Shendang is located in the northwest of Haiyan, adjacent to the urban areas of Jiaxing on the north, Wanghai and Wuyuan on the east, Yucheng on the south and Baibu on the west. With an area of 65.99 square kilometers and a population of 41,000, this town has 11 administrative villages and one community under its jurisdiction. In 2022, its GDP totaled 2.65 billion yuan, and its industrial output value of the industrial enterprises above the designated size totaled 4.794 billion yuan, and its per capita disposable income of rural residents totaled 43,431 yuan.

In recent years, the town has been honored as a demonstration unit for the construction of rural happy communities and a demonstration town of barrier-free environment at the national level, and a leading education town, a science popularization town, a town rich in East China Sea culture, an ecologically friendly town, a culturally advanced town, a literary town, a forest town, a model town of beautiful villages, a beautiful model town, a 4A scenic town and a model town for garbage sorting at the provincial level and has been a harmonious and safe town for 18 years. In 2023, the town continues to shoulder new missions and make great progress in the new era to build a beautiful water town and a new vigorous city, and achieve the high-quality economic and social development.

Shendang, an ancient town with a history of more than 1,000 years

In the ancient times Shendang was a marshland with lots of puddles. Literally, “Shendang” means a pond. The earliest prehistoric cultural site- Majiabang Culture Site is located in Pengcheng of this town. The history of the town dates back to 222 BC. In the Tang Dynasty it belonged to Yongtai Town (later named Yongning Town); in the early Ming Dynasty it was part of Wudu, Yongning Town, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty it was part of Shendang District. In 1932, it was established as a town. “Shendang is a big town with convenient water transportation such as Xiashi River. The town is 213 kilometers away from the urban areas of Haiyan. The residents of the northwest of Haiyan would like to visit it. In the town there are oil mills, pawnshops and five or six hundred markets selling grain, silk, bamboo and wood,” according to Atlas of Haiyan County.

Shendang, a town with splendid culture

The long history has enriched the profound culture and created a characteristic culture and unique natural environment where you can find such a scene here and there: “under small bridges near cottages clean streams flow”. In this ancient town there still exist nine “old things”, i,e. old streets, old houses, old ancestral halls, old wine, old lanes, old ponds, old bridges, old temples and old fishing villages. Ancestral Hall of the Qian Family, which was built in the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt from 1704 to 1710, is located in Zhongqian Village. It is the only well-preserved ancestral hall of Jiaxing. Shendang Bridge, constructed in 1705, is a three-hole arched stone bridge. The whole bridge is made of granite. In 1998, it was moved to Chenjiagang as a whole. With a history of 136 years, Shendang Shaoxing Wine has inherited old traditional brewing techniques and now is the oldest enterprise in Haiyan. In recent years, this town has constructed a cultural exhibition hall for those “old things”, Zhu Jusheng Memorial Hall, Ecological Park of Qianmudang, and a culture and art center. Gangnanxi Road Culture Block, Small West Street and the shops along Benhu Road have attracted more than 30 enterprises to settle in, indicating local integrated development of culture and tourism has reached a new level.

Shendang, a town with a developed transport network

With a superior location and a developed water and land transportation network, Shendang is near Nanhu District on the north and connects Hangzhou-Pudong Expressway on the south and Jiaxing-Shaoxing Expressway on the north. It is one-hour drive away from Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Ningbo and connects such international airports directly as Pudong, Hongqiao and Xiaoshan. It boasts a main and secondary land transportation hub, namely Jiaxing-Nanbeihu Highway, Haiyan-Wangdian Highway and Haiyan-Baibu Highway, and Grade 4 Haiyan-Jiaxing Waterway. As the north gate of Haiyan, Shendang is only 15 minutes’ drive from Jiaxingnan Railway Station. The reconstruction of Jiaxing-Haiyan Expressway has started and the project of widening Haiyan-Wangdian Highway has been included in the schedule.

Shendang, a town rapidly getting into the integrated development of Jiaxing

In 2023, Shendang continues to make the planning of and construct “New District Getting into the Integrated Development of Jiaxing” and “Ancient Town of Shendang” to jointly promote its integrated development with Jiaxing. In order to build Shendang into a beautiful ancient water town and a vigorous new city getting into the integrated development of Jiaxing, first measures have been made to accelerate the development and construction of the “New District Getting into Integrated Development of Jiaxing” to make it serve as a high-end residence zone, attract commercial hotels, provide public services and intelligent life environment, forming a new type of residential life model with the characteristics and functions of “future communities”. The second measures have been made to promote the organic renewal of the ancient town in an orderly manner to develop culture industries and build Shendang into an ancient waterside town, a habitable town, a charming and distinctive ancient block. The third measures have been made to construct such projects as Health Care Center of Haiyan and High-tech Industrial Park of Haiyan to build Shendang into a model town of high-quality development. The town will seize the opportunity of hosting “My Village Gala”, build one of the first high-quality development model towns of Jiaxing and restore old streets and the areas of old barns to drive economic and social high-quality development to fully build Shendang into a “bridgehead” getting into the integrated development of Jiaxing.