Huishan Clay Street

Huishan Clay Street

Huishan Clay Street

Wulijie was originally a major road from Wuxi’s West Gate to Huishan. The route was lined with peach and willow trees, giving rise to the saying, “One willow, one peach—red and green stretching five li.” A folk song also goes: “Huishan Street, five li long, walk through flowers home, your shoe soles still fragrant.” Moreover, as many pilgrims visited the mountain, the path was often shrouded in incense smoke. Therefore, during the Qing Dynasty’s Xianfeng era, a brick plaque inscribed with “Five Li of Fragrant Fields” was erected and can still be found at the eastern end of Huishan Straight Street.

Huishan Bang, due to the frequent docking and passage of incense boats, was also called “Incense Boat Bang,” and elegant storefronts lined both banks near Huishan. When Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong toured the south, their imperial barges moored at Huangbugu, then transferred to smaller boats to travel up Huishan Bang to Huishan. At the end of the bang, the eighth dragon head (chi shou) of the Nine Dragons and Thirteen Springs is set in the middle of the stone revetment, continuously spouting water year-round—hence the name “Below the Dragon Head.” Here, land and water routes converge near the “Ancient Huashan Gate” of Huishan Temple. In this area, “every household molds by hand, every home crafts painted clay,” with numerous clay figurine workshops, stalls, and shops featuring representative works like the “Huishan Big Afu.” There are also the renowned Wuxi Clay Figurine Factory, Wuxi Clay Figurine Research Institute, and Wuxi Clay Figurine Museum, forming a distinctive traditional folk craft street.