New 'ancient town' rises along the Grand Canal (3)

Every day, Zhao commutes 20 minutes from his village to the park. Nearby villages were once known as Qian Fu Cun, (literally Barge Haulers Village), referring to the men who hauled barges along the canal. At one time, many laborers worked for the canal, hauling barges, loading and unloading them, and working on board. Many other people did brisk business, selling food, supplies and services along the bustling canal.

They still do today. Like Zhao, many villagers work on construction projects along the canal and rebuilt the ancient town into a tourist attraction.

Great battle

The Battle of Tai'erzhuang (March 25-April 6, 1938) is famous in modern Chinese history and was the site of cruel, house-to-house urban warfare. It was an astonishing, against-all-odds victory for Chinese forces and a boost to national morale.

China's hodgepodge of many troops inferior in almost every aspect crushed elite divisions of crack troops superior in logistics, training, equipment and weaponry. The Japanese invaders had been considered invincible.

The story of Tai'erzhuang is taught in Chinese textbooks. The battle is depicted in many war movies. It's studied by war historians and tacticians and compared to the 1943 Battle of Stalingrad. There's even a Tai'erzhuang board game.

The town was eventually taken over by Japanese forces that ran the canal for a few years.

New 'ancient town'

But rarely do people outside of Shandong Province know anything else about the city. And even fewer know that it is part of the city of Zaozhuang.

The ancient town was recreated based on old records, maps, photos and interviews with old people like Zhao. The flourishing canal city of Tai'erzhuang once looked a lot like this grand and prosperous new town.

Some streets are filled with restaurants, hotels and shops of all kinds, as in the old days. Others contain rebuilt temples, churches, company buildings, canal administration and customs offices, as well as museums about the town and the canal.