Jiaoxi Town: How yellow stones make a water town unique

Editor's note: Tourism is booming in China. Every April, picturesque water towns and historic blocks in its southern and eastern regions become popular destinations. To understand how historic towns empower China's tourism industry, CGTN presents "Old Town, New Life," a series that tells fresh stories of well-preserved old towns, and shows how younger generations are reshaping their culture.

As a latecomer to China's collection of well-known water towns, Jiaoxi Town looks a bit strange.

Just like the typical water towns portrayed in traditional Chinese paintings and literature, Jiaoxi features houses with black tiles, stone bridges and well-connected waterways. But looking from afar, the bottom half of its buildings' walls resemble neatly arranged chocolate chip cookies.

According to local experts, the "cookies" are yellow stones which were quarried from the town's surrounding mountains. The yellow stones are hard and heavy, making them particularly effective at repelling moisture.

Located in Changzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jiaoxi is often regarded as the northernmost of China's water towns in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In 2018, it was part of a joint application to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The protected area of the old town is about 9.5 hectares. 

Local historian Shao Zhiqiang said that Jiaoxi's inclusion helped highlight the varied architectural features and diverse cultural characteristics of China's water towns.

Shao added that Jiaoxi was once a waterway trade hub for Changzhou's merchant ships heading to and from the Yangtze River. And in the time of war, its location also attracted the rich and the literati who escaped from the north.

Jiaoxi's rivers, streets and houses have seen the town's rise and fall over its history of 1200 years. More than 600 buildings in the town were built in the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties. In 2019, Changzhou launched a project to protect the special architecture of Jiaoxi.

"The town was pretty depressed when the project first started," said Zhang Quanfeng, senior architect at Architects & Engineers Co., Ltd. of Southeast University. "We've found about 200 houses that were built with yellow stones in Jiaoxi."

Over the past five years, Zhang and his team, along with the local government, have carefully studied the ancient houses in Jiaoxi and developed tailored restoration plans based on their current conditions. To preserve the unique architectural style of using yellow stones, they also found several inheritors of the craft.

"The youngest craftsman was in his seventies at that time," said Zhang, adding that they finally managed to give new life to a traditional method which uses yellow stones, lime and straw. So far, the restoration of 10 key buildings has been completed.

The improvement of infrastructure and public service facilities in Jiaoxi is part of the restoration process, so that the living environment of the more than 2,200 residents can be enhanced.

Zhang also pointed out that nearly all shop owners in the town are natives who sell local delicacies. He said residents are encouraged to protect and restore the town's historic features.

For example, the town's oldest tofu shop has been passed down for seven generations. Yao Xiaosong, 68, said he feels proud that his family has passed on Jiaoxi's tofu-making craft over the years.

"The starting point for the preservation of Jiaoxi Town is the restoration and inheritance of its traditional Chinese culture," said Shao, the local historian. "As for the development of tourism, it should be a natural result."