Location: Songling Neighbourhood of Wujiang District, Suzhou
Time of Construction: Before the Yuan Dynasty
Population: 3, 498
Introduction of Nanshe Village:
Nanshe Village, formerly named “Jian Village”, has a history of one thousand years and can be dated back to the Emperor Renzong’s reign (Buyantu Khan’s reign) of the Yuan Dynasty (about 1320 AD). Used to be the only passage if one wanted to enter Taihu Lake via Songling, the village was a resting spot for fishermen from surrounding areas and many boats stopped here to spend the night. It has long been known as a haven of Taihu Lake, and correspondingly, “Distant Sails in Jian Village” is one of the eight renowned views in Songling. The east-west Nanshe River runs through the village. Within a network of watercourses, villagers’ houses all perch on the banks and the terrain inside the village is flat. The village still retains the natural texture of a traditional waterside village characteristic of the southern area of the Yangtze River. It is indeed a typical case of such villages.
In the past, fishermen often stopped at Nanshe for a rest before they reached their respective destinations, and thus a busy main street gradually formed. Nanshe Street, paved with bluestones, begins at Town God’s Temple and ends at Donghuang Temple (“Donghuang” means “Emperor of Mountain Tai.”). Along the street, there are revetments and a long corridor stretching from the west end to the east one with a length of 1, 000 metres. When at its peak, the street crowdedly housed tea houses, wine shops, barber shops, blacksmith’s shops, shops of medicine materials and grocery stores along its two sides. This roofed passage of a brick and wood structure extended one kilometre. During its golden age, the village homed 13 temples and 10 ancient stone bridges among which only Julong Bridge and Yongning Bridge are still in existence today.
The most famous temple fair in Nanshe is Nanshe Temple Fair held on the fourth day of the lunar New Year at Wulu Hall (“Wulu” refers to “the five gods of wealth”.) in the village every year. The custom of “welcoming the God of Wealth, gathering at the Temple Fair” has been in existence for over one hundred years. At today’s Nanshe Temple Fair, villagers add dance performances and other modern elements, which attracts an increasing number of visitors. Nanshe Temple Fair has become an indispensable part to the cultural heritage of the village.
