On the eastern bank of Chenshan Pond, there is a 500m long street stretching from east to west. The traces of an ancient town are dimly visible. According to historical records, people settled in Guangfulin more than 4,000 years ago.
In the past thousands of years, more and more people came to the place and the economy became more developed. During Emperor Jiajing’s reign in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1522~1566), Guangfulin had an east-west small street. The street was paved with stone slabs and was not wider than five steps.
On the two sides of the streets were residential houses and shops, such as: grain shops, grocery stores, bucket binding shops, food shops, blacksmith’s shops, barbershops and teahouses. In the south of the middle section of the street, there was a wharf. The stone steps led to the river surface. Guangfulin was flourishing during that period.
Since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644~1911), Guangfulin has been called Guangfulin town. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, Guantang Avenue was built and passed the town. The town enjoyed convenient land and water transport. Many passengers and ships stayed overnight in the town.
The street ran from east to west and was about 500m long. At the north on the western end of the street, there was the Chenghuang temple. Monks lived in the temple. To its east was the Fushou Nunnery where nuns lived. After Xia Yunyi and Chen Zilong died for resistance to the Qing Dynasty, a memorial temple for the two heroes was built in the town.
The wealth and convenient traffic conditions of Guangfulin made it a place often attacked by bandits and contended by troops. In the late Qing Dynasty (AD 1644~1911) and during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression Period (AD 1937~1945), Guangfulin was engulfed in warfare many times. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, it was gradually revived and still had 26 shops.
