Visit the hometown of Xu Zhimo for more than just the tides and the Haining Lantern Festival!

Haining is known as the "land of fish and rice, silk capital, and cultural center." It was first established as Yanguan County in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and was renamed Haining Prefecture in 1329, meaning "eternal peace of the river and sea," and was under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou Prefecture. Haining Xucun flour sculpture originated in the Qing Dynasty, also known as "rice sculpture," is a folk art made of cooked rice flour dough and hand-molded. It is still widely used in Haining folk customs such as beam raising, festivals, weddings, funerals, and birthdays. Haining bamboo weaving is best represented by the traditional bamboo weaving craftsmanship of Maojiadou in Yanguan Town. The stone carvings unearthed from the Han tombs in Chang'an Town show that Haining stone carving skills were already very mature in the Han Dynasty, reached their peak in the Tang Dynasty, and became more realistic in style during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Haining's specialties include Baiguo sesame cakes, Chang'an banquet balls (fish balls), Xieqiao pickles, and Wang vegetables (baby bok choy). Zhu Wanchang Baiguo sesame cakes originated from a pastry and snack shop founded by Ma Wanxing in Yanguan, Haining in the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1871), and there is a saying that "in the north (Xiaoshi) there is Tian Yixing, and in the south (Yanguan) there is Zhu Wanchang." Haining's three knives, namely medicine knives, cake knives, and slicing knives (kitchen knives), were created by the century-old shop Zhou Shunxing Iron Shop in the 14th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1888), and have a history of more than 100 years. Haining has a custom of making Xishi "moon cakes" during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Xishi moon cakes are commonly known as "collapsed cakes." It is said that Fan Li personally selected the best green beans, kudzu root, and lotus root every day, crushed them into filling, and made them into cakes. To thank the people of Youquan, Xishi taught them the silkworm breeding techniques of Mangluo Village in Zhuji. The local people called her "Silkworm Flower Goddess" and made a few moon cakes every Mid-Autumn Festival to express their longing. Colorful calico is a handicraft developed on the basis of blue calico. Colorful calico is bright and vivid in color, simple and elegant in pattern, and full of rustic charm. Zuqun, also known as apron or tuanyishang, is blue in color, can keep the legs warm, and is convenient for labor, and is a traditional men's clothing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Blue and white calico headscarves are an important symbol of women's clothing in the eastern part of Haining.