OLD STREET

DECORATIONSanxia Old Street remains a corridor of red-bricked Baroque style,

three-arched rooftops. A program to renovate the old street’shouses winning the 2006 National Oustanding Construction

and National Environmental Culture Award.

INSCRIPTIONThe inscriptions on the

old street's houses indicates individual household's

last names, business types,

and store names.

The images and f ig ures decorating

the walls have special meaning s.For example, a vase represents peace.

BaGua (a Chinese Taoist sy mbol) is meant to ward of f evil.

The main material for the building facades along old street houses was brick, while interior walls were made with mud.

CARVINGS

BAROQUEBecause the merchants who lived along the Street

in those days were all well-to-do folks, the architectural style and the building

materials used were the cream of the crop; many materials were imported, and some of the

residents employed architects from as far as England.The protruding sections on the roof of the

buildings and the carved patterns under the windowsills on the second floor of the

buildings enhance the beauty of these constructions.

Sanxia Old Street

The old street is located on the west side of Zushi temple and 200 meters in length.

The stores on its sides preserve the ancienttradition of having hall or family names on their

signboards, which is different from theconventional signboards we see today.

Through the Baroque and Arcade styles of architecture,a picture can be conjured up

of how the street used to be, with its unique buildings displaying an elegant scene and

exuding a unique aura of beauty.