What is the building at the entrance of Wanghu Lake in Wuxi?

Wanghumen in Wuxi is a famous building in history, which has profound cultural connotation and represents the temperament and taste of literati in Jiangnan water town. This is where everyone yearns for a new life. Here is a detailed strategy for you.

In ancient Wuxi, there were four gates in the southeast, northwest and northwest. Now, the only gate you can see is Wang Hu Pagoda, which is located beside the ancient canal at the south gate of Wuxi, separated from nanzenji, one of the 480 famous temples in the Southern Dynasties. The origin of Wang Humen's name is because it once went out of this door and could go to Taihu Lake along the ancient canal, so it was named. Only the present Wang Humen is newly built.

As the southern gate of the ancient city of Wuxi, Wanghumen has a history of more than 2,000 years. According to historical records, Wuxi was founded in 202 BC. At that time, Wuxi County was divided into inner city and outer city. The difference between the two lies in the inside and outside of the city wall, which was just a mound at that time.

Once upon a time, the topographic map of the inner city of Wuxi was a bit like a turtle shell. Because of the reconstruction of Wuxi city in Ming Dynasty. In the 23rd year of Jiajing (AD 1554), the "dwarf bandits" along the southeast coast often harassed Wuxi. At that time, in order to resist the "dwarf bandits", Wuxi county magistrate led people to rebuild Wuxi city and opened four gates in the southeast and northwest. This is the first time in the history of Wuxi to change the earth wall into a brick wall.

The four representative gates of that year were named Jinghai Gate in the East Gate, Humen Gate in the South Gate, Shiquan Gate in the West Gate and Jiangmen Gate in the North Gate. The four-door wall is about 5.6 kilometers long, 7 meters high and 3 meters wide. This city wall played an extremely important role in resisting the invasion of dwarf bandits in the Ming Dynasty.

There used to be folk songs about the four city gates in Wuxi: tofu in the south gate, shrimp in the north gate, firewood in the west gate and watermelon in the gourd eggplant. The south gate tofu mentioned here is because it is the most popular tofu in Wuxi except Wanghumen. The shipping industry, blacksmith industry and kiln industry on both sides of the Nanmen ancient canal are quite prosperous, so the service industry that provides food, clothing, housing and transportation for these industries was born. Making handmade tofu was also famous at that time.

This tradition has been preserved until modern times. Speaking of South Gate Tofu, the older generation of Wuxi people have a deep memory. Tofu produced here, as well as other bean products, are of no quality. Even today, if you go to the ancient canal street outside the south gate, you can still eat the traditional tofu flower, which is said to be the best in Wuxi.

Next to Humen King is nanzenji in Wuxi, which was built in Liang Wudi in the early Qing Dynasty. There is a wonderful light tower in the temple, which was once a landmark building in Wuxi. Looking out from the gate of the lake, across a river is Wuxi's "Xishan Post Station", which used to be a local post station set up by the imperial court for officials and envoys from south to north to rest. Together with Wang Humen, these three groups of landscapes constitute the "Three Scenes of the South Gate" in Wuxi.

Looking out from the gate of the lake, you are just outside Wuxi. There are the Old Canal Street in Wuxi, the Qingming Bridge which has entered the world cultural heritage, Dayao Road where the ancient kiln in Wuxi is located, and the Narcissus Temple. You have come all the way, so to speak. Therefore, among the four gates in Wuxi, Wanghumen in the south gate is the most developed and important one.

Unfortunately, in the early 1950s, because of the ring road construction in Wuxi, the city walls and four gates of Wuxi were all demolished, leaving only a few place names. The Wanghumen that people see today was rebuilt in 2009, and its original site is still in the west. The newly-built Wanghumen adopts custom-made blue bricks, striving to reflect the historical sense of the gate.

Today, the "King Humen" on the city gate was written by Wen Zhiming, a famous painter in the Ming Dynasty. The couplet at the gate belongs to Wu Xingzuo, the county magistrate of Wuxi. There are people singing "Peace in the World" in Wuxi. This is the newly-built Wang Humen. Everything is interesting. It stands alone on the edge of the ring road. If people cross the city gate, they will find that there is no way out, only the road leading to the ancient canal. The tower with this door is usually closed, especially at night. If you want to go upstairs and have a look at the "Xishan Post" in neighboring nanzenji, there is definitely no way.

Visitors from the city to visit the ancient canal outside the south gate basically pass by Wanghumen, but almost no one will notice this newly built Wanghumen. It turns out that it is one of the four famous houses in Wuxi and the only one that has been restored. Author: Lu Jianhua Photography (photographer, traveler, self-media person)