The History and Culture of Shilong Town

Qu Dajun, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty, wrote in Xinyu, Guangdong: "Shilong is also a meeting of the city."

Shilong Town, located in the throat of the middle and lower reaches of Dongjiang River, is the transportation hub of Dongjiang River. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the early days of the founding of New China, Shilong Town controlled the circulation of rice, wood and other major agricultural and forestry products in the Dongjiang River Basin, which had a decisive impact on the prices of grain and wood in the whole Dongjiang River Basin, provinces and ports. After the Opium War, Shilong started frequent trade with Hong Kong, and a large number of home-made paper, jute, kohlrabi, bamboo products and other commodities were transported from Shilong to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Foreign goods are transported from Hong Kong to Shilong and then resold to mainland provinces. Due to the development of commercial trade, Shilong appeared earlier as an agent, such as Subaiji for Mobil, Dongxing for Asia and Fuxiang for Texaco. 19 1 1 After the opening of the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway, Shilong's position in trade and transportation has become more prominent, and it has become an important material distribution center and commercial center in Dongjiang River basin, provinces and ports. 1926, the first bank in Dongguan was established in Shilong, and the largest pawnshop in Dongguan also operated in Shilong. 1929 In May, Shilong opened a long-distance call to Guangzhou, becoming one of the earliest towns to open long-distance calls.

The prosperity of commerce has promoted the development of handicrafts and other industries, forming product monopoly streets, workshops and factories, such as Zhuqi Street, Mian Street, Huamian Street, Danhua Street, Dashi Street, Dasuo Street, Pitang Street, Pig Bran Street, Lu Feng Street, Tofu Lane, Garlic Street, Guo Lan Street and Xianxiang Street.

"Shilong's market opened today, and horses and chariots poured in. There are no bars in the afternoon, and the white clouds are still locked with moss. This is a true portrayal of Shilong's commercial prosperity in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

Shilong people have a glorious revolutionary tradition, and Shilong people Lin Zhimian, Li Wenfu and Huang Xiayi followed Sun Yat-sen to participate in the revolution. 1In April, 922, Sun Yat-sen set up a camp and a base camp in Shilong in order to crusade against the Chen Jiongming rebels who occupied Huizhou. 14 times visited the front line of Shilong to direct the battle. Chiang Kai-shek and Zhou Enlai also went to Shilong for many times to command a crusade against Chen Jiongming. 1925101On October 8th, Crusaders held a get-together in Shilong Park. Zhou Enlai delivered a speech at the meeting, calling on all sectors of society to unite and rise up against it.

Shilong is also a famous hometown of weightlifting in China. 1956, Chen Jingkai, a shilong, represented China in the Sino-Soviet weightlifting competition held in Shanghai, breaking the world record of 56kg clean and jerk with a score of 133kg, becoming the first athlete in China to break the world record. From 65438 to 0956, Chen Jingkai, Chen Manlin, Chen Weiqiang, Ceng Guoqiang and other Shilong athletes broke the world and Asian weightlifting records 30 times. 65438-0984 Guangdong Provincial People's Government awarded Shilong Town the honorary title of "hometown of weightlifting".

With the completion of the 19 1 1 year Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway, Shilong's position in commercial traffic is more important. Together with Guangzhou, Foshan and Chencun in Shunde, it is also known as the four famous towns in Guangdong (formerly known as "Province, Buddha, Chen and Dragon"), and has become an important material distribution center and economic, cultural and commercial center in Dongjiang River basin, provinces and Hong Kong.

From 65438 to 0926, the first bank in Dongguan, the central bank, was established in Shilong, and the largest pawnshop in Dongguan also opened in Shilong, which has been well preserved so far. There are many workshops, and private enterprises such as Zhuqi Street, Mian Street, Huamian Street and Minyi Cloth Factory have been formed.