In the old days, merchants gathered in the big houses, each with its own background.

The 542-meter-long Baoyuan Road is a section of Guangzhou where old residential buildings are concentrated.

No. 17 Baoyuan Road

The traditional houses on Baoyuan Road give you the atmosphere of urban life.

There are many fashionable new products popping up on Baoyuan RoadThere are many local young people running the store, and many of them have a Xiguan complex.

Tracing Historical and Cultural Districts (3)

There are \”Three Treasures\” in Xiguan – Duobao Road, Baohua Road, and Baohua Road source path. Among them, the 542-meter-long Baoyuan Road is a section of Guangzhou where old residential buildings are concentrated, with more than 20 cultural relics buildings distributed there. There has never been an old street like Baoyuan Road. You can find the nameplates of \”Guangzhou City Historic Buildings\”, \”Guangzhou City Cultural Relics Protection Units Old Residential Buildings\” and \”Liwan District Registered and Protected Cultural Relics Units\” in just two or three steps.

In 2012, Baoyuan Road Historical and Cultural District was included in the Guangzhou Historical and Cultural District. In recent years, some small literary and artistic shops have popped up on Baoyuan Road: B&Bs, teahouses, Cantonese restaurants, fashionable Western restaurants, coffee shops, unmanned convenience stores… Nowadays, Baoyuan Road can not only explore ancient times, but also add Fashionable temperament and literary sentiment.

Text/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Wu Duo

Photo/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Chen Youzi

Coordinator/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Ji Shenling

p>

There is an ancient history:

The houses in Xiguan are well preserved and the owners of the big houses have a good background

When it comes to Baoyuan Road, there is no way to bypass the \”Three Treasures\” of Xiguan. According to records, the \”Three Treasures\” zone (Baoyuan Road, Baohua Road, Duobao Road) appeared around the Qing Dynasty. At that time, with the development of Xiguan\’s commerce and the dramatic increase in population, newly emerging wealthy businessmen and a group of foreign compradors were planning to build residences near Xiguan. They first selected sites to build houses in the suburbs of Xiguan Chung, and opened up Baohua District. After that, there was not enough housing in Baohua District, so the plain between upper and lower Xiguanyong was developed into a residential area. Residential areas such as Baoyuan Street and Duobao Street were gradually formed. By the Republic of China, there were Baoyuan Road and Duobao Road. . Doing business naturally involves broadening the source of wealth. The names of Baoyuan Road, Baohua Road and Duobao Road also contain the good intentions of businessmen. Baoyuan Road is 542 meters long and connects Longjin West Road, Fengyuan Road and Baohua Road from west to east respectively. It is the lowest street in the \”Three Treasures\”.

Tanglong doors, Manchurian windows, iron window grilles, flower street bricks, wooden stairs… elements of Xiguan folk houses can be seen everywhere in the old street. According to statistics, there are more than 20 residential buildings in Xiguan along Baoyuan Road, as well as several magnificent Western-style buildings. Among them, in the first half of the section sandwiched between Longjin West Road and Fengyuan Road, many Xiguan houses are relatively well preserved, forming a contiguous overall style.

“In the old days, the Xiguan area was mostly populated by wealthy people and businessmen. We found that Baoyuan Road was also related to the Thirteenth Bank. Many Fujianese who worked for foreign companies lived here. This road was mainly used for residential houses. The Xiguan bamboo-tube houses are mainly built. Although they are not as good as some of the \’luxury houses\’ on Duobao Street, they are very valuable because they have many cultural heritage plaques.\” Tang Guohua, professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Guangzhou University and director of the Lingnan Institute of Architecture. introduce.

No. 9 Baoyuan Road was the residence of Chen Zeqiu, a wealthy businessman during the Republic of China. Although this Xiguan residence is inconspicuous, the old story of Chen Zeqiu, the \”King of Flower Yarn (Cotton Yarn)\”, who married his daughter in style has been circulated among the people. It turns out that in his early years, Chen ZeqiuStarting a business from scratch, he opened \”Yichang Hao\”, \”Kuan Yu Xing\” and \”Daocheng Hua Sha Xing\” in Guangzhou. He also engaged in tea, medicinal materials, etc., and his business covered Southeast Asia and even Australia. Because he was born into a poor family and lost his father when he was young, he was diligent and thrifty in running the family. \”In 1937, when Miss Chen got married, she took away a dowry that was half a mile long. In addition to jewelry and jades, there was also a complete set of furniture made of red sandalwood. The phoenix crown she wore weighed seven or eight kilograms. Within six days, the feast was held One hundred seats.\” It is said that this is the only time that Chen Zeqiu, who is usually low-key and frugal, shows his wealth to the world.

\”Guangzhou City Historic Building\” No. 141 Baoyuan Road (Mingqin No.) is one of the few Western-style buildings on the street. Although it has been renovated and reinforced, it cannot conceal the style of combining Chinese and Western styles. The exterior wall of Mingqindi is made of stone and rice. The traditional Xiguan sliding door is still retained on the first floor. The triple door is painted with red paint. The foot door is decorated with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum patterns and is inlaid with glass. However, the facade of the second floor has In the Baroque style, you can see Roman columns, brick arches, and curly pediments (the exquisite stone carvings in the middle of the roof, also called the forehead). It is said that the more complex the mountain flowers are, the richer the owner will be.

No. 18 Baoyuan North Street, an inner lane of Baoyuan Road, was once the big house of Liang Dayong, a wealthy businessman in the Thirteenth Industry. Liang Dayong became extremely wealthy by running a ceramics shop, and was awarded the rank of second-grade Tie Hua Ling by the Qing court as a senior political advisor. At that time, there were many operators of mass consumer goods such as silk and tea, but Liang Dayong took a different approach and chose to engage in the ceramics business. He opened a ceramics factory in Jingdezhen, shipped the products to Guangzhou, and sold them overseas. Liang Dayong built a big house for each of his five sons. The house he lived in was called \”Liang Zizheng\’s house\”. The big house covers an area of ​​more than 2,000 square meters, and the garden alone covers an area of ​​more than 1,000 square meters. There are pavilions, waterside pavilions, century-old chestnuts and white kapok in the garden, which can be called a model of Xiguan big house. Unfortunately, this Xiguan mansion was demolished in the 1980s, and now only the model is displayed in the Liwan Museum.

Xiguan House

Building structure: The exterior walls are mostly built with blue bricks and stone bases, and some exterior walls are made of stone and rice plaster; the doors are all equipped with low-legged hanging doors (foot doors) ), a door, and a door; most of the buildings are two stories high, and some have four stories, with small balconies and rooftop designs. In terms of spatial structure, it is divided into one front and two sides. The main hall has the largest area, the front hall and the back room. The rooms on both sides mainly include side halls, study rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, etc., with small doors on the side and stairwells leading to the second floor. , a patio is set up at the back to increase lighting; while the single rooms have a \”bamboo tube house\” structure with a narrow surface and a depth of up to dozens of meters.

The \”three major pieces\” at the door: the foot door is a lightweight four-fold folding door about 1.7 meters high. There are many wood carvings with various patterns on the upper end, such as grape bunches, pomegranate flowers, squirrels, etc. . Behind the foot door is a ladder with unique Lingnan characteristics, which is equipped with slide rails and can be pushed and pulled. The innermost door leaf is mostly made of Pontianak wood or camphor wood, which is thick and sturdy. The design of the triple door takes into account the functions of beauty, ventilation, lighting, privacy protection and anti-theft.

Neighbors: Old residents recall old friendships, new shop owners have Xiguan complex

85-year-old Pan Guangqing is a consultant to the Liwan Geological Office. In 1947, she came to 30 Baoyuan Road I live near No. 1, and now I haveHave lived here for more than seventy years. Granny Pan told reporters about her life in Xiguan: \”Usually, there will be people selling wontons, mung bean paste, and almond paste. After 7 p.m., someone will report, \’There are sky lanterns but no street lamps. The high man lights the oil lamp and picks one. Pot, beat the gong. Once, the person who reported the watch even arrested The thief who stole the corner stone in the middle of the night, because he was injured, we went to express our condolences early in the morning.\”

As written in the couplet of Mingqin\’s gate, \”Liwan Xiguan spreads the charming and charming soul\”, Baoyuan Road has always been cherished by the neighbors as one of the \”Three Treasures\” of Xiguan. However, the reporter noticed that the capital carvings on the foot doors of several residential buildings were somewhat peeled off and had to be screwed. The original bottle-style railings on the second-floor balcony were damaged in many places and were replaced with simple railings. The houses are old and the residents have moved out. There are mostly hardware stores, building materials stores, gas refill points, and express delivery points along the street. The impression of Baoyuan Road is somewhat decadent.

However, recently, many neighbors have discovered that many fashionable new shops have popped up along Baoyuan Road. The reporter visited and learned that there are many local young people running these stores, many of whom have professional backgrounds in design and architecture. Their answers, in addition to business considerations, also incorporate the operators’ emotional memories of Guangzhou and their individualized pursuit of aesthetics.

No. 136 Baoyuan Road is an Internet celebrity barber shop. The dark green and pink walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and leather chairs create a strong retro feel. Four cats are placed in the glass display window at the door. , this shop is also affectionately called the \”Cat Hair Salon\” by the neighbors.

The manager Mia told reporters that they came here in 2011. At that time, there were only two or three trendy stores on Baoyuan Road. The reporter learned that the shop owners are all local girls from Guangzhou. The proprietress studied interior design and later moved into the hairdressing industry, where she met a gentleman who worked nearby. “The proprietress carried out a retro-style renovation, and all the paintings on the walls were painted by her. Later, four cats were adopted into the store, and cat elements were added to the space. In fact, you don’t have to go to Zhujiang New City to follow trends, Xiguan also has them .\” Mia said.

There is a Nordic style bakery in the middle of Baoyuan Road. The manager, Mr. Xie, is a native of Xiguan. The handmade bakery requires a large enough space. He initially thought of a single-family building near Baoyuan Road. “First of all, it was about the location and some Xiguan complex.” He also deliberately kept a wooden door with Manchurian windows at the door.

No. 117 Baoyuan Road is a B&B. The story of a young couple in Guangzhou who collected tens of thousands of old items to build a themed B&B has attracted a lot of attention. Staff member Xiao Guo told reporters that the residential house where the B&B is located collapsed more than 20 years ago. Lin Biyun and his wife, who are architectural professionals, rebuilt it with reinforced concrete. The proprietress collected blue bricks and flower street bricks from collapsed and abandoned buildings for indoor use. During the renovation, the patio was retained, and black-and-white TVs, CD covers, tape recorders, and record players collected from Tianguang Market were used to create different themed rooms, creating a small Guangzhou city life display space.

Experts:

Pay attention to architectural value assessment

Recommend unified protection of the entire street

For many years, Tang Guohua has been paying attention to the situation on Baoyuan Road. According to Tang Guohua, there are three types of nameplates hung on Baoyuan Road, namely \”Guangzhou City Historic Buildings\”, \”Guangzhou City Cultural Relics Protection Units\” and \”Liwan District Registered and Protected Cultural Relics Units\”. Our country has initiated the identification of cultural protection units very early, with protection units at all levels from top to bottom. However, Guangzhou’s “historic buildings” and “historic and cultural blocks” were only proposed in 2013. The person in charge of the management of the cultural preservation unit shall not change the original building facade, structural system, color tone, basic layout and distinctive interior decoration, etc., and shall not damage, modify, add or dismantle the relevant buildings and other facilities without authorization. If it is necessary to renovate, add to or dismantle the building, if it is really necessary to decorate or decorate, it must be reported to the cultural relics administrative department for approval in accordance with the law. Among historical buildings, those that are of high value and are likely to be rated as cultural preservation units must not only protect their appearance, but also protect some internal elements. Those with lower value should be protected for appearance. \”The value of cultural preservation units is higher than that of historical buildings, and the protection intensity is higher. And historical buildings have high and low values. Then, value identification is very important, including the appearance, internal structure, components, history, etc. must be inspected. \” he said.

And he found that the cultural protection units listed earlier actually lacked the most important value assessment link. \”The protection concept in the early years was not enough. I thought it would be good just to put the name on the list, but the subsequent work was not done properly.\” . Without value assessment, there are no protection guidelines, and the responsible people will not know what to do and what not to do, and it is easy to damage the building.\” Tang Guohua said.

For the revitalization and utilization of Baoyuan Road, Tang Guohua suggested formulating a unified protection plan for the entire street. “For listed buildings, if they are cultural preservation units, changes in use functions must first be submitted to the New Bureau of Culture, Radio and Television for approval. , and then enter the process of applying for fire protection, sanitation, and industrial and commercial licenses. For buildings that are not listed, commercial use does not need to be submitted to the Media, Radio and Television Bureau for approval. . Therefore, this also requires the coordination and cooperation of the planning, urban management, and cultural preservation departments.\”

Link:

The micro-renovation of the Baoyuan Road area will be included in the renovation plan

This year. In August, the Guangzhou Municipal Government issued and implemented the \”Guangzhou Municipal Historical Building Protection and Utilization Pilot Work Plan\” to encourage historical buildings to be transformed into B&Bs and cafes. The reporter learned that the micro-renovation of the Baoyuan Road area has been included in Guangzhou\’s 2018 urban renewal annual plan. The Baoyuan area will also be updated and transformed to create a comfortable walking experience space.