Wang Jitang, who is 61 years old this year, never imagined that after fifteen years, he would become attached to the Hangzhou Canal Greenway again.
In 2007, in order to declare the World Heritage, Hangzhou started the second phase of the comprehensive protection project of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Hangzhou section). As a senior local stonemason in Shaoxing, Wang Jitang and two other craftsmen of the same age were invited to Hangzhou to lay stone slabs for the scenic pedestrian walkway along the river.
This year, in order to welcome the Asian Games, Hangzhou started the greenway (referred to as “Yun Dao”) upgrading project of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Hangzhou section). Three masters were invited to Hangzhou again to perform “I am repairing slate by the canal”.
“The total length of the cross-strait transportation improvement project is about 30.4 kilometers, the total length of Gongshu section is about 19.5 kilometers, of which Gongshu District is responsible for upgrading about 15.7 kilometers. There are both historical heritage sections and modern urban landscape sections. According to the relevant person in charge of the Housing and Construction Bureau of Gongshu District, more than half of the historical heritage sections are old stone footpaths, and some sections have different degrees of settlement, collapse and damage. “So we specially found the craftsmen who laid this stone road in the past and asked them to repair it with traditional techniques, so as to preserve the original texture and historical features of the old stone road to the greatest extent, and then enhance the walking experience.”
How to repair the old slate bearing history? We should not only do a good job in protecting articles, but also answer the questions of promotion.
The waterway upgrading project of the Grand Canal (Hangzhou section) to welcome the Asian Games started on February 15th this year. Gongshu District is responsible for the promotion of 15.7 kilometers, ranging from Shi Xiang Road to Shangcheng District, of which Wenhui Road to Shi Xiang Road is a historical heritage section, which mainly maintains the original traditional features through “repairing and filling vacancies”.
The Grand Canal is still full of waves for thousands of years. Every rolling splash on the river is telling the rise and fall, and every honed old stone slab on the river bank is solidified with a period of history. As a part of the world cultural heritage, every old slate has its value.
This has also brought difficulties to the repair and upgrading of the transport road in Gongshu District. “There is no ready-made standard for the repair of the World Heritage Section. We should not only do a good job in protecting articles from the perspective of’ things’, but also consider the scale of’ people’ to realize space optimization and improve the walking experience. “
Therefore, Gongshu District Housing and Construction Bureau and Hangzhou Landscape Design Institute Co., Ltd., the project design unit, have formed a set of old slate restoration standards for this upgrade on the basis of searching relevant documents, consulting relevant experts and many rounds of on-the-spot investigations.
“We adhere to the principle of’ minimum intervention’-the old slate with stable structural layer will not be repaired in principle; Old slates that need to be repaired strictly abide by the principle of’ repairing the old as the old and retaining the texture’. ” The relevant person in charge of Hangzhou Garden Design Institute Co., Ltd. said, “Generally, the repair is carried out in two situations. One is that the arch around the tree pool is seriously loose, and the other is that the old slate is damaged and loose.”
As for how to repair, it has also formed relatively controllable technical requirements, such as “the edge of the old slate can’t be cut by machine, so it needs to leave 1 to 1 seam.”.5 cm, with coarse sand seam sweep; After repair, the height difference between adjacent old stone slabs is less than 1..5 cm “and so on.
Raw materials, original technology and the ingenuity of the original team make the old stone road “repair the old” more “better than the old”
The minimum intervention needs to be realized by the method of “original structure, prototype system, raw materials and original technology”. Therefore, Wang Jitang, three old masters who participated in the laying of stone footpaths 15 years ago, and another senior craftsman and his party were invited to Hangzhou.
“It’s changed a lot here, and it’s more beautiful than that!” After revisiting the old place, several old masters were very emotional and excited. “I heard that this restoration is to welcome the Asian Games, and we should work more carefully and attentively.”
Two crowbars made of steel bars, a chisel hammer and an old-looking wooden hammer are all the guys brought by Master Wang and his team.
“Our business depends on craftsmanship, and we don’t need any complicated tools, let alone machinery.” Master Wang said in Shaoxing dialect, “Although these tools are simple, they all follow us everywhere! Look at this wooden hammer, it was used when we paved the stone road 15 years ago. “
When repairing the site, the masters will find out the slate with unstable structure, loose structure or serious damage, pry it away with a crowbar, chisel and polish it by hand, tamp down the gravel layer, then spread out the specially mixed sand ash, and then pave it back again, and tamp it down and down with a wooden hammer. After the restoration, the smoothness of the slate pavement is improved a lot, the foot feels more comfortable, and the drainage and permeability are better, but the appearance is almost the same as the original.
“We hand-made the whole process, which is definitely different from that cut by the cutting machine.” Speaking of his craft, Master Wang is a little more proud in his tone. According to him, several masters basically entered the business at the age of 15, and they have worked hard for more than 40 years, and their partners have worked for decades, so they have a good understanding. Therefore, in the circle, “the market is very good”, “There are many people who come to the door and wait in line. This time, I heard that it is to repair the old slate by the canal. We put down our work and rushed over first.”
On-site supervisors also praised the master’s craftsmanship. “Masters need to deal with different stone slab sizes and different situations, relying on their understanding and experience of stone materials. This is completely different from standardized and modular paving, and ordinary workers certainly can’t do it. “
The ingenuity of the ancient law will bring citizens and Chinese and foreign tourists a stone walkway that will “repair the old” and “win the old”.
“We will try our best to embroider and elaborate on the’ points’ so that the public can recognize the ancient appearance of the canal, feel the spirit of the canal and imagine the future of the canal in every detail of the canal.” The relevant person in charge of Gongshu District Housing and Construction Bureau said that in addition to the restoration of old stone slabs, the historical heritage section will also excavate and sort out the history and culture along the line, reshape and upgrade the landscape of important nodes, present the charm of the south of the Yangtze River with “small bridges and flowing water”, and highlight the market flavor and display of “market flavor and fireworks”.The style and features of old Hangzhou.
Reporter wanglili correspondent Ye Wenwen