Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times, four of which he visited the "Tide City"!

Haining was formerly known as Haichang, and is a world-famous place to watch the Qiantang River tide. It is a city that has been seriously overlooked. "Haining" means "peaceful sea," expressing the people's wish for "peace and prosperity for all." The Qiantang River embankment was called the "Sea Defense Embankment" before the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "Sea Defense Embankment" after the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "Haiyan Embankment" in the Song Dynasty, the "Taiping Embankment" in the Yuan Dynasty, the "Barrier Embankment" and "Sea Defense Embankment" in the Ming Dynasty, and the "Sea Embankment" in the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times, four of which he visited Haining to inspect the sea embankment project. Every time he visited Haining, he stayed at the home of Chen Yunlong, the Yuyuan of Chen Ge, which was later named "Anlan Garden," meaning "may the waves be calm." The Yan'guan Sea Defense Embankment was rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty, with soil as the embankment. In the Yuan Dynasty, stone piles and wooden cabinets were used to build the embankment, which was called the "Stone Embankment." In the Ming Dynasty, wooden cabinets and bamboo were used to build the embankment. In the Kangxi period, the fish scale stone embankment was built. The Haining Fish Scale Sea Embankment is a barrier against tides and protects the Taihu Plain from floods and tides. It is known as one of the three great ancient Chinese construction projects, along with the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The Haining Sea Defense Embankment in the Tang and Song Dynasties was a soil embankment, located 3 miles south of the county seat. In 1720, Zhejiang Governor Zhu Shi improved the technology based on the Ming Dynasty's Huang Guangsheng Fish Scale Stone Embankment and built a 500-zhang Fish Scale Stone Embankment near the old salt warehouse, which was the first time in Haining's history that a Fish Scale Stone Embankment was built. The "Piling Song" is a folk music created by the embankment workers based on the rhythm of their labor. The lyrics are simple and lively, the melody is high-pitched and exciting, the rhythm is steady and powerful, and the melody is varied. The Qiantang River tide watching began in the Han and Wei Dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is said that the 18th day of the eighth lunar month is the birthday of the tide god, and today it is the Tide Watching Festival. After the construction of the Sea God Temple in the ninth year of the Yongzheng period (1731), all the sea gods in the temples were worshipped here. Every year from the 18th day of the eighth lunar month, plays are performed here to celebrate. On the 18th day, the sea defense officer and his subordinates wear court clothes to offer sacrifices, and the tide is worshipped by provincial and local officials at the Daguan Pavilion next to the Zhan'ao Tower. Haining salt production originated from Liu Bang's nephew, King Wu of Liu Bi, who boiled seawater to make salt, and has a history of more than 2,100 years. The Qiantang River fishing techniques include catching tide fish, netting eel fry, netting shrimp, trawling, and netting fish. Catching tide fish means catching fish with the tide, using a net to catch fish when they jump out of the water. The formation of Chang'an is closely related to the creation of waterways. The name of Chang'an Town is also related to the three locks and two dams of Chang'an. The Chang'an Lock is an important water conservancy hub connecting the Grand Canal and the Shangtang River system. The Chang'an Lock was the first to create a double lock, with multiple functions such as tide control, water storage, and water circulation, which is evidence of China's ancient water conservancy technology leading the world. Chang'an Town set up a post station as early as the fifth year of the Tang Dynasty (631), called "Sangting Post," and later changed to "Yiting Post." In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was changed from a market to a town, and the name has not changed for more than a thousand years. The Hongqiao Bridge over the Shangtang River was famous in the Song Dynasty. There are also legends about the Qili Pavilion, He Wenxiu, Chen Ge, and the Ziwei Legend. The Haining Waterwheel Song, also known as the "Hatou Song," is a high-pitched and bright song. The Hatou Song can unify the rhythm, adjust the labor intensity, and calculate the number of waterwheel rotations and the amount of labor. In the past, farmland was irrigated by human-powered waterwheels, and farmers used the "Hatou" counting method and voluntary labor exchange to rotate the waterwheels. When the marks on the wheel and axle met, it was called "one ha," and when they met, they sang, with one person asking and the others responding. The Waterwheel Song initially only had a call-and-response form, but in the 1930s, the call-and-response formed a dragging tune, called "Hatou Xian." In the late 1940s, a more complete "Hatou Song" was formed. The Haining Saizi Book, also known as the "Saizi Song" or "Praise God Song," originated from the ancient folk sacrificial storytelling art and evolved into a storytelling style in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Haining Saizi Book does not use makeup or props, and only one person performs. It is mostly performed at weddings, birthdays, childbirth celebrations, and recovery ceremonies.