By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

Hongyadong has another name of “a stilted building on the cliff, and the old Chongqing in memories”. It locates in the lower section of Cangbai Road, which is the intersection riverside zone of Jiabin Road. In the meanwhile, it is an eye-catching building community featured with Bayu culture.

Moreover, Hongyadong boasts deep historical deposits in Chongqing. It has enchanting scenery in ancient times and successively formed numerous historical sites. Jiangai Fort, city walls in the Ming Dynasty, pavilions and ancient temples, ancient academy of classical learning are attractive. Besides, “Hongya Dripping” is one of the twelve views of ancient Bayu, which is famous in China.

Changes of the Beautiful Place

In the 1940s, a footpath, connecting the inside and outside of the city, lay on the cliff. Additionally, Hongyadong was adjacent to Zhenjiang Temple and Zhiyanhe Street, which were surrounded by wharves and full of vigor. Afterward, people built rows of stilted buildings under the cliff on both sides of Hongyadong. Therefore, it formed the distinct scenery of Chongqing.

In people’s memories, old Chongqing basically located near the mountains and by the rivers in an orderly manner and with a single color. In addition, it was adjusted according to local conditions. After liberation, wharves along the Yangtze River, especially Linjiangmen and Qiansimen wharves, declined, and Hongyadong gradually lost its vigor. The stilted buildings became dangerous buildings after experiencing decades of wind and rain. However, the construction of Binjiang Road along Jialing River completely changed the look on both sides of the River.

Through several times of research, the relevant departments decided to build a leisure waterfront platform on Jialing River based on the completion of existing projects of Hongyadong. Thus, the platform and Hongyadong could become an integral whole and could be linked with rivers and mountains. On September 29, 2006, Folk Custom Area of Hongyadong completed to open up. Hongyadong demonstrated different Chinese and Western folk cultures and the culture in the buildings through “magical altitude difference” of 13 storeys.

Source: CQCB