Gaochun Old Street (Gaochun Chunxi Old Street)

Gaochun Old Street (Gaochun Chunxi Old Street)

Gaochun Old Street (Gaochun Chunxi Old Street) is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural heritage site protected by Jiangsu Province.

Gaochun Old Street, also known as Chunxi Old Street, although located within Nanjing City, is quite far from downtown Nanjing—about a 100-plus kilometer drive to the south of Nanjing, at the border between Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. The old street was officially established as a market during the Song Dynasty and has a history of over 900 years. Most of the existing buildings date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Gaochun Chunxi Old Street is located in the commercial center of Gaochun. Officially established as a market since the Song Dynasty, it boasts a history of over 900 years, and today features a mix of old and new buildings. Most of the surviving structures were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. These buildings largely exhibit distinctive local characteristics and classic architectural styles. Chunxi Old Street is also called "One-Line Street" because of its linear layout. It stretches 345 meters in length and varies between 4.5 to 5.5 meters in width. The middle section is paved horizontally with pinkish rouge stones, while the sides are lined vertically with bluish flagstones. The whole street remains vividly colored, neat, and attractive. Despite enduring eight hundred years of wind, rain, traffic, and wear, it still retains its “original heart”—sturdy and durable.

Most of the houses are front-shop-back-residence style, with two-story brick-and-wood structures featuring overhanging eaves, bracket sets, wooden panel doors, carved lattice windows, horse-head firewalls, and butterfly-style tiles—embodying a classic Jiangnan charm while also integrating Huizhou architectural elements. This fusion gives the buildings a profound, timeless elegance. Most shops along the street are three bays wide, extending several rooms deep, with wing rooms connecting the front and rear sections and a central courtyard atrium—forming the typical Jiangnan "one seal" style of ancient architecture. The buildings are all two-story brick-and-wood structures with single-eave gable roofs, blue bricks, small tiles, horse-head walls, white walls, and black-tiled roofs. Though less ornate, they exude a greater sense of classic refinement and simplicity. The wooden components on the buildings feature exquisite carvings of figures and animals, lifelike and finely crafted, reflecting the exceptional skill of ancient Gaochun artisans. To the east of the street lies Lake Gucheng. Looking out over the lake, you can see the undulating, vast form of Youzi Mountain in the distance; nearby, Lake Gucheng shimmers in vibrant green. To the south of the street runs Guanxi River. The street surface is paved longitudinally with bluish-gray stones, with rouge stones arranged horizontally in the middle—creating a neat, harmonious, and aesthetically pleasing look. There are currently 314 shops, all two-story brick-and-wood structures of the building type. Historically a commercial district, these shops originally operated as front-shop-back-workshop spaces. Their architecture, carving art styles, and folk religious culture hold significant research value.

The street-front buildings feature unique styles, utilizing wooden diagonal braces and carved beams adorned with historical motifs and auspicious floral designs such as the “Five Wealth Gods,” “Abundance Year After Year,” “Goddess Magu Offering Longevity,” “Yuchuan Tasting Tea,” “Taibai Drunk,” “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea,” “Liu Hai Playing with the Golden Toad,” “Wei River,” and “Guo Ziyi’s Birthday Celebration.” On the outer sides of the walls flanking the shop fronts, the upper sections of the gable walls protrude in three tiers: the top tier is carved with a dragon holding a pearl in its mouth, while the middle and lower tiers feature decorative floral carvings with varied convex and concave circular patterns. It is the best-preserved ancient architectural complex in Jiangsu Province and is hailed as the “Second Confucius Temple of Jinling.” In recent years, numerous films and TV dramas such as Decisive Battle of Huangqiao, The General’s Choice, Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam, Zhang Wenxiang Stabs Ma, and Waterfront Families have been filmed here.

Dried tofu, pastries, and garlic-pickled vegetables are among Gaochun’s local delicacies. But what captivated me most were the sweet, fragrant, large, and round fried rice candies. In front of the fried rice candy shop, a grandmother well over sixty years old kept smiling warmly at me—the kind of gaze a mother gives to her mischievous, gluttonous child. After carefully packing the fried rice candy into a plastic bag, she casually tossed in a few extra pieces and said they were for me. It made me feel that what I was taking home wasn’t just a bag of fried rice candy, but also a piece of warmth and kindness.

Address: Gaochun Old Street, Gaochun District, Nanjing City

Type: Historic Street District

Rating: AAAA

Recommended Visit Duration: 1–3 hours

Phone: 025-57330757

Official Website: http://www.njgclj.com/

Opening Hours:

The street area is open all day; opening hours for smaller attractions vary, generally between 8:00 and 17:00.

Ticket Information:

Free entry. Individual attractions within the street may charge separate fees.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units