七宝老街换新颜 - 2016年03月04日

Huang Qing has been living on Qibao Old Street all her life. Now in her 70s, she once knew every bridge, every turn of the creek and every house in the town. But nowadays, familiarity is being jaded by development. What was one the hub of daily local life has been transformed into one of Shanghai's most popular tourist destinations.

"Many old residential buildings have been extended with extra rooms that are completely against the original style," said Huang. "And most of my old neighbors have been moved out and now rent their homes to others. I don't recognize many people anymore."

The Qibao Old Street area covers about 66.5 hectares, traversed by the 360-meter-long main street. For Chen Li, who lives in the Xuhui District but is a frequent visitor to Qibao, Old Street has become too disorderly.

"The street has generally kept its original style with architectural reconstructions of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, but around it are a lot of modern-style buildings that just don't seem to fit," she said.

The location of stores and snack bars has become too hodge-podge, she added.

"A mutton kebab shop is often right next to a handicrafts store or an art gallery," said Chen. "The greasy smell of goat isn't very pleasant to people wanting to look at fine art."

The town government in Qibao is aware of all the complaints. It conducted a survey that found 1,500 square meters of illegal construction along Old Street. About 30 percent of the structures were built by residents as extra rooms or small shops; the remainder were offices or storerooms for companies.

Town authorities have managed to remove company-built illegal structures, but getting rid of those erected by individuals is proving more problematical.

According to the law, the government must notify the owner of an illegal structure before demolishing it. That is easier said than done.

"It is quite hard to locate some of these owners," said an official with the Qibao Town government, who asked to remain anonymous. "Most of the people who live there are tenants, and most of them claim they pay the rent through bank transfers and have never actually met their landlords."

He added, "Tenants are in no hurry to help us find landlords because demolition would mean they have to find a new, possibly more expensive, places to live."

The town has pasted up notices urging building owners to relocate tenants and remove illegal additions from their homes, no matter if it's a storefront or a structure on the roof.

In many cases, people just aren't aware that tacking on extra rooms is illegal. Even the government is not immune from ignorance of the law.

"The town government had some illegal construction around its office building," said the official. "We had to have it removed as an example to others."

Much illegal construction is related to local residents starting small businesses to capture some of the growing tourist trade. In many cases, they never applied for a business license.

Prior to the Spring Festival holiday, the town government conducted an inspection along Old Street that resulted in the closure of 189 of the 637 unlicensed stores it found doing business there. The remainder will also be shuttered if licenses aren’t obtained.

In the interim, red lanterns will be hung over shuttered businesses to maintain a pleasant look.

"We know that Old Street will look a bit less busy with so many stores closed," said the official. "But we believe it will be good for the long-term, healthy development of the street."

Meanwhile, to foster tourism, visitors to Qibao soon will soon get free Wi-Fi and an online guide providing information on scenic spots, stores, eateries, galleries, parking facilities and weather bulletins.

The Qibao Old Street Management Office said the online system will be available at the ticket office on Qingnian Road. Wi-Fi access will be available along the main street. The 200M bandwidth will allow hundreds of people to get online at the same time with what officials call "a generally satisfying speed."

The office said the new devices will help monitor visitor counts.

Qibao, the seven treasures

Formed in the Late Han Dynasty (947-951), Qibao is full of folklore. It has been an important town both in military and commercial activities. The name Qibao literally means "seven treasures." In olden times, people believed there were seven treasures, mostly Buddhist-related, associated with the town.

The Buddha Statue from Heaven

The iron Buddha statue, which is now in Qibaojiao Temple, was long believed to have descended from heaven. Actually, it was created from a fundraising campaign organized by Xu Pan, a Qibao local, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The Bell from the Flood

The Tenglai Bell, which literally means "the bell that drifted from the river," is also located in Qibaojiao Temple. It is said that the bell was carried to the town in a flood. In fact, it was built by a Buddhist monk named Bo Qia during Ming Dynasty.

The Lotus Sutra written in gold

When the Qibaojiao Temple was first built in today’s Songjiang District, it was called Lubao Temple, after two brothers surnamed Lu.

When Qian Liu (852-932), King of Wuyue of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960), visited the temple, he mistook Lubao (Lu’s treasure) with Liubao (six treasures) because the two words in Chinese dialect had the same pronunciation.

Wu went back to his palace and used gold powder to transcribe a Lotus Sutra with his concubine. He presented the sutra to the temple and told the monks, "This is the seventh treasure."
The sacred tree

A 1,000-year-old catalpa tree grows on the site of the Qibaojiao Temple. There is not much historical record about the tree, but it is known to be the oldest tree in Qibao Town.

The jade axe

No one has ever actually seen the fabled axe, but the story of the treasure is known to local people. It involves the construction of Puhuitang Bridge, the main bridge on Old Street.

First built during Ming Dynasty, the bridge was said to have some structural problems that its builders couldn't resolve. Suddenly, a silver-haired old man appeared from nowhere, took an axe from a butcher shop and dropped it under the abutment to give one side of the bridge a bit of a lift so that both sides of the structure met perfectly in the middle.

The jade chopsticks

On Dongtu Bridge, a mark in the shape of a pair of chopsticks can be clearly seen. It is said that a pair of jade chopsticks were once placed there to ward off evil spirits. The chopsticks, a gift from an unknown emperor, were later stolen.

The golden rooster

It is said that seven jars of gold and eight jars of silver were buried in the north part of the town, guarded by a golden rooster. Legend has it that only a family with nine sons and nine daughters-in-law could find and dig up the treasure.

It is, of course, just a story. No such a rooster has ever been spotted nor any gold or silver found.