Rejuvenated ancient town celebrates first anniversary of Panlong Tiandi
The dragon boat at Panlong Town in Qingpu District, where a series of "Blooming Jiangnan (the southern part of Yangtze River's lower reaches)" activities are hosted to celebrate its one-year anniversary
Panlong Tiandi, a renewal and upgrade of the ancient Panlong Town in Qingpu District, has launched a series of "Blooming Jiangnan" activities featuring a giant pankou (frog fastener) dragon boat, intangible cultural heritage experiences, exhibitions, and the iconic Panlong fair.
The activities celebrate the one-year anniversary of the opening of Panlong Tiandi, which reimagines the ancient Jiangnan watertown as a modern urban retreat. With a history dating back more than 1,000 years to the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), Panlong Town is one of 32 historical protected zones in Shanghai.
In the past year, Panlong Tiandi recorded more than 25 million visits with over 20 percent of those out-of-town tourists, and has emerged as a popular commercial landmark in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Panlong Tiandi attracts big crowds during the holiday.
During the May Day holiday, the town recorded over 850,000 visits, generating sales volume of 24 million yuan (US$3.3 million), proving its popularity as a micro-vacation destination in Shanghai.
As Panlong was a famous tubu (homespun cloth) manufacturing base in Jiangnan, "Blooming Jiangnan" activities running through June revive the pankou technique, an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai.
A giant art installation to magnify the beauty of pankou is a highlight of the activities.
A hanfu display
Pankou technique is ingeniously merged into the 10-meter-long dark-awninged boat, which took more than 300 hours to finish. It reflects exquisite details and unfolds a cultural journey with tradition and modernity, as well as stories of Jiangnan.
The boat makes its debut at Panlong Bay and people are able to take a cruise tour on the vessel.
The iconic Xianghua Bridge, ancient stage, and memorial archway in Panlong Tiandi have been adorned with pankou patterns featuring cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, peonies, and magnolias that symbolize the arrival of spring, perfection, and purity, enabling people to see the beauty of Chinese fabric manufacturing.
The Shanghai Textile Museum has brought its exhibits to Panlong and pop-up activities are being held through June 10, offering a chance for people to take a close-up look at traditional textile tools and to experience cloisonné and sachet making techniques.
Ancient scenes of the town is replicated and people may encounter embroidery workers and teachers at traditional sishu, or old-style private schools, while strolling.
The Panlong Fair brings together more than 100 lifestyle booths, while Jiangnan handmade workshops at the fair and Yuz Museum invite people to experience intangible cultural heritage crafts such as lacquerware, handmade tie dyeing, and Suzhou embroidery sachets.
The boat
Several concerts of Jiangnan sizhu (string and wind music) are also scheduled, together with Huju opera performances by Shanghai's Huju Opera artist Mao Shanyu.
Panlong Tiandi has carefully preserved the town's water system and bridge culture, as well as its unique cross-street pattern.
Developed by Shui On Group, a leading urban solutions provider, the renewal program in Qingpu has turned the town into a "Jiangnan paradise."
Spanning 230,000 square meters of green space, it was conceived as Xintiandi's rural reinterpretation of its successful urban regeneration projects and dedicated to green, sustainable and people-centric design. So far, it has welcomed about 160 brands, with nearly 20 percent of them Shanghai or national first stores.
Over the past year, about 420 activities and performances have been hosted in Panlong Tiandi.
A touch of intangible cultural heritage
If you go:
Venue: Panlong Tiandi, Qingpu District
Address: No.8, Lane 123, Panding Road 蟠鼎路123弄8號
An exhibit
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