Xiaoshao Seawall (Hangzhou Section)

Xiaoshao Seawall (Hangzhou Section)

The Xiaoshao Seawall (Hangzhou Section) is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Xiaoshao Seawall (Hangzhou Section) is located in Binjiang District and Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou City, dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The ancient Xiaoshao Seawall is situated on the left bank of the Qiantang River, stretching west from Xixing in Xiaoshan to Shangyu, and was called the Flood Prevention Seawall during the Tang Dynasty. It has a total length of 116.85 kilometers, with the actual seawall length (excluding mountainous areas) being 103 kilometers. During the Ming and Qing periods, based on their locations, and divided by Xixing, Guali, and Songjialou, the seawalls were named from west to east as the West River Seawall, North Sea Seawall, Back Sea Seawall, and East River Seawall.

Among them, the Xiaoshao Seawall (Hangzhou Section) is divided into two segments, both starting from Yongxing Sluice at Xixing. One runs southward through Changhe, Puyan, Wenyan, Yiqiao, and Linpu, ending at Maxi Dam in Jinhua Town, known as the West River Seawall, with a total length of 31.25 kilometers. The other extends eastward through Beigan, Xinjie, Xintang, Yaqian, Guali, and Yinong, connecting with the Back Sea Seawall of Shaoxing, called the North Sea Seawall, spanning 41.44 kilometers. These are the two "rice bucket buckles" that have protected the people of Xiaoshan for a thousand years.

The ancient seawalls have a long history. As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were scattered seawalls. The earliest record can be found in the *Yuèjuéshū*, which mentions the stone seawall at the eastern foot of Hangwu Mountain, considered the predecessor of the North Sea Seawall, originally built as a site for the Yue State to construct and dock military ships. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, seawall construction expanded comprehensively. Since the Han and Tang dynasties, successive dynasties invested substantial manpower and resources to reinforce the dikes and defend against tides.

However, due to the immense force of the tides, seawalls throughout history were frequently built and destroyed. The West River Seawall and the North Sea Seawall suffered the most frequent collapses among the Xiaoshao Seawalls. The former mostly collapsed due to river tides pushing over the walls, while the latter were often damaged by extreme storms or the collapse of the tidal flats in front of the seawalls, making them vulnerable to strong tidal forces. From the Southern Song Dynasty to the 690-year period up to the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty, the seawalls collapsed repeatedly, with records of damage to the North Sea Seawall caused by wind and tides numbering as many as 40 times.

During the Ming and Qing periods, the West River Seawall underwent more than ten major reconstructions. Historical records indicate that during the Kangxi era, stone seawalls began to be built along the West River Seawall, significantly improving its ability to defend against floods. Emperor Qianlong also ordered the construction of barracks near the North Sea Seawall to station troops specifically tasked with building, emergency repairing, and maintaining the seawalls.

During the Republican era, the Xiaoshao Jiang Seawall Management Office was established. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, management was handled by the Xiaoshan Work Office of the Qiantang River Authority, in coordination with county and district authorities, with routine maintenance implemented at the local town and village levels. After 1966, large-scale land reclamation projects were carried out outside the reinforced seawall embankments, and roads began to be constructed on top of the seawalls.

Today, the West River Seawall and the North Sea Seawall have become secondary seawalls, relics of history, but as two major stone dikes of Xiaoshan, they still stand, bearing the safety of the Xiaoshan people, lying quietly and peacefully on the western banks of the Qiantang River and the Puyang River.

On January 13, 2017, the People's Government of Zhejiang Province announced it as part of the seventh batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units