Shangxiahang Historic Block

The "museum of Fuzhou's traditional commerce" (Shanghang and Xiahang Roads, Taijiang); late-Qing and Republican-era merchant guild halls (Yongde Guild Hall / Jianning Guild Hall); nightscape of old houses along both banks of the Sanjie River. The character "hang" in the name evolved from "hang" (shipping): goods of merchant groups from the upper Min River were moored and distributed here, and Shangxiahang grew into Fuzhou's traditional commercial center, dubbed the "museum of Fuzhou's traditional commerce". At its late-Qing and Republican-era heyday, guild halls of merchant groups from various regions, such as Yongde Guild Hall and Jianning Guild Hall, lined the streets, and the caisson-ceiling opera stage of Gutian Guild Hall survives intact to this day; the white-walled, dark-tiled old houses along both banks of the Sanjie River have regained their water-town character after conservation and restoration, and at night lamplight shimmers on the river as chatter rises from taverns and teahouses. Linked with Zhongzhou Island and the Min River night-cruise wharf, it forms a classic route of "merchant-group history by day, Min River cruise by night".

Getting there: Metro Line 1, Dadao Station