to build a capital city for Suzhou. At that time, barbarians in the north of the Yangtze River often crossed the river and invaded Wu by way of the northeast of Suzhou City. King He Lv took the present-day Yangcheng Lake area as a barrier and built 12 cities on the east, south, and north sides of the lake, including Ba City, Wu City, Donglin City, and Wei City. Troops were stationed here to defend the capital. Among those cities, Ba City, Wu City and Zhi City were all located in the current area of Bacheng Town. This marked the beginning of the 2,500-year history of Bacheng.
The Wucheng Ruins at the present-day Wushentan Village has been proved to have been constructed by the strategist Sun Wu of the State of Wu. At the center of the Ruins is Wuchengtan Pond, a square lake with earthen ridges on its eastern and western sides. Beyond the ridges is a canal which forms a vertical square array. It might serve as the second moat. Flowing southward into Yangcheng Lake, the canal is also a passage for boats and ships. By taking the unique topographical features into consideration, the designer utilized the surrounding lakes and rivers and applied the pattern of eight trigrams to build an eight-diagram water fortress, taking the shape of the Chinese character “出”. With 12 waterway exits, the fortress features crisscrossed watercourses inside. The mysterious and unpredictable layout makes it a place easy to defend but difficult to break into. In 2007, the provincial departments responsible for cultural relics protection conducted an investigation at the site and confirmed that the Wucheng Ruins was the only excavated fortress forming an essential part of the waterway defense of the Wu State Army during the Spring and Autumn period. Zhi City and Ba City sank to the bottom of the lakes due to the gradual formation of the grand Yangcheng lake area during the Tang and Song Dynasties. What happened in and to them during the Spring and Autumn period remains an underwater myth even today.
The Emperor Xuanzong’s reign of the Tang Dynasty witnessed a most vigorous boom in the culture of the Tang Dynasty. Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong, led the musicians to sing and dance in person at the theatre of the royal palace. Huang Fanchuo was one of his musicians. Huang was nicknamed as the “Champion of Comedy” for his humor, eloquence and incomparable talent in singing and dancing. During his over three decades of acting career in the royal palace, Huang Fanchuo often performed with another famous court actor Zhang Yehu to stage Canjun operas (a kind of comedy popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties). Their smooth cooperation lent wit and delight to their performances, which enjoyed great popularity in the capital city. After the An-Shi Rebellion, Huang Fanchuo first lived a rootless life and then settled down by Kuilei Lake. He set up a theatre and brought court music and performing art to Kunshan. His tune was referred to as “Zheng Sheng” (meaning “orthodox tune”). For several centuries, villagers living in the area of Kuilei Lake connected to Chuodun Mountain have performed Kuilei operas and even Shui Kuilei operas, performances staged in water or on board of boats. Kuilei opera is also known as “Nong Can Jun” (meaning “teasing the military consultant”). It follows the tradition set by Huang Fanchuo and thus carries the true spirit of the mainstream opera of the golden days of the Tang Dynasty. In this type of opera, the viewer can detect the charm of court opera of the Tang Dynasty. Huang Fanchuo popularized and taught Canjun Opera in Kunshan, which built a solid foundation for the birth and development of Kunqu Opera later. As a result, Chuodun became a sacred place to performing artists of traditional operas. The court music of the Tang Dynasty brought to Chuodun by Huang Fanchuo became the origin of Kunshan tune, and Huang was revered as the distant ancestor of Kunqu Opera. In the late Tang Dynasty, Huang Fanchuo was buried here. To commemorate him, the place was given the name “Chuodun.”
During the Yuan Dynasty, the middle-aged local poet Gu Aying “piled rocks to make a small mountain at Jiexi (the southwest of present-day Chuodun Village) and built a thatched cottage beside it, on either side of which several pavilions and halls were arranged. Flowers and trees were planted alternately around them, which were echoed by a belt of Chinese parasols and bamboo.” The poet named the court Yu Shan Jia Chu (meaning “the best place at Yushan”). He often held elegant meetings to entertain scholars and literati. The court also attracted a large number of performing artists of operas, lyricists, dramatists, musicians and singers, namely Zhao Mengfu, Sa Dula, Zhang Zhu, Yang Weizhen, Ni Zan, Zhang Yu, Ke Jiusi, Gao Ming, Xiong Mengxiang, Chen Weiyun, Zhao Yuan and Gu Jian, etc. They were all devoted to the study of the tunes and musical instruments of Nanqu Opera (or Southern Opera), which greatly promoted the formation and development of Kunqu Opera. Liang Chenyu, a famous playwright in the Ming Dynasty (born in Bacheng), composed the historical play “Huan Sha Ji” (meaning “Washing the Silken Gauze”), which was the earliest legend script performed in the reformed Kunshan tune. The creation of the play became a cultural event which made its writer a key figure in the formation of Kunqu Opera and history of its promotion.
The beautiful lake and delicious crabs make Bacheng a blessed land;
The art of Kunqu Opera and calligraphy help to boom the local culture.
The industry of breeding Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs is famous both at home and abroad. Bacheng, as the birthplace of the crabs, was known in Shanghai as early as the period of the Republic of China. The town relies on Yangcheng Lake to develop its crab-oriented economy from which local people have greatly benefited. More than 30,000 farmers in Bacheng are engaged in catering industry and the industry of breeding and selling crabs. A team of over 300 licensed brokers in the industry has been formed. The annual output value of hairy crabs is over 3 billion yuan, whose benefits account for nearly half of the per capita income in the town. In order to protect its status as the place of origin for the hairy crabs, Bacheng has registered the collective trademark of “Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs of Bacheng” for all the live aquatic products produced in this area through the State Administration of Industry and Commerce. The crab culture festival has been held annually for several decades, attracting millions of merchants to come for sightseeing, investment and business opportunity. “Beautiful Yangcheng Lake with Bacheng Crabs” has become a major attraction for the economy based on seasons and festivals in East China.
Exhibits in the Yufeng Exhibition Hall of Antiques and Cultural Relics, Kunshan Rocks Museum, and the Bacheng Museum of Crab Culture along the ancient streets of Bacheng provide visitors with the opportunity to savor the rich culture of the southern area of the Yangtze River. In early autumn, visitors may pick Kyoho grapes and enjoy the juicy fruits at the vast vineyards. Xie Fang Yuan, where restaurants featuring crab dishes cluster in Bacheng, has become a popular commercial street with distinct Chinese features.
There are quite a few distinctive cultural brands in Bacheng. One of them is Kunbei folk songs. As the birthplace of Kunqu opera, Bacheng attaches great importance to the cultivation of Kunqu talents and the inheritance of this art form. The year of 2000 saw the establishment of the “Little Plum Blossom Troupe” which aims to cultivate young performers of Kunqu opera. In 2008, the China Theatre Association set up the Small Plum Blossom Training Base of Kunshan at Shipai Central Primary School. In the last ten years, many trainees have performed on stages around the country, and become leading actors and actresses of Kunqu opera, while some others are active on TV and the big screen. The “Little Plum Blossoms Troupe” is also known as “the Blossom” of Bacheng. The art of calligraphy in the town is often referred to as “the Writing Brush” of Bacheng. Famous calligraphers who are natives of the town include Xu Angfa, one of the “Four Great Masters of Wuzhong;” Li Xiaobai, who pursued his teaching career in Shanghai during the period of the Republic of China; and Li Guoxiang. The town also takes pride in artists such as the seal carver Shan Xiaotian. Bacheng was awarded the title of “Hometown of Chinese Folk Art (Calligraphy)” by the Ministry of Culture in 2000.
Since the launch of reform and opening up, Bacheng has adopted the exploratory practice and thus showcased its strong economy with distinct eco-friendly features, which is an excellent sample for other towns around the country. The adjustment in administrative divisions has endowed its urban development with new meanings. It can be said for sure Bacheng will make further achievements and grow into an ideal place to live and work in.
