Preface: Come to Sheshan to capture Shanghai's thousand-year history

Many times, when walking in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you will unconsciously forget the prosperous city around you and slowly immerse yourself in a journey of nostalgia. There are small bridges, flowing water, and many gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. Although the scenery has its own merits, similar feelings can always be found in different cities and different locations.

Shanghai has always been an international metropolis, with high-rise buildings and heavy traffic. Standing at a bustling intersection, all you see is reinforced concrete. Many people say that it is very difficult to find the historical mark of old Shanghai here now.

Nowadays, many scenery has been forced into the cracks of the city, but as long as you are willing to search and discover carefully, you will always find some dusty clues.

Each flower, one world, one tree and one Bodhi, the scenery in everyone's eyes is different, but if you, like me, want to recall history and see Shanghai that is completely different from the eyes of the world, maybe you should come to Sheshan to have a look.

If you want to trace Shanghai's history, then the Guangfulin site in Sheshan must be the first stop to check in. As we all know, Songjiang is the birthplace of Shanghai's history and culture. There is a saying among the people that "there was Songjiang Prefecture first, then Shanghai Beach, first Guangfu Forest, and then Songjiang History."

Songjiang was called Yunjian in ancient times, and the people praised Guangfulin as the first town in the north of Yunjian. There are typical relics of Liangzhu Culture here, which has rewritten the history of cities and towns in Shanghai and has become an important part of the origin of Shanghai's historical context.

Walking into the Guangfulin Cultural Site is like coming to a feng shui treasure place with thousands of years of history. It is very suitable for wearing ancient costumes to take photos. The winding blue stone road and the Hui-style courtyard with white walls and black tiles are clean and distant. Guangfu Forest on rainy days has a unique charm.

The cultural layer of the Guangfulin site is divided into three layers: the upper layer is the Wuyue culture during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the middle layer is the Maqiao culture during the Xia and Shang Dynasties Period, and the lower layer is the Liangzhu culture during the Neolithic Era. It proves to the world that "Shanghai people" lived in this land thousands of years ago.

Looking up, Fulin Zhaobi is simple and elegant. It is not only a place to find your ancestors and ask about your roots, but also a good place for a vacation on weekends. It's only more than an hour's drive from the city center, but you can stroll around Guangfulin all day.

At present, the Guangfulin ruins mainly include Guangfulin Culture Exhibition Hall, Ancient Pottery Art Hall, Chen Zilong Memorial Hall, Fulin Seal, Fulin Gate, Sanyuan Palace, Zhiye Zen Temple, Wood Art Exhibition Hall, Fulin Zhaobi, etc. Tickets are 40 yuan, which is quite cheap.

Sanyuan Palace is a place where Yao, Shun and Yu were worshipped. In ancient times, it was called Tianguan, Diguan and Shuiguan. In order to protect Guangfulin from good weather and adequate food and clothing, villagers generally call it the "Sanguantang".

Zhiye Zen Temple is a meditation temple with a very long history. Legend has it that eminent monks from the Tang Dynasty traveled to Songjiang and took ten years of begging to build it. Today, Zhiye Zen Temple is rebuilt to commemorate the good deeds of Zen Master Zhiye, who was spread among the people of Songjiang, who used medicine to save people.

Fulin Tower stands between Zhiye Zen Temple and Sanyuan Palace. Under the tower is the entrance to the Ancient Pottery Art Museum, where many national treasure pottery unearthed in Guangfulin are displayed. Unfortunately, the Ancient Pottery Museum was not open to the public when I came this time, so I can only make up for this regret next time.

Jixian Garden is a complex of modern emblem buildings, all collected from Huizhou and Zhejiang areas and mainly used to commemorate the historical celebrities and sages of Songjiang. Walking here, the green tiles and white walls are elegant, and time is slowly slowing down without realizing it.

People often say that Shanghai was a small fishing village a hundred years ago, but the excavation of the Guangfulin site in Songjiang suddenly pushed history forward by 5,000 years. It turns out that Guangfulin Culture is a branch of Liangzhu Culture and can be called the root of Shanghai and the source of Shanghai School.

Guangfulin Ruins Park consists of six museums, of which the most attracts me is Guangfulin Shanghai Zhigen Cultural Center. It not only introduces Songze culture, Liangzhu culture, Maqiao culture and Guangfulin culture, but also vividly demonstrates the origin of Shanghai culture.

About 6,000 years ago in the Neolithic Age, ancestors thrived and lived in Guangfulin's generation. In the 1950s and 1960s, the excavation of the Guangfulin site brought back the Guangfulin culture that had been buried for about 4,000 years.

The Songze Culture dates back about 6,000 - 5,300 years. It belongs to the transition stage from matriarchal society to patrilineal society in the Neolithic Era. It is connected to the Liangzhu Culture and is an important cultural stage in the Taihu Basin in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The representative site of Liangzhu Culture is the Liangzhu Site, which is about 5,000 years old. The central areas of Liangzhu Culture are distributed in the Qiantang River Basin and Taihu Lake Basin, while the areas with the most dense distribution of sites are in the northeast and east of the Qiantang River Basin. The Guangfulin Cultural Site is earlier than the Maqiao Site and slightly later than the middle layer of the Songze Cultural Site. It is a relic of Liangzhu Culture.

In the "Ancient Imprints" exhibition area, I learned that Shanghai belongs to the coastal alluvial plain on the edge of the mainland. Today, the nine peaks in Songjiang, including Sheshan, Tianma Mountain, and Xiaoni Mountain, are all remnants of Tianmu Mountain hidden from Zhejiang, forming the skeleton of Shanghai's alluvial plain.

From then on, the coastline was exposed, the lives of indigenous people were improved, and homes were established. At that time, the ancestors used pigs and deer as sources of meat, and the village also had a good appearance.

Since then, after thousands of years of vicissitudes, the ancient Guangfulin gradually completed its transformation from a primitive village to a prosperous ancient city.

From the Qin Dynasty to the Southern Liang Dynasty, Haiyan County, Qianjing County, and Xupu County were set up here, but they were all abandoned due to improper site selection and changeable environment. In the ten years of Tang Tianbao, a stable county seat appeared here: Huating County.

In 1277, Huating County was promoted to a prefecture, and the following year it was changed to Songjiang Prefecture. With the rise of commerce, handicrafts and literature in the Qing Dynasty, different cultures influenced and blended with each other here, making the city stable and the economy develop rapidly, gradually forming a style of inclusiveness of Shanghai culture.

The cloth embroidery of the Gu family in Songjiang Prefecture recreates the unprecedented prosperity of the cotton textile industry at that time. The inflow and appearance of Western products such as Maochang glasses and watch shops have also allowed the integration of Chinese and Western cultures here.

The establishment of Shanghai's first post office and railway station further facilitated the exchange of goods and culture between Gu Songjiang and the outside world. In 1912, the government of the Republic of China withdrew Songjiang Prefecture and established Shanghai City in Shanghai County.

From then on, the prosperous and rich Shanghai-style culture took root and sprouted in the new land of Shanghai, with luxuriant branches and leaves, forming Shanghai's unique Shanghai-style culture in the future.

In the Guangfulin Cultural Site in Songjiang, Shanghai, there is a very complete Hui-style building "Ming Dynasty Gao Fang". After careful design and transformation, it has now been transformed into the "Duoyun Academy" and has become a new Internet celebrity cultural landmark in Shanghai.

The academy is symmetrical on its axis and has three rooms wide, with a hall in the middle and rooms on both sides. The building embodies traditional Han culture, and the main body is mainly a wooden structure with a rigorous structure. It is a good check-in point for shooting.

The academy is accessible to the outside world for free, but you cannot use a SLR to shoot. You can only use a mobile phone. On the first floor of the academy, you can see the theme retail area, courtyard landscape area, tea tasting and leisure area, cultural and creative area, etc. The books on shelves mainly cover fields such as literature and history, calligraphy and painting, and ancient books.

Activity areas such as reading clubs and reading promotion are also set up on the second floor. This spatial layout gives people a wonderful experience of "going to the flying clouds and returning to Yunjian Academy."

Of course, the cultural and creative products and drinks here are also very attractive. You can order a cup of tea here, choose a book you like, and spend a good afternoon.

In the Guangfulin site, in addition to the "Shanghai Root" Cultural Center, there are many exhibition halls worth visiting. The Wood Art Exhibition Hall is one of the places that cannot be missed.

The Wood Art Exhibition Hall is an emirary-style building. The museum collects about 300 fine wood carvings. Most of them are removed from residential houses and ancient buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The wood carvings are based on various historical figures, novels, operas, and auspicious patterns. It is quite beautiful.

Huizhou architectural wood carvings represent the peak level of wood carvings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Jiangnan. These exquisite works have been approved by the State Council and included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

While walking and looking, you will find that the museum contains beams, ox feet, forehead arches, doors and windows, and various Chinese classical furniture. Each piece is rare treasures and is worth slowly tasting.

Sheshan National Forest Park is a national-level forest park, enjoying the reputation of "the root of Shanghai and the paradise outside the world". It includes 12 peaks including Dongshe Mountain, Xishe Mountain, Tianma Mountain, Fenghuang Mountain and Xiaokunshan Mountain.

There are few tourists in the forest park on rainy days, but it is another tone I like. Hold an umbrella and slowly climb up the steps. The environment here is peaceful and very suitable for leisure and vacation.

The forest park is actually quite big, but I only walked for a short time due to the weather. Along the road, I ran into a cat who was taking a nap under the eaves. She was not afraid of strangers at all. She was sleeping soundly listening to the rain, and she was super cute.

There is a Catholic Church here built in the 13th year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. It is called the "First Church in the Far East" and is the symbol of Yushan. I originally wanted to visit the church, but unfortunately the church is currently closed.

The Observatory is also located to the east of the Catholic Church. It was built in the 25th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty and was affiliated to the Zijinshan Observatory after liberation. The platform is equipped with the largest optical telescope designed and manufactured by my country, as well as a 25-meter radio telescope. It is one of the largest astronomical observation bases in my country.

Practical guide

1. about traffic

Sheshan is located in Songjiang District, Shanghai. It is divided into West Sheshan and East Sheshan. It is the back garden of Greater Shanghai. You can take public transportation or drive yourself from the city to Sheshan.

Public transportation:
Line 1: Starting from downtown Shanghai, take Rail Transit Line 9 to Sheshan Station, change to bus Huchen Line or Songjiang No. 92, and you can reach Sheshan Forest Park, as well as the Sheshan Observatory, Notre Dame Cathedral, Forest Hotel and other major tourist attractions

Line 2: There are also bus lines at the entrance of Sheshan Forest Park such as No. 194, Songjiang Road 33, Songqing Line, Nanqing Line, and Shiqing Line.

Line 3: You can take the Shanghai-Chengdu Line from downtown Shanghai.

Self-driving route:
Shanghai Urban Area-Yan 'an Viaduct-G50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway-Zhaoxiang Exit (left turn)-Jiasong Middle Road/South Road-(right turn) Shenzhuan Highway-(right turn) Waiqingsong Highway, reach Forest Park, Observatory, and Sheshan Town and other places.

When you come to Sheshan, you must stay in the Forest Hotel. It is far away from the hustle and bustle of the city and can return to the tranquil nature. Forest Hotel is located in the southwest foothills of the National Forest Park. The European villas are nestled in the rich and deep mountains, with a beautiful environment and infinite scenery.

When I came here, I found that the entire hotel was surrounded by mountains and forests, with a spacious parking lot in front of the door. Forest Hotel was built in 1995 and was completely renovated in 2015. Currently, Forest Hotel has 10 villas, equipped with guest rooms, suites, luxury suites and conference centers.

On rainy days, the bamboo shadows sway, and it will be interesting to walk among them! I thought this was a hotel before, but I didn't expect the interior to be so big. It was like walking into a park, with new green everywhere.

In order to give the guests a better experience, a wooden plank road has been built in the European-style villas, a resting pavilion and rocking chairs, surrounded by bamboo forests, which reminds people of Su Dongpo's saying,"I would rather eat without meat than live without bamboo."

The room I stayed in was ocean-style and the main color of blue, which happened to be a Pisces, which was very in line with my wishes. The room is quite warmly decorated, with good bedding, spare parts, etc., so I can sleep well at night.

If you are a parent-child family with children, there is also an area dedicated to children to play here. You don't have to worry about the children crying at all. You can definitely cure them here.

The lovely rocking chair and the slide, even I, an adult, couldn't help but sit up and play. In short, the Forest Hotel has thousands of green bamboos on top, towering ancient trees on top, waterfalls gurgling, and birds chirping. If you have been here before, you will not be disappointed.

3. precautions

Travel during special periods
1. To go to Sheshan attractions in Shanghai from non-key epidemic areas, you must show the local health code and measure your body temperature before you can pass.
2. During travel, you still need to wear masks when entering and leaving public places. The hotel will also measure the body temperature of guests and disinfect the guest rooms.
3. For personal epidemic prevention, remember to bring more masks, disinfectant wipes, disposable hand sanitizers, etc., and go to public places to cooperate with body temperature measurement.

Pay attention when visiting
1. Bring an umbrella and raincoat. Because the weather is unpredictable and sometimes the weather changes suddenly, it is best to bring them in case of a rainy day.
2. At present, Sheshan Catholic Church is not open, and Guangfulin Ancient Pottery Museum is not open. Pay attention to real-time information about attractions before going.
3. You must pay attention to safety when driving by yourself. The road conditions are good. It has been rainy recently and there may be traffic jams. Remember to travel in advance.