Several days ago, the sixth list of the place name culture heritages under municipal protection was released, and Haiyan’s five place names were included: Shendang’s Ancestral Hall of the Qian Family, Wuyuan’s Zhenhai Pagoda and City Wall Site, and Ganpu’s Longwall Mountain and Ziyun Mountain.

Located in Zhongqian Village, the Ancestral Hall of the Qian Family was constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and reconstructed during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911). It was built after the 15th generation of descendants of the King Qian Liu of the Wuyue State (907-978) moved to Haiyan. Originally it was named Yongsi Hall. With an existing building area of 667 square meters, the Hall faces the south and covers a land of more than 1,600 square meters. With fences, it is divided into east and west parts. In the west part made up of two courtyards in a row along the central axis, there is a sacrificial hall; and in the east part, there is a living room and a garden, so the Hall is an ancient residential building with Jiangnan’ s characteristics. In January 2017, it was listed as a cultural heritage site under provincial-level protection.

As part of the architectural complex of Tianning Temple, Zhenhai Pagoda was constructed during 1337 and 1341. With seven stories, this octagonal pagoda was about 77 meters high (according to County Annals of Haiyan (1875-1908). Later it was repaired and reconstructed several times. In 2000, the construction of the Scenic Area of Tianning Temple started. During the construction period, some cultural relics were unearthed in the temple site such as two iron gilt Ashoka pagodas, some coins and five boxes of Buddhist books. In September 2003, an underground palace was discovered in the center of the Pagoda. The reconstruction of the Pagoda body started in August 2005 and completed in September 2006. In February 2011, the Pagoda was listed as a cultural heritage site under provincial-level protection.

The site of the City Wall of Wuyuan is located in the southeast of the county and was first constructed in the Jin Dynasty (265-420). Constructed in the Ming Dynasty, the existing City Wall of the East Gate covers a land of 6,300 square meters. It is 700 meters long, nine meters wide and six meters high. In July 2001, this city wall site was listed as a cultural heritage site under county-level protection. The city wall sites are rare in Haiyan, so this city wall site is of highly military, historical and cultural value.

As a natural defence, Longwall Mountain is located in the southeast coast of Ganpu. With two peaks, it is long and narrow just like high walls preventing the tide, hence the name. The east peak is called Longwall, 83.88 meters high, and the west called Huangdao, 73 meters high. On the Mountain, there is a hydrographic station constructed during 1911 and 1945, and a surveying sign for the “Oriental Grand Port” suggested by Sun Yat-sen (1866-195). In 1978, the man-made Changshan River, a Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou drainage project - was put into operation at the foot of Huangdao Peak and Changshan Sluice was constructed here.

Located in the west of Ganpu at the border with Haining City, Ziyun Mountain is 193 meters high with such peaks as Ziyun, Xiaoziyun, Xiaojiashan, Chenfenling and Shiziyan. Beside the village there is Wulong Well. In the Ming Dynasty, Peng Sunyi, a poet, ever wrote a poem “Ziyun Mountain” in its praise, saying that there are clean rivers and lovely birds in the forest-coated mountains wreathed in mist; in the early springs with apricot flowers in bloom, villagers prefer to stay at home. They are lucky for there are no cruel officials, so whether it is sunny or rainy, they farm at ease to enjoy a happy life.

In order to protect the place names, a kind of important cultural resources, Haiyan has vigorously inherited place name culture and enhanced people’s cultural awareness and cultural identity in recent years. In 2016, the county issued “Implementation Measures for the Protection of the Place Names as Cultural Heritages of Haiyan”, which supports new place names to be included into cultural heritages under protection and the place name culture integrated into the cultural heritage protection gradually. Since the implementation of the “Measures”, the county has released six lists of the place names as the cultural heritages under the county-level protection. Now there are 55 place names identified as the cultural heritages under county-level protection, including 18 ones under municipal-level protection.