The Industrial City of Changzhou by the Dayun River: Bringing Industrial Relics to Life Canal | Hengyuan | Changzhou
Changzhou, China Youth Network, August 16th - The Changzhou section of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal runs from west to east, with a total length of 45.8 kilometers. For thousands of years, it has been thriving and flowing to this day. Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province is built along the river and thrives because of it. With transportation running from south to north, transportation is busy, and commercial activities are active. It once became a renowned "industrial star city" both domestically and internationally.
Therefore, on both sides of the Changzhou Grand Canal and its water system, modern industries such as textiles, machinery, electricity, shipbuilding, and food have developed rapidly, forming a group of enterprises with initial scale. In order to facilitate the transportation of raw materials and products, these enterprises are all located on the banks of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal. In the century long history of modern times, a large number of enterprises such as Daming Factory, Qiji Factory, and Hengyuanchang have kept up with the times and competed for excellence.
Nowadays, the Canal No. 5 Creative Park on the banks of the Grand Canal has been restored and constructed on the site of the former Hengyuan Changbu Factory. Huang Yan, the activity specialist of the Operations Department of Changzhou Canal No. 5 Creative Industry Development Co., Ltd., introduced that the predecessor of Hengyuan Changbu Factory was Sanhe Fabric Factory founded in 1932, which used to be a textile factory. In the new historical period, Changzhou Industrial Investment Group is carrying out rescue and protection work for industrial relics. This old factory, which grew along the river, has embarked on a new era of cultural and creative journey. In 2008, the industrial relics inside the factory were transformed into a creative park, with a total area of 32366 square meters.
The factory still houses and factories from the 1930s to 1990s. The group has transformed this old factory area into a cultural and creative district with industrial heritage tourism and design services as the main categories, gathering various creative cultural talents and enterprises around the three main themes of canal culture, industrial heritage, and creative industry. Nowadays, the Canal No. 5 Creative Park is a national 3A level tourist attraction and an industrial tourism area in Jiangsu Province.
The water tower in the park is a landmark building of the canal culture. Previously, it served as a water storage facility, but now it is a landscape water tower. Photo by Zhang Qiuhong, a journalist from China Youth Network
When it comes to China's textile industry, it is necessary to mention the famous Chinese textile brand "Daming Factory". Its predecessor was Limin Textile Company founded in 1921, which was the earliest machine weaving factory in Changzhou City. Its products include earth yarn and earth cloth. In 2006, Daming Factory was acquired by Tianhong Textile Group and renamed Changzhou Tianhong Textile Co., Ltd. However, locals still commonly refer to it as "Daming Factory".
This is the earliest Republic of China office built in the factory, and now it is a specialty restaurant in the style of the Republic of China. Photo by Zhang Qiuhong, a journalist from China Youth Network
Nowadays, on the site of the original factory, Tianhong Textile Group has built the Tianhong Daming 1921 Creative Park in accordance with the principle of "repairing the old as before, continuing to inherit historical and cultural heritage". The park focuses on yarn, fabrics, and clothing, integrating functions such as cultural and creative, office, research and development, economy and trade, and exhibition. In the park, Republican buildings with blue bricks and tiles can be seen everywhere, and some walls still retain paintings made by children from the past. The overall construction area of the park is nearly 36600 square meters, with nearly 20 buildings. In 2020, Changzhou Daming Factory was selected as the fourth batch of national industrial heritage list.
Shen Qiaoqing, Senior Engineer of Changzhou Hongwei Textile Co., Ltd., said, "The purpose of building this park is to better inherit industrial culture and the spirit of the older generation of industrialists, allowing more tourists to visit and clock in. The public has a better understanding of Chinese industrial culture, and it will provide better assistance for domestic products to enter the market and millions of households."
