Features of houses in Wuzhen

Wuzhen's architectural features and architectural culture:

1, Wuzhen's buildings are mainly brick and wooden structures of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Up to now, more than 200,000 square meters of Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings have been preserved. A large number of deep houses are the great wealth of old merchants and the hidden world of officials. From an inconspicuous gate, it is a maze of corridors and auditoriums. The stone, brick and wood carvings on the doors and windows of Liangzhu are exquisite and magnificent. The roof of the building has a unique Guanyin pocket, horse head wall, both fire and wind, like five mountains in the sky, left and right symmetrical, high and dangerous beauty.

2, Wuzhen streets, square and hutongs are small in number and size, commonly known as the four gates, eight alleys and dozens of lanes.

According to Lu Xuebao in the Republic of China compiled Wuqing Town records, the eight streets of the eight avenues still have 68 lanes, including 47 lanes. The eighth avenue is Changchunli Street, Chengjiangli Street, Tongli Street, South Street Street, Central Street Street, North Street Street, Guanqian Street and East Street Street. The tenements and lanes are the biggest change from today's situation; the population has increased over the decades and centuries, and an extraordinary number of houses have been built, leaving some tenements with no real names and some completely different. But it is the main streets, because the overall pattern of the old part of Wuzhen has not changed much, so most of them are there, especially Guanqian Street, East Street, South Street, West Street, not only well preserved, but also play a role.

3. In the case of neighboring residential fires, the high horse-head wall can cut off the source of fire, so the horse-head wall is also known as the firewall. Horse-head wall scattered high and low, usually stacked, or triple stacked, larger homes, because there are front and rear halls, the number of horse-head wall stacking can be as many as five stacks, commonly known as "five mountains facing the sky. "Wuzhen is a very large town, although there are traces of artificial carving, but still retains a relatively intact historical appearance. It is bustling with people, but modern people are walking in a classical way. The old houses here are quiet and cold, conservative and bare of artifacts, passed down from generation to generation, the increasingly broken wooden structures of the House of Peace. In Wuzhen, it is customary to use the "hall" as a solution to the problem of the whole house. Along the street Xu Jiating storefront, stone barn wall door, corridor hut in front of the construction of the shacks and railings, Zhongkai estuary, the estuary squatting stone lions, known as the lion bridge hole. The wood carving of Xu Jiating is commendable. Its content is mainly flowers, fruits, birds, animals and daily necessities. Its artistic style has the charm of Dongyang wood carving.

4, Zhu Jiadian, commonly known as the "Hall", brick and wood structure of the house, once into the decay, three in the most intact. High wind wall, the center of the stone frame door, the brick above the door has an overhanging eaves, broken, but still delicate and elegant. A long row of windows, carved on the windows, "Yue Fei biography" story and floral designs. The carvings are beautiful, vivid and complete, and the details are still clearly visible.

5, demolition of the hall, Wuzhen's many bridges, as well as bridges of various styles. There are primitive and majestic porous stone arch bridge, beautiful and interesting brick bridge, only a few short wooden bridges, the town has a maximum of more than 120 ancient bridges, known as the "hundred steps an ancient bridge. Complex patterns, or stone arch, or paved, majestic or delicate.

Wuzhen existing more than 30 ancient bridges were first built in the Southern Song Dynasty, mainly built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because the people of Wuzhen regarded the maintenance of bridges as a virtue, there was no way to build bridges even if there were no roads. These convenient bridges include Cai Bu Bridge, Ren Shou Bridge and Ye Fang Bridge.

Long corridors with simple wooden buildings overlapping and scaly eaves filled with dark light with sunlight filtering through, as if walking through a tunnel of time and space. The breeze is gentle, winding around the corridor like a ring in the year, through the floating silence, dipping into the water with damp still shadows. Calculating light and shadow through gaps in the balcony roof, the colors of black tiles and blue blocks fade.

6, brick-carved doorway is another feature of Xitang architecture. Brick carving door, also known as Yi Men, generally rise from the hall, large family Yi Men majestic, small family Yi Men exquisite, size and Yi Men hall is roughly proportional to the relationship between the Yi Men, Yi Men workmanship and the hall's luxury, Yi Men above the general four-word brick inscription, most of the content of the aphorism is a motto or family motto.

7. Like many small towns south of the Yangtze River, the water pavilions are built along rivers and streams, hence the name "People are Pillowing the River". The uniqueness of Wuzhen lies in the fact that along the river part of the residence extends to the surface of the river, and at the bottom of the riverbed are piles or stone pillars, on beams, resting on boats, called "water pavilions", which is one of the unique features of Wuzhen. The Water Pavilion is truly "pillowed by the river" and has three windows that look out over the city. Mao Dun once described the water pavilion in his hometown in "Land and Mountains": "...... Outside the back door is the river. Standing at the back door (i.e. in front of the Water Pavilion), you can draw water with a bucket. You can dream in the middle of the night, hear murmurs, and float on it. Legend has it that the water pavilion was built by a clever tofu waiter, but over time much of the history has been lost only the actual and pleasant form of the building has survived and continues because people love it.

In a sense, the aqua is the halo of Wuzhen. It was not luxurious, but it was harder than a high-rise building. With the Water Pavilion, the people of Wuzhen more close to the water; with the Water Pavilion, the scenery of Wuzhen is more charming; with the Water Song, the temperament of Wuzhen is more elegant; with the Water Pavilion, the history of Wuzhen added a euphemism. Water pavilion is the characteristics of Wuzhen and the charm of Wuzhen.