Meihua Ancient Town was located in the northeast of Changle District, Fujian Province. The east gate was facing the sea, and the north gate was facing the mountain. The ancient alleys were deep and the ancient houses were scattered. The entire ancient town was located between mountains and rivers. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, because of its important geographical location, they built a city here and guarded the entrance of Fujian Province. As an important port town of the Silk Road on the sea, the plum blossoms extended along the river to the sea and reached the five continents. Plum Blossom Town had witnessed more than 500 years of cultural exchange between China and Ryukyu. It was one of the important strongholds for the exchange between China and Ryukyu during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was frequently mentioned in the records of canonized envoys and Ryukyu genealogy. There were many works of Chinese poetry written by canonized envoys and Ryukyu envoys with plum blossoms as the theme. There were also many historical sites and cultural sights here, such as the ancient city building, Xi Shi Lane, Lin Wei Palace, and the "Ming Army Camp". The tourists could see the Plum Blossom Harbor where Zheng He's boat was docked when he went to the West. They could also visit Mazu in the Empress of Heaven Palace and experience the ancient beauty of the ancient town. The Jiangjun Mountain Park was also a good place to appreciate plum blossoms and understand the history and culture of the ancient city of plum blossoms. In addition, the historical style exhibition hall of Meihua Ancient Town allowed visitors to understand the past and present of Meihua in one stop. The "Ancient Plum Blossom Painting" visible at the entrance of the hall drew the ancient houses of the ancient city, the anti-Japanese soldiers, Zheng He's fleet, the villagers who wanted to go to the sea, and so on. This was drawn by the designer of the exhibition hall and Zheng Xuelin, the local sage, according to the written records and collective memory.
There were many ancient plum blossom towns in China, each with its own unique historical allusions: - The ancient town of Meicheng in Zhejiang Province, formerly known as Meicheng in Yanzhou Prefecture, was related to Yan Ziling, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Yan Zhou got its name from Yan Ziling. According to the folk legend, Yan Ziling used the plum blossom rope given by the emperor to build a city here. Although there were treacherous officials who complained, he used the local dialect of Yan Zhou to not distinguish between "city" and "rope" to save his life. In fact, Yan Prefecture City was known as Plum Blossom City because of the half plum blossom shape of the battlements near the river. It had a history of more than 1800 years and was once the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of western Zhejiang. It had been the state capital for more than 1,300 years since the early Tang Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, it was the country's high-end talent output. - Meihua Ancient Town in Fujian Province, located at the confluence of the river and sea on the south bank of the Minjiang River. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was one of the important strongholds for the exchange between China and Ryukyu. Out of the 23 times that China conferred the title of Ryukyu, seven of them sailed from Meihua Port. This place witnessed more than 500 years of cultural exchange between China and Liuzhou. Many sea god beliefs and sacrificial activities ran through it, and there was also the belief of Lady Cai. Lady Cai's original name was Cai Hongheng. She was a descendant of the Cai family, one of the 36 Min surnames, who had moved to Ryukyu. She was proficient in embroidery. On November 18th, 2024, the Changle Plum Blossom Zhongliu Cultural Center opened, concentrating on this period of history. - Meihua Town, Hebei Province: Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, Princess Meihua lived here and brought happiness to the people. After her death, she was buried here, hence the name. On the night of October 11th, 1937, Lu Zhengcao led his troops to attack the Itagaki Division. On the morning of the 12th, they retreated due to the enemy's reinforcements, and the villagers who did not retreat were massacred.
Meihua Ancient Town was located on the south bank of the Minjiang River. It was known as the South Throat of the Minjiang River. It was built here in the early Ming Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had been guarding the gateway of Fujian Province. It was an important port town of the Silk Road on the sea. It was along the river to the sea and reached the five continents. This was one of the important strongholds of exchanges between China and Ryukyu during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was frequently mentioned in the records of canonizing envoys and Ryukyu genealogy. Many canonizing envoys and Ryukyu envoys wrote Chinese poems with the theme of plum blossoms. The ancient town had witnessed more than 500 years of cultural exchange between China and Liuzhou. Today, there were many places in Meihua Ancient Town that displayed its history and culture, such as the Meihua Ancient Town Historical Style Exhibition Hall, which was rebuilt from the salt warehouse during the Republic of China. Here, tourists could learn about the past and present of the plum blossoms. The "Ancient Plum Blossom Painting" that could be seen at the entrance of the museum was drawn by the local sages according to the written records and collective memory. It was then drawn by the exhibition hall designer and the local sage Zheng Xuelin. The ancient houses in the ancient city, the anti-Japanese soldiers, Zheng He's fleet, and the villagers were drawn on the map. In addition, on November 18th, 2024, Changle Plum Blossom Zhongliu Cultural Center officially opened. It condensed the historical memories of the exchange between China and Liuzhou in the exhibition hall and displayed them in the form of text, pictures, and videos.
You may have some misunderstandings. Meihua Town belongs to Gaocheng District of Hebei Province, and is not called "Meihua Ancient Town". Its historical evolution is as follows: Ming Dynasty, it belongs to Liu Village Society; Qing Dynasty, it belongs to Xu Meiying; During the Republic of China, it belongs to the four districts of Gaocheng County. In April of the twenty-seventh year of the Republic of China (1938), it belonged to the third district of the anti-Japanese democratic government of Gaocheng County. In November 1947, Gaocheng was restored to its original system, which belonged to the second and third districts. In 1949, it belonged to the third district of Gaocheng County. In 1953, the town of Beautification was established. In August 1958, it belonged to Happiness Commune, and in November of the same year, it was changed to Nanying Commune. In May 1961, the Plum Blossom Commune was established. In January 1984, it was changed to Meihua Township, and in June of the same year, it was changed to Meihua Town. In 1996, Mulian Town and Yijia Village were merged.
The names of the ancient plum towns in different regions had different origins: - The ancient town of Meicheng in Jiande, Hangzhou was named after the ancient city wall was built in the shape of plum blossoms. There were two and a half plum blossoms in the world, one in Nanjing, one in Beijing, and the other half falling in Jiande, Hangzhou. - The ancient city of plum blossoms in Changle, Fuzhou: Since the Tang Dynasty, it was called Plum Blossom Square because of the many plum trees planted in the territory. After the city was built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, it was called Plum Blossom City. Until the establishment of Plum Blossom Town in the Republic of China, plum blossoms were still planted all over the General Mountain in the ancient city. - There was also a Plum Blossom Town. Its terrain looked like a plum blossom blooming by the vast sea, which was why it was named Plum Blossom Fishing Town.
There were many historical allusions in the ancient town of Meihua. For example, Changle Plum Blossom witnessed more than 500 years of exchanges between China and Liuzhou, and Plum Blossom Town in Gaocheng was related to Princess Plum Blossom and had heroic deeds in the War of Resistance.
You might want to ask about the ancient town of Mei City in Jiande. Meicheng Ancient Town was located in Jiande City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It was an ancient town with a history of more than 1700 years. It covered an area of 157 square kilometers and had a population of about 50,000 people. It governed 13 administrative villages and 5 communities. The ancient town of Meicheng got its name from the plum blossom shape of the ancient city wall near the river. It was originally the seat of the Yanzhou government in Zhejiang Prefecture. It had been the state capital for more than 1,300 years since the early Tang Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, Yanzhou Prefecture was the place where the country's high-end talents were produced. Many top scholars, scholars, and juren were produced, and dozens of memorial archways were built for this purpose. It used to be the political, cultural, commercial, and shipping center of tens of thousands of square kilometers in western Zhejiang. It had been ranked second in Zhejiang for a long time in many indicators. The ancient town of Meicheng was located at the confluence of Fuchun River, Xin 'an River, and Lan River. It was close to Wulong Mountain in the north and Sanjiangkou in the south. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers and had beautiful scenery. It has been rated as one of the top 1000 towns in the country, the first batch of central towns in Zhejiang Province, green small towns in Zhejiang Province, health towns in Zhejiang Province, advanced towns in social security in Zhejiang Province, and strong towns in education in Zhejiang Province. The main street of the ancient town had been transformed into a commercial street. There were shops selling local specialties, antiques, and clothes. Some ancient buildings had been renovated and preserved, and the streets were painted with historical wall paintings. Mei City was more famous for drying noodles and soaking noodles. It was open all day (January 1-December 31, Monday-Sunday), with free tickets and a reference time of 1 - 3 hours. The contact number was 13777846661, and the address was Meicheng Town, Jiande City, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province.
There were many Plum Blossom Towns in China: - Meihua Village is under the jurisdiction of Meihua Town, Lechang City, Guangdong Province. It is located about 500 meters southeast of the center of Meihua Town. The Beijing-Zhujiang expressway and Pingru highway run through the territory. It is only 14 kilometers away from Pingshi Train Station. The traffic location advantage is obvious. This was a poor village in a limestone mountainous area. There were 7 members of the "two committee" and 78 party members. The collective economic income was 18,000 yuan. The village has jurisdiction over 24 village groups, with a total of 1369 households, a total agricultural population of 6946 people, a per capital net income of 3562 yuan, 172 poor households, and 780 poor people. The cultivated land area is 4009 mu, including 2556 mu of paddy field and 1453 mu of dry land. The main basic industries were planting rice, corn, sweet potatoes and other food crops, planting peanuts, soybeans, yellow tobacco, vegetables and other cash crops, as well as pig and poultry breeding. Labor export was the main source of income for villagers, and the participation rate of rural cooperative medical care reached 98%. - Meihua Village, Meihua Town, Gaocheng City, Hebei Province. The name of the village originated from the daughter-in-law of the Guo family, Princess Meihua. In the 12th year of the Republic of China (1923 AD), the Records of Gaocheng County (continued) recorded that Princess Plum Blossom lived here. After her death, the village was named after her. After experiencing the changes of war and immigration, the village name was once homophonic "Beautified Village", and in the early years of the Republic of China, it was restored to "Plum Blossom Village". This was once the number one town in Gaocheng. There were police stations, security clubs, national primary schools, etc. The market opened on the 27th of each month. The trade was mainly cotton. The winter flower market was especially prosperous. Floral merchants gathered there. The trade reached Tianjin in the north and Qilu in the south.
Meihuazhou Ancient Town was located at No. 10 Sanxing Road, Fengqiao Town, Nanhu District, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. It had a history of more than 1500 years. The Stone Buddha Temple was built here in the third year of the Song Dynasty. The rivers between the plots were winding and crisscrossed, dividing the terrain into five petals. The vegetation was lush and the winding paths were secluded. The rivers of different sizes shuttled between them like plum blossoms, so it got its name. After 15 centuries of wind and rain, the texture of the river was still well preserved. It was the birthplace of the Majiabang culture, Songze culture, and Liangzhu culture, displaying the historical and cultural implications of these cultural sites. The ancient town of Plum Blossom Island was only a hundred miles away from Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. Its geographical location was unique. The planned area of the scenic spot was 6676 mu, and each scenic spot had a reasonable functional planning. There were many landscapes in the ancient town, such as the stone Buddha temple built in the Southern Dynasty, the thousand-year-old ginkgo, the fragrant flower corridor bridge, the pink wall, the beautiful pavilion, which showed the charm of Jiangnan and carried the China feelings of 300 years. With the core idea of "Smart Water Town, Freehand Jiangnan", it gathered historical relics, religious culture, ecological agriculture, business meetings, expansion training, parent-child play, film and television shooting, and other functions, fully demonstrating the rich and colorful Jiangnan culture. The ancient town of Plum Blossom Island had a beautiful environment surrounded by mountains and rivers. Ancient stone bridges, ancient houses, ancient temples, and beautiful river scenery complemented each other, attracting many tourists.
There were different stories about the origins of the names of Meihua Ancient Towns in different regions: - There was a popular saying that the name of the ancient town of Mei City in Jiande, Hangzhou, was that Jiande City was Yanzhou City, commonly known as Plum Blossom City, because a section of the battlements near the river was shaped like half a plum blossom. - The ancient city of plum blossoms in Changle, Fuzhou, had been called Plum Blossom Square since the Tang Dynasty because of the many plum trees planted in the territory. After the city was built in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, it was called Plum Blossom City. Although there were other names changed in the middle, it was still called Plum Blossom City in the end. Today, plum blossoms were still planted all over Jiangjun Mountain in the ancient city. It was a good place to admire plum blossoms when they were in full bloom. - There was also Plum Blossom Town. Its terrain looked like a plum blossom blooming by the vast sea, hence the name Plum Blossom Fishing Town.
Famous people in Changle Meihua Town included Lin Wei, Cai Hongheng, Lin Juqing, Wang Yingru, Wang Yingqi, etc. Lin Wei fought against the Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He cleverly used his wits to make large straw sandals to sell and was captured by the Japanese pirates to inquire about the situation. He falsely reported the number of soldiers in the city to scare off the Japanese pirates. Cai Hongheng was from Ryukyu and lived in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Her embroidery skills were exquisite. She embroidered dragon robes and presented them to the Wanli Emperor. After her death, she became a god and saved the common people. There was a Lady Cai Temple in Changle's Meihua Ancient City to commemorate her. Lin Juqing was a native of Meihuafang in Tang Dynasty. He had filial piety. After burying his father, he lived in the tomb for three years. He also built a bridge and became an official. Wang Yingru was intelligent and magnanimous. When he was young, he could write thousands of words of magnificent articles and wrote many works. Wang Yingqi had great ambition when he was young. He wrote "On Pinghai" and made various actions to benefit the people during different periods of office.