Why is Shitang called "Notre Dame de China"?

Shitang Town, Wenling City is an ancient fishing village and a "painting village" where painters from all over China like to sketch. Shitang Town has East Paris Hotel, East Paris Fisherman Club and East Paris Seafood Plaza. East Paris has become a place name, which is synonymous with Shitang or a small place name (referring to the seafood square in East Paris). Obviously, it comes from the abbreviation of Notre Dame de Paris in the East. Nowadays, many articles about Shitang say that in 1980s, painters who came to Shitang to sketch and paint saw the unique beauty of Shitang and praised it as Notre Dame de Paris in the East.

It was originally called Notre Dame de China.

Is that so? Who is the painter who praised Shitang as "Notre Dame de Paris in the East"? Why was Shitang called "Notre Dame de Paris in the East"? After consulting some materials, the author found that the original statement was not "Notre Dame de Paris in the East", but "Notre Dame de China".

1984 On June 6th, Mr. Jiang, the reporting group of Wenling County Committee, published an article in Economic Life, in which he said that "Shen Roujian, an internationally renowned art activist, said that' Shitang' is Notre Dame de China", and the article said: "There is a shitang in a remote corner along the coast of Wenling County in southeast Zhejiang. Last year, Shen Roujian, vice chairman of Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of Shanghai Artists Association, an internationally renowned art activist and painter, came to Shitang and was deeply intoxicated by the local customs. When he got back, he said to everyone,' Notre Dame de Paris, France is a must-see place for western European painters to sketch. Shitang is not ashamed, it is Notre Dame de China!' "

"Shitang Town is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with Shitang Mountain as a natural barrier behind it. The cliff stands on the sea, embracing the sea, and the sea embraces the cliff. The houses are stony, primitive and simple, surrounded by mountains and rivers, patchwork and colorful, and there is no uniform matchbox style in big cities. With the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, the sea is ever-changing and colorful ... Shitang Town is charming everywhere because it combines the scenery of ancient fishing villages, the taste of the sea and the unique folk customs. It is like a bright pearl, appearing in the works of Liu Haisu, Wu Guanzhong, Lao Ren, Shen Roujian, Han Yan and other contemporary first-class artists in China. It has become an art activity world frequented by painters, photographers and teachers and students of the Academy of Fine Arts. "

1985 65438+February 1 1 Zhejiang Daily published Mr. Luo Heting's Stone House in Shitang, which also said: "The town in the painting of Shitang"-painters and photographers all over the country are fascinated by the scenery of Shitang all year round. Shen Shoujian, a famous painter in China and president of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, once spoke highly of the castle-like stone building in Shitang: "This is Notre Dame de China." "

On September 3rd, 1986, Zhejiang Daily published an article provided by the reporting group of Wenling County Committee, which said: "Shitang is full of rich artistic flavor, attracting painters, photographers, teachers and students from all over the country. Contemporary artists from China, such as Zhang Ding, Wu Guanzhong, A Lao, Shen Roujian, Han Yan, Yuan Yunfu and Lu Yangchun, also made a special trip to Shitang to sketch. They compared it with Notre Dame de Paris, a world-famous art sketch resort, and called it Notre Dame de China. "

In short, it can be seen from some earlier reports written at that time that Shitang was first called "Notre Dame de China" because it, like Notre Dame de Paris, is "a must-see place for western European painters to sketch" and also a must-see place for domestic painters to sketch, so it has this name.