CCTV+: Nanchang’s Wanshou Palace Unfolds Its New Look

“The Wanshou Palace carries the nostalgia of Jiangxi people for centuries.” Wanshou Palace Historical Culture Block in Nanchang, built on the former site of Tiezhu Wanshou Palace, is positioned as the No.1 Gan-Po culture block (Gan-Po, the abbreviation of the Ganjiang River and the Poyang Lake, represents Jiangxi Province). As one of the 10 key cultural projects of Nanchang, this block retains the features of local residential dwellings to the greatest extent, showcases the brilliant Jiangyou Culture, and reproduces the charm of centuries-old Jiangxi, offering another cultural landmark for the province to be better known.

Wanshou Palace Historical Culture Block is historically a bustling area thriving on water transportation that mixes merchant group culture, Taoist, architecture and street culture. It consists of three streets and five alleys, i.e., Qiaobu Street, Qipan Street, Wanshougong Street, Hetong Alley, Cuxiang Alley, Wanshougong Alley, Luobo Alley and Luoxiang Alley. It is the urban block most representative of Nanchang’s history, commerce, folk customs, street culture, and ancient architectural style. The Tiezhu Wanshou Palace, located in the eastern part of the block, originated from the Western Han to Jin dynasties, thrived from the Sui to Song dynasties, and peaked in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Wanshou Palace Historical and Culture Block project is located in the core business area in the old city of Nanchang and includes three components, i.e., historical residential buildings, commercial streets, and the Wanshou Palace religious and cultural area. The project restores and retains three streets and five alleys, typical of Jiangxi-style residential buildings of the late Qing Dynasty. There are 123 buildings altogether, including 118 late-Qing Jiangxi-style residential buildings, 45 of which are historical buildings, such as Nanchang General Chamber of Commerce, Chizhi Hall, Yutai Salt House, and the Former Residence of Luo Ying. The block’s special commercial streets are divided into six distinctive business areas, i.e., Fashion Street, Lifestyle Domain, Local Delicacies, Cultural and Creative Bazaar, Jiangxi Gifts, and Nanchang City Street. During the Spring Festival, 13 thematic exhibition halls in the block will be open to the public, including Wanshou New Arrivals, Wanshou Monthly, Lingxi Shrine, and Lingxi Post Office, and folk artists will be invited to perform such crafts as folk calligraphy (huaniaozi), sugar painting, straw weaving, dough figurine making, and paper cutting.

SOURCE:CCTV+