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Name: Xinan
Old Town, Nantou, Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PRC
It is often said--and I've repeated the myth
myself--that Shenzhen was "just a fishing village" until Deng Xiaoping decreed the establishment of a "special economic zone" in 1980.
The truth is that the city is much older than that, as the "official
history" and the presence of old Nantou both attest. In fact, in
1573 Nantou became the seat of a county encompassing not only modern
Shenzhen, but Hong Kong, Kowloon, and the New Territories as well. (These
were severed from the county by "unequal treaties" with the British.)
Though the history doesn't say it, there must have been a substantial town there
in order for it to be declared a "county seat," so I think we can
safely say that Nantou is over 500 years old. As it is now incorporated
into Shenzhen's Nanshan district, how can we say there was "nothing
there"?
The town today is a mix of mainly modern
buildings with the occasional old house or moon gate, as well as a magnificent
main gate
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The gate on Shennan Road,
next to Guan Gong Temple |
| The village Reception House,
where important visitors would have been greeted |
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A moon gate leads into a
housing compound |
| This old house stands
forlornly behind a modern gate |
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This is the exterior of a
small shrine. Around the corner to the left is an even smaller
one.
Below left: Interior of smaller shrine
Below right: Interior of larger shrine
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| Getting there:
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From Guan Gong
Temple (see link below), walk out the west gate and turn right (north)
into Xinan Old Town.
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| Located near: |
Guan
Gong Temple, Nantou
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| About
the photos:
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All photos on
this page are copyright 2004 by James
Baquet
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| References: |
A brief history
A slightly longer history
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Disclaimer
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