“Ten li of masts leaning against the town, ten thousand households’ lights bright through the night.” This poetic line, quoted in the 1920 Xiakou County Gazetteer, vividly portrays the magnificent scene of Hanzheng Street at its peak prosperity.
Hanzheng Street is one of the oldest streets in Hankou, boasting a history of over five hundred years since its formation. As early as the early Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, a change in the course of the Han River made the area adjacent to it a good haven for passing ships, attracting numerous people to build foundations and houses. Shops and trading firms along the street gradually increased, accommodating visiting merchants. By the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620), the area around the main street had already formed a bustling market town.
In the eighth year of Chongzhen (1636), Prefectural Judge Yuan Chang supervised the construction of a long embankment, which significantly reduced flooding in Hankou. Soon after, several wharves were built along the Han River, including Zongsan Temple, Yangjia River, Wusheng Temple, Laoguan Temple, and Jijiazui. The rise of these wharves greatly spurred the prosperity of Hanzheng Street. By the twentieth year of Kangxi (1681), the main street was a bustling area where “both sides have private houses, and the street in the middle can accommodate vehicles,” a true depiction of the scene described as “ten li of masts leaning against the town, ten thousand households’ lights bright through the night.”
Due to frequent trade activities, the street became increasingly prosperous. In the fourth year of Qianlong (1740), Hanzheng Street was paved with flagstones. In the third year of Tongzhi (1864), Prefect Zhong Qianjun also supervised the construction of new wharves like Xin Wharf and Wanan Alley, further facilitating transportation. By this time, the entire Hanzheng Street, stretching from Qiaokou in the west to Hualou Street in the east, had become the largest and most important commercial street in the entire Hankou town, known as “twenty li long street, eight wharves, many carriages on land, many boats on water.” Residents of Hanzheng Street at this time included not only those who had migrated from areas within Hubei such as Jingzhou and Xiaogan, but also numerous merchants who had moved from provinces like Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Zhejiang.
Hanzheng Street is also known as “Official Street” because many government offices were located here during the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as the Renyi Patrol Division Office (at Yangjia River Main Street), the Prefectural Judge’s Office (at present-day Zhigong Alley), the Huai Salt Bureau (at present-day Wusheng Road intersection), and the Provisional Governor’s Office (at Yu Zi Alley). Administratively, since the formation of Hankou town in the mid-Ming period, the area of Hanzheng Street had always been under the jurisdiction of Hanyang County and Hanyang Prefecture. In the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu (1899), Governor-General of Huguang Zhang Zhidong petitioned the Qing court to approve the separation of Hanyang and Hankou administrations. A new Xiakou Subprefecture was established, equal in administrative status to Hanyang County, governing the area north of the Han River from Enkou to Shekou, and was subordinate to Hanyang Prefecture. In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), Xiakou Subprefecture was changed to Xiakou County. At that time, Hanzheng Street was still referred to in sections, from west to east: Yudaimen Main Street, Yangjia River Main Street, Wusheng Temple Main Street, Shimadao Main Street, Wucai Main Street, Yongning Alley Main Street, and Shenjia Temple Main Street. It was not until 1926, when Xiakou County was renamed Hankou City, that it became uniformly known as Hanzheng Street.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Prefectural Judge (Tongzhi) was an assistant to the Prefect (Zhifu). In the fifth year of Yongzheng (1727), the Renyi Patrol Division was newly established, with its office in Anding Alley on Hanzheng Street; the original Hankou Patrol Division was renamed Lizhi Patrol Division, with its office in Wanshou Alley. In the tenth year of Yongzheng, the Hanyang County Prefectural Judge’s office also deemed Hankou important and moved its yamen to Hankou, directly governing the Renyi and Lizhi divisions. Concurrently, the Qing government stationed a large number of naval officers and soldiers in the Hanzheng Street area, such as establishing a Naval Commander’s Office in Dazhi Fang and a Qianzhong’s Office in Liziji Alley, thereby strengthening water transport and security management in Hankou town.
A hundred years ago, Hanzheng Street was always the commercial essence of the old Hankou town. The commerce of old Hankou town was divided into the “Upper Eight Lines” (referring mainly to trading firms and warehouses, with meeting points at Shenjia Temple) and the “Lower Eight Lines” (referring to handicraft workshops). According to the Hankou Xiaozhi, the most famous were commonly known as the “Eight Great Guilds” or “Trades”: salt, tea, medicinal herbs, general goods, oil, grain, cotton, and cowhide. Looking at the history of business development on Hanzheng Street since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the western section was dominated by grain, general goods, oil, and cotton; the eastern section mainly by medicinal herbs, ginseng and swallow’s nest, and gold/silver; the central section was the most prosperous, bustling with department stores, cloth, mountain goods, seafood, paper, and other businesses. In the past, handicraft workshops in the Hanzheng Street area mostly adhered to guild-specific areas, adopting the “front shop, rear workshop” model of self-production and self-sale. Many alleys were named after trades, such as Huai Salt Alley, Tofu Alley, Tea Alley, Bamboo Plaque Alley, Peacock Feather Alley (花翎巷), Roasted Cake Alley, Button Alley, Money Board Alley, Lantern Alley, etc., just as described in the Hankou Zhuzhi Ci: “Half the street names are called after shop names.”
However, the main large stores on Hanzheng Street at that time dealt in “foreign goods” and “Guangzhou goods.” The line from Hankou Zhuzhi Ci, “Foreign goods novel, Guangzhou goods refined, its prosperity rivals Edo/Tokyo,” reflects the characteristics of the time. Due to the disdain of major merchants for dealing in small commodities, Qing Dynasty Hanzheng Street only had scattered mobile vendors and small general merchandise stalls selling small goods, and had not yet formed a small commodity market of considerable scale.
Five Centuries of Old Shops: Memories of History
Over five hundred years, Hanzheng Street has nurtured and witnessed the rise and fall of numerous century-old shops, preserving a rich commercial and cultural tradition. In the past, apprentices learning their trade here had “ten rules to not follow,” covering principles like not forgetting one’s master and betraying principles, not arguing with customers, and not deceiving customers due to small business, emphasizing honesty and integrity in treating customers. Nearly everything on Hanzheng Street back then revolved around commerce. Even today, wandering through it, you can still feel that strong commercial atmosphere of yesteryear.
Qianxiangyi Silk and Cloth Shop: Opened in the twentieth year of Qing Guangxu (1894), it was renowned for its self-dyed “Three Treasures” (sapphire blue cloth, fine sapphire blue cloth, sapphire blue bamboo cloth). Due to the exquisite dyeing process requiring “three dye vats,” the color was deep and true, and the quality consistently stable, earning it a high reputation. It was a formidable competitor to the imported “Indanthrene” cloth of the time. Its business philosophy of “Humility and Harmony Lead to Prosperity, Integrity in Treating Customers” fostered trust with buyers; regular customers from out of town could simply hand their order to the counter and attend to other matters, returning later to pay and pick up their goods according to the list, without needing to bargain, and errors were unheard of. A black lacquered plaque hung in the shop, inscribed with three large golden characters, “Yi Yan Tang” (Hall of One Word/Promise), which for over half a century became a common saying among Hankou people: “Qianxiangyi’s signboard, Yi Yan Tang,” signifying absolute trustworthiness. It’s estimated that around the 1911 Revolution, its average daily sales were about 5,000 silver taels, sometimes reaching a peak of 16,000, with annual sales between 1.5 to 1.8 million silver taels. In 1966, under the public-private partnership, it was converted into Qianxiangyi Department Store.
Suhengtai Umbrella Shop: This is a century-old shop on Hanzheng Street, famous for manufacturing umbrellas that sold well both domestically and internationally. The founder, Su Wenshou, was an umbrella craftsman from Shimenkan, Changsha, Hunan. In the first year of Tongzhi (1862), he moved his family to Hankou, living in a thatched hut at Guan Di Temple on Hanzheng Street. Initially, he carried an umbrella repair pole, wandering through streets and alleys, carrying a small quantity of self-made umbrellas for sale. Three years later, having saved 30 taels of silver, he opened the Suhengtai Umbrella Shop at the entrance of Kuibei Alley near Guan Di Temple, abandoning repairs to specialize in Hunan oil-paper umbrellas. From a monthly production of over 100 umbrellas, it rapidly grew to over 6,000, unable to meet demand. The secret to Suhengtai’s oil-paper umbrellas dominating the market for a century was their exceptional quality, unmatched by peers. The Su family was meticulous about sourcing authentic raw materials. The bamboo for the frame came from Yiyang and Chaling in Hunan, prized for its “thick flesh and hard texture” that resists bending; the paper covering the surface came from Yunyang in Hubei, valued for its strong warp and weft; the tung oil brushed onto the surface came from Changde in Hunan, known for its excellent purity and luster. If raw material supply was insufficient, they would rather reduce production and sales than use inferior materials or lower quality, maintaining this standard for decades without fail. In the past, in the Jianghan Plain area, daughters getting married would generally purchase umbrellas from Suhengtai. This led customers to coin the phrase “Suhengtai’s umbrella,” renowned far and wide and universally praised. In business management, the shop sought improvement to increase production and revenue. Initially, umbrella making was a workshop system where one worker completed the entire process. To increase production, they switched from a single-worker system to a division of labor assembly line system, with 7 people per group (4 for the frame, further divided by tasks, and 3 for the umbrella surface - 2 applying paper, 1 applying oil). They also changed from hourly wages to piece-rate wages. These improvements increased work efficiency by 30%. Entering the 1930s, the third-generation descendant of the Su family, to enhance market competitiveness, dedicated himself to researching and improving product quality, implementing an oil immersion process for the umbrella paper. The variety of umbrellas increased to 4 main categories (floral paper, improved blue surface, blue surface with hook handle, and red surface with large handle) and 21 specifications, further enhancing moisture resistance and durability. To attract customers, Suhengtai Umbrella Shop would brush an extra layer of oil in front of the customer when selling an umbrella and could add names or paint on the surface upon request. After the 1960s, with the popularization of plastic and cloth umbrellas, oil-paper umbrellas were naturally phased out and exited the market.
Wangyuxia Food Store: Founded in the fourth year of Qing Qianlong (1739) at the entrance of Denglong Alley on Hanzheng Street, it is an old and famous shop with over two hundred years of history. Wangyuxia Food Store initially focused on selling Anhui tea, and at that time, Anhui tea was considered the best in the country, thus earning the name “Wangyuxia’s tea.” In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, Wangyuxia Food Store shifted its focus to producing pastries and food items. Its seasonal pastries, such as酥糖 (crisp sugar) and 京果 (Beijing fruit) for Spring Festival,芝麻糕 (sesame cake) and 绿豆糕 (mung bean cake) for Dragon Boat Festival, and mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival, were beloved by both urban and rural residents. In particular, Wangyuxia Food Store’s wedding cakes became an essential item for general family weddings, betrothal gifts, and festive entertaining.
Yekaitai Pharmacy: Opened in the tenth year of Ming Chongzhen (1637). Operated by over ten generations of the Ye family, it is an old pharmacy with over three hundred years of history. Founder Ye Wenji initially established the Yekaitai Herb Room at the entrance of Baojia Alley on Hanzheng Street, practicing medicine and compounding herbs, recommending medicines through medical consultations. During the Qianlong period, his grandson Ye Hongliang expanded the business and renamed it Yekaitai Pharmacy. In the Guangxu period, Yekaitai’s turnover accounted for about 13% of the total turnover of similar businesses in the three towns of Wuhan. After the 1911 Revolution, descendant Ye Fengchi built a new shop building at the family residence base in Taojia Alley on Dajia Street, revitalizing the family business and entering its peak. Yekaitai Pharmacy’s finely compounded pills, powders, salves, etc., were known for their high quality and efficacy, selling well domestically and abroad. The staff in the store followed the motto, “Though the compounding process is unseen by humans, Heaven knows the intention,” strictly adhering to operating procedures. The old shop on Hanzheng Street had a set of strict procedures for compounding traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. Patients would place their prescriptions on the counter, and a dedicated person would dispense the herbs according to the prescription. Each ingredient, measured in錢 (qian) or 分 (fen), was weighed accurately with a small scale, poured onto a small piece of paper, and arranged according to the order on the prescription. After dispensing all ingredients for the prescription, another dedicated person would check each ingredient against the prescription. After confirming accuracy, the original dispenser would wrap each ingredient into a small package, which were then combined into a large package. The medicine packages were neat and orderly, with distinct edges. Then the staff would hand over the medicine and receive payment. A folk saying in Wuhan once circulated: “Yekaitai’s medicine, even if it kills you, it’s good,” illustrating its extremely high reputation and the trust it held among the public.
Huangzhicheng Chaihuodian: This shop was once a well-known wholesale store for general goods and seafood, a typical “Chaihuodian.” In the sixteenth year of Guangxu (1890), Huang Boji inherited his uncle’s shop and opened Huangzhicheng Chaihuodian. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by European and American countries promoting the sale of seafood and granulated sugar in Hankou, he began a second-tier wholesale business in seafood and general goods. The shop attracted small and medium-sized customers from towns and wharves within the province and along the river with services like “generous weighing and price concessions,” a wide variety of goods, and packaging and shipping assistance. It surpassed its peers, and its business reached towns within the province and its reputation extended to several provinces like Hunan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. It is said that general stores in some towns both within and outside the province would often display invoices from Huangzhicheng Chaihuodian in their shops to indicate the authenticity and quality of their goods. At its peak (around 1900), Huangzhicheng Chaihuodian employed over 180 people, with daily turnover reaching tens of thousands of silver taels, and a peak even up to twenty thousand taels. Annual profits were typically between 70,000 and 80,000 taels. It invested and established 5 new general stores and 1 rice mill. Its owner, Huang Boji, served as the head of the Hankou Xianning Fellow Provincial Association and once purchased two steamships to operate passenger and cargo transport between Hankou and Xianning. During the 1911 Revolution, Qing troops burned Hankou town, and Huangzhicheng Chaihuodian’s warehouse stock was completely destroyed, severely weakening it. Although it resumed business by raising funds through credit and saw some recovery for a time, it ultimately failed to reverse its worsening situation as senior staff left to start their own businesses. In 1927, the once-flourishing Huangzhicheng Chaihuodian could no longer continue and officially disappeared from the Hanzheng Street market.
Vanishing Guild Halls and Academies: Symbols of Regional Commercial Power
Hanzheng Street was not only a commercial hub but also a place where regional merchant groups gathered. According to the Hanzheng Street Gazetteer, by the late Qing Dynasty, 14 guild halls (会馆) and 66 public halls (公所) had been built. These served as venues for guild activities, discussions, rituals, charitable deeds, and networking among fellow provincials. The Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall, built in the twenty-second year of Kangxi (1683) by merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi residing in Hankou, was one of the earlier and larger ones. It included the main hall dedicated to Saintly Emperor Guan (i.e., West Guan Di Temple) and the Chunqiu Tower (also known as Master Guan’s Temple), reflecting the reverence for Guan Gong (Guan Yu) among merchants from these provinces, honoring his spirit of loyalty and righteousness. The Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall also demonstrated social responsibility; in response to frequent fires in the Hankou commercial district, it established a “Water Dragon Bureau” (a fire brigade), recruiting 46 laborers for firefighting. However, during the Japanese air raids on Wuhan in 1937, the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall was critically damaged. Sharing a similar fate was the renowned Xinan Academy, the guild hall of Huizhou merchants. It was established in the seventh year of Kangxi (1668) by officials and merchants from the six counties of Huizhou Prefecture (Shexian, Xiuning, Qimen, Yixian, Jixi in Anhui, and Wuyuan in Jiangxi). Initially called Xinan Public Hall, it was expanded in the thirty-fourth year of Kangxi (1695) into Xinan Academy, serving as a place of study for students from their native region. Today, only a single ruined wall remains of this academy, which is over 400 years old. These once grand buildings, historical testaments to the growth of regional merchant groups in Hankou, have largely vanished, leaving a sense of melancholy.
Modern Hanzheng Street: Revival and Transformation
After 1949, Hanzheng Street’s small commodity market experienced a period of stagnation. During those years, small commodity businesses were almost non-existent, the once-thriving “Three Towns Market” was deserted and depressed, private businesses were suspended for a time, and the entire market was in a closed state. It was not until the late 1970s, during the initial period of reform and opening up, that Hanzheng Street’s commercial function was reactivated. Some far-sighted individuals, adept at finding opportune locations, were the first to target this ancient commercial street, joining state-owned and collective stores. The initial 103 individual businesses, with their advantage of “lively goods and affordable prices,” attracted a large number of “baofu ke” (peddlers carrying goods in bundles) and “biandan shang” (merchants using carrying poles) from rural areas and township enterprises across the country. This marked the recovery and rapid growth of the Hanzheng Street small commodity market.
Today’s Hanzheng Street market occupies a vast area, encompassing numerous streets and alleys, forming ten major specialized markets, dealing in a wide variety of goods, employing a large workforce, supported by a developed logistics network, and seeing a huge daily pedestrian flow. In the eyes of both itinerant and resident merchants, Hanzheng Street is a treasure trove for making money, with the saying circulating that “even if you carve an eye out of wood and stick it there, you can make money.” Its widespread fame stems not only from its geographical advantage captured by “Goods reach Hankou and come alive” and its past prosperity depicted as “Foreign goods novel, Guangzhou goods refined, its prosperity rivals Edo/Tokyo,” but also from the vibrant individual business stories closely tied to it. There’s also an old Hankou saying, “If you come to Hankou and don’t visit Hanzheng Street, your trip is wasted even if you walk yourself to death,” illustrating its paramount importance in the city.
Character Stories: Vignettes of Hanzheng Street
Zheng Bin: A Hanzheng Street Merchant’s Path to Transformation
Zheng Bin is a native of Hanzheng Street who, after various jobs, chose to return here. Despite being a man, he switched from selling men’s trousers to maternity wear, inspired by his wife’s experience discovering a market gap. He has witnessed Hanzheng Street’s ups and downs over 30 years. Regarding business operations, he emphasizes building his own brand, considering it intangible asset, and leveraging others’ strengths through OEM production. On the topic of “grey goods” often associated with Hanzheng Street, he believes it should be viewed from two sides, as these products meet the consumption needs of low-income groups who might not be able to afford goods produced to higher standards. He believes Hanzheng Street should gradually shed the label of “grey goods street” and move towards branding.
He actively embraces e-commerce, seeing it as aligning with development trends, enabling network sales and brand building. “E-commerce has no borders; traditional promotion methods have too long a cycle, while with e-commerce, one click and the whole world knows.” He estimates that about 20-30% of his peers on Hanzheng Street are already involved in e-commerce, either selling online or using networks for accounting, warehousing, and supply chain management.
Regarding the overall relocation of Hanzheng Street, Zheng Bin sees it as an opportunity for growth. Moving to the new site in Panlongcheng, with its comprehensive sea, land, and air transport facilities, offers a unique geographical advantage that can help avoid the limitations of being “small merchants and peddlers.” He sees great potential in leveraging the new location to redefine himself and his business. Looking back on his entrepreneurial journey, he first thanks himself. Giving up a good job within the system to return to Hanzheng Street felt like “a fish returning to water.” He rates himself 7 out of 10, feeling he’s doing reasonably well among peers but admits to a “content with small success” mindset that needs improvement, intending to utilize the relocation opportunity to further enhance himself and his career.
Yang Changhua: A “Biandan’s” Day
In a small alley on Hanzheng Street, we met 65-year-old Yang Changhua, a “biandan” (porter who carries goods with a pole) from Huangpi who has worked on Hanzheng Street for 30 years. Before dawn each day, he brings his 1-meter long “old companion” (the carrying pole) to designated shops to carry goods up to their second-floor warehouses, usually dozens of loads, which constitutes his fixed daily income. After 8 AM, like other biandan, he walks through streets and alleys looking for employers, charging a starting rate of 3 yuan, capped at 10 yuan, and might even offer discounts to those who bargain hard. You might not imagine that this 65-year-old man can carry up to 180 jin (approx. 90 kg) of goods. In summer, his shoulders are often “worn down to a layer of skin.” Even during rest, he tightly grips his “tool of survival” (the pole), fingers tense, a habit formed over years, ready to get up at any moment. Yang Changhua’s left eye is different from normal; he says, “It’s cataracts. I had a free surgery two years ago, but it didn’t fix it. Now things are a bit blurry.” He laughs, “So, you see, I can only do this ‘biandan’ work.”
When asked why he works in small alleys, Yang Changhua explains, “The main streets are for trolleys; they can carry more. We are in demand where the trolleys can’t go.” On Hanzheng Street, trolley operators can earn at least 3,000 yuan a month, while biandan earn a maximum of around 2,400 yuan. After the “comprehensive renovation and relocation” of Hanzheng Street began, Yang Changhua’s monthly income decreased by over 800 yuan. He plans that after Hanzheng Street finishes relocating, he will return to his old home in Huangpi and live a leisurely life with his wife using their savings accumulated over the years. As for the younger biandan, he believes, “Maybe they will follow to Hankoubei!”
The story of Hanzheng Street is a story of historical change, of the inheritance of commercial spirit, and a microcosm of countless ordinary people striving to survive and succeed in the tide of the times.