Situated in the west of Changshu, Shanghu Town is adjacent to the Yushan Cultural Tourism Resort to the east, Nanhu Wetland Park to the south, Xishan District of Wuxi to the west, Jiangyin to the northwest, and Zhangjiagang to the north. In 2003 and 2005, the town underwent two mergers, involving the former Yetang, Liantang, and Wangzhuang Towns respectively. By 2021, the total area of the town had reached 112.5 square kilometers, with 3 communities, 22 administrative villages, and one aquaculture farm under its jurisdiction. The registered population then had reached 80,100 while the floating population amounted to 44,700. Shanghu has been successively awarded titles such as “National Health Town,” “Town with Beautiful Environment in China,” “Top 100 Towns of Scientific Development in China,” “Town of Chinese Folk Culture and Art in China,” and “National Production Base of Racking and Mannequins,” etc.
Shanghu Town is thus named due to the nearby Shanghu Lake which bears close connection with Jiang Shang, the founding father of the Zhou Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Di Ji (meaning “records of Wu County”) by Lu Guangwei, a native of the County (today’s Suzhou), recorded: “There is a stone chamber on Haiyu Mountain in Changshu, where Lv Wang, a prestigious courtier of the Zhou Dynasty, escaped the chase of Zhou, the king of the Shang Dynasty.” Now the stone chamber can still be found on Yushan Mountain in Changshu. Shanghu Lake acquired its name, since Jiang Shang once fished here. Today, there is a stone statue of Jiang Shang standing by the lakeside as well as a cultural centre for the great man.
Shanghu is one of the four towns in Changshu involved in the local key construction project. With a long history and rich cultural heritage, it is one of the birthplaces of Liangzhu Culture.
The Luodun Ruins
The Luodun Ruins of Liangzhu Culture is at Zhuxiang of Luodun Village in Shanghu. It is a 4-meter-high earthen mound with a length of 30 meters from the east end to the west one, and a width of 20 meters from its north side to the south one. During the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty, Sang Yu compiled Changshu County Annals which recorded that “Luodun was located four miles south of Shanghu Lake, with a height of two zhang (“Zhang” is a unit of measurement in the Ming Dynasty. One Zhang is about 3.2 metres.), and a perimeter of fifty bu’s (“Bu” is a unit of measurement used in Ming Dynasty as well. One bu is about 1.6 metres.). It is said to be the tomb of Prime Minister Luo, but there is no evidence available to prove this story.” In February 1992, several villagers of Luodun found a few jade bracelets, jade beads, and stone axes while excavating soil. They handed these objects over to the Changshu Museum. After two archaeological excavations, 14 ancient tombs dating back to 5,250 years ago were discovered, in which over 250 funerary objects were unearthed, and most of them were jade ware.
The Old Yetang Street
Yetang Street, located in the market area of Yetang of Shanghu, has a history of over 1,500 years. As early as the eighth year of the Daming era of the Ming Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties (464), the local metallurgical industry was highly developed. Since it was close to Guantang, the place was named “Yetang” (meaning “the pond close to smelting workshops”). According to Chang Zhao He Zhi (meaning “the joint history of Changshu and Zhaowen”) compiled during Emperor Qianlong’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, “Yetang is located to the west of Shanghu Lake, formerly under the jurisdiction of Huanhua Town, 18 miles away from the city. It has three streets and over a hundred households, with a population of over 400 people. There are two bridges, namely the Yongning Bridge and Riyonghe Bridge, and the Liwang Temple in the town.” The old street consists of the eastern, western, and southern sections. The 80-metre-long Dongjie Street (meaning “the street in the east”) is its main street. Along the street, there are many old buildings constructed during the Qing Dynasty, which used to accommodate shops such as Shen Hengfeng’s Nanhuo Shop (meaning “Sheng Hengfeng’s shop selling delicacies from the south”), Yu Jiaren’s Pharmacy, and Shen Zhengcheng’s Grain Shop, etc. It used to serve as the important commercial street in Yetang.
The ancient Town of Dahe
Dahe, formerly known as Taihe (“泰和”) and Taihe (“太和”), is said to have been built by Fan Laixian, a local scholar who passed the imperial examination during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty and later served as prefectural magistrate of Wuchang. Chang Zhao He Zhi records that “Eighteen miles away from the city, Taihe Town is located to the northwest of the Zhangmuqiao Pond, formerly belonging to Ganhua Town. There are three streets in the town with about 300 households. The number of residents is about a thousand, most of whom bear the surname Fan.” The old market area of Dahe Town used to house the Fans’ Ancestral Temple and the Arch of a Dutiful Son. Its main streets are Dongjie Street, Xijie Street, and Hengjie Street. Outside Dongxiang Alley at Dongjie Street lies the Beiquan Bridge, a stone bridge built in the Ming Dynasty. At the west end of the bridge sits the Dongyue Temple. Along Xijie Street one can visit the Zhongguanyin Temple, the Yizhuang Bridge and the Chenghuang Temple. In front of the Chenghuang Temple there are two ancient ginkgo trees whose trunks are about 6 meters in height and whose respective circumference is 1.6 meters.
The Old Yingyang Bridge
The Yingyang Bridge is located in Wangzhuang of Shanghu Town. Wangzhuang, formerly known as “Huangzhuang”, has a long history. In the 29th year of Emperor Wanli’s reign in the Ming Dynasty (1601), Qu Rushuo (father of the national hero Qu Shisi), a native who served as the vice governor of Guandong provincial administration after having passed the imperial examination, wrote a poem entitled “Mooring by Wangzhuang at Night.” In the poem, Qu wrote, “The new moon shed faint light on thin frost, while the remote village crouched alone on a piece of frozen land. As the sun rose, the ice-covered river began to flow, in which withered reeds rustled its echo to the currents.” First built in the 17th year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign of the Qing Dynasty (1837), the extant old Yingyang Bridge is a single-arched bridge running north-south. The bridge is 3.9 meters wide and 25.59 meters long. The rise of its arch reaches 5.3 meters in height. The top of the bridge arch is paved with a carved stone slab, at the centre of which there is a Tai Ji diagram surrounded by dragons and clouds in simple yet elegant design. The bridge railings are decorated with carved stone lions. The couplet at the east end reads “Namo Amitabha,” while the one at the west end bears the line: “Looking far into the distance on the bridge top, you can see the lake as smooth as a mirror; turning your eyes nearby, you will be greeted with a view of the mountain and sweet smell in the air.”
The Opera in Wangzhuang
Shanghu Lake is a place featuring harmony and gentleness. The Wangzhuang area of Shanghu is adjacent to the City of Wuxi, the birthplace of Wuxi opera. Therefore, Wuxi opera has enjoyed great popularity here since ancient times. In the 1970s, a local propaganda team was formed. In addition to classic Wuxi operas, the team also compiled and staged their own playlets, which were well-received by the locals. The plays created in this fashion gradually integrated features of the local culture and grew into a localized genre of Wuxi opera.
The year of 2000 saw the establishment of the Wangzhuang Orchid Troupe. In 2012, the Wuxi opera with local features of Wangzhuang succeeded with its application for the status of Changshu’s intangible cultural heritage. The Shanghu Wuxi Opera Competition for Amateur Performers kicked off in March 2021, with branch venues in Jiading District of Shanghai, Xiangcheng District of Suzhou, Danyang City of Zhenjiang, and Yixing and Jiangyin Cities of Wuxi. The event attracted an online audience of over 150,000. In 2003, the Wangzhuang Opera House was opened with an area of more than 300 square meters. It was given the title as the “Inheritance and Protection Base of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Changshu.”
The Huangcangdang Revolutionary Memorial Hall
The Huangcaodang Revolutionary Memorial Hall is located in Hejin Village of Shanghu Town. In the early days of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the revolutionary seed started to sprout in the Shanghu area. The Wangzhuang branch of the Communist Party of China, the first rural party branch in Changshu, was established in August 1927. Its secret liaison station was set up at its member Xu Zhoufu’s home at Huangcaodang. From July to September in 1928, Huangcaodang turned out to be a key liaison point for the Peasants’ Revolutionary Army to plan its armed uprising. In order to protect the precious red resources, Shanghu Town conducted a renovation project at the former site of Huangcaodang revolutionary activities. The Memorial Hall was completed and opened on June 30, 2019.
The Huangcaodang Revolutionary Memorial Hall not only explores the culture of local elites and red resources, but also integrates local characteristics to make the revolution heritage even more vigorous. In June 2021, the modern Wuxi opera “Qing Shi Jian” (meaning “appreciation of the pure bluestone”), created against the backdrop of the revolutionary struggles at Huangcaodang, was debuted and warmly received.
The racking manufacturing industry
The racking manufacturing industry, which emerged in the 1980s, is Shanghu Town’s signature industry. It is engaged in the manufacturing of supermarket racking and bookshelves for different purposes; light, medium, and heavy-duty racking for warehouses; various handcarts, flatbed barrows, and foldable aerial work platforms. Designing services are available as well, especially the designs of racking used at production sites and large market places, shopping mall facilities, logistics equipment, and commercial exhibition devices, etc.
By 2021, there had been 246 racking manufacturers and supporting enterprises in Shanghu. Among them, the top 20 enterprises achieved a net incoming tax of 411 million yuan, accounting for 5.2% of the incoming tax of all the industrial enterprises in Shanghu. In the same year, the sales volume of Shanghu’s racking industry was close to 4 billion yuan, while the total output value of its related industries exceeded 6 billion yuan. By the end of that year, the industry had acquired a domestic market share of over 70% in shopping malls and supermarkets, and an international market share of over 50%. The year of 2021 also witnessed the construction of the Shanghu Racking Industrial Park (Phase I and Phase II). The enterprises that have settled down here include Changshu Beiyate Commercial Equipment Co., Ltd, Dingtailong Plant of Rack Equipment for Fruits and Vegetables, and Suzhou Qianghong Metal Products Co., Ltd., etc.
Shanghu’s appeal lies not only in its pastoral scenery but also its famous specialties. In February, 2018, the simultaneously held the Exhibition of Traditional Cultural Features, Agricultural Specialties, and Outstanding Achievements of Civilization and the campaign “At Home in Suzhou & Harmony in Shanghu” were held in Guanqian Street in Suzhou. At the grand event, the “Eighteen Specialties of Shanghu” gained great favor from shoppers in Suzhou. These specialties include watermelons, muskmelons, Tuolu pancakes and cold wine-soaked chicken (meat) from Wangzhuang; salt pig heads; okras and chickens feeding on Ganoderma (thus produced eggs and glossy Ganoderma) from Runfeng, kabochas, special cakes for the Dragon Boat Festival, salted duck eggs from Nanhu, rice wine and glutinous rice wine from Liantang, vermicelli made from sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, victory cakes from Yetang, traditional brown sugar cakes, pastes made of sticky rice, and quality rice from Shanghu.
Watermelons of Wangzhuang
Watermelons cultivated in the Wangzhuang area are a traditional agricultural specialty in Shanghu Town, which has been famous since the 1960s. Watermelons produced here are sweet, juicy and crispy with thin rinds. In 2020, this local specialty was awarded the certificate of the “National Geographical Indication of Agricultural Products.” and the gold medal at the 2nd Jiangsu Promotion Campaign of Quality Muskmelons and Watermelons, which bore the name “Blue Sky and Green Water Cup.”
Mr. Cai’s Wine-soaked Chicken (meat) of Wangzhuang
The ingredients for Mr. Cai’s Wine-soaked Chicken (meat) of Wangzhuang include locally bred chicken and vinasse, a by-product of home-brewed rice wine. The cooking process involves adding a variety of secret ingredients to the vinasse, and then soaking the entire chicken into the mixture. After about ten days, the chicken is ready to be served. One will never get tired of this delicious dish.
Tuolu Pancakes
Tuolu Pancakes are a traditional delicacy in the Wangjiazhuang area in Shanghu, which falls into two types: the sweet and the savoury. The sweet filling is mainly composed of shepherd’s purse, powdered sugar, and lard, while the savoury one is mainly made of green onions, lard, and spiced salt. When taken out of the oven, the freshly baked pancake is hot and its aroma is irresistible. Its outer side is crispy but not burnt, oily but not greasy. Taking a bite while the pancake is still hot is indeed a treat to one’s taste buds.
Fu Rice of Shanghu
When cultivating Fu rice (meaning “auspicious rice”), farmers select and use Changyou Five, Nanjing 46 and other rice varieties of excellent quality, whose maturing time vary greatly. Its cultivation process is green and mechanized. After the harvest, advanced drying and processing equipment is applied for fine processing. The year of 2020 saw Fu rice win the Huaxi Village Cup in the 4th Jiangsu Quality Rice Products Competition.
