Visit Chentangzhuang and Explore Tianjin with Nezha!

The area around Chentangzhuang in Hexi District has long been associated with the legend of Nezha. Not only were there the Nezha Temple and Li Jing's Palace in the past, but place names like Chentangzhuang, Shanghequan, and Xiahequan are all related to the legend. 🔥Before the Ming Dynasty, the area "outside the Pass" was all sea ⭐Whether in movies or classical novels like Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West, Nezha's place of birth is Chentang Pass on the shore of the East Sea. Wei Dingbo, a veteran writer from Tianjin, once specifically searched for the location of Chentang "Pass." In an interview, Wei explained, "According to the novel Investiture of the Gods, when the Marquis of Beibo raised an army to take Chentang Pass, Chentang Pass was located north of Zhaoge." Zhaoge is located in Qixian County in northern Henan Province, Xixian County is south of Zhaoge, and Yibin is southwest of Zhaoge, "so only Tianjin, which is near the sea and river, fits the description." ⭐"There are records of Chentangzhuang in every dynasty over the 600 years since Tianjin was established as a garrison." Wei introduced that the Ming Dynasty's Tianjin Garrison Reclamation Regulations map marked the place name "Chentangzhuang," located south of Tucheng Village. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 8 of the Tianjin Prefecture Annals referred to it as "Chentangzhuang" among the hundred villages on the southern road of Tianjin County. During the Daoguang period, the Illustrated Records of Tianjin Baojia began to call it Chentangzhuang, located "east of Xuanjialou, with dense houses, and across the river is Wangjiazhuang, and slightly east is Loujiazhuang. From the east of Chentangzhuang to Chapeng Road, there are culverts to drain the tide." Wei said that Xuanjialou later became part of the Tucheng East District Residents' Committee of Jianshan Subdistrict Office. The Continued County Annals from the ninth year of the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty recorded "Chentangzhuang Ferry," "which also indicates that Chentangzhuang was an important 'seaport.' Such a place near the sea and river almost coincides with the 'Nine-Bend River at the mouth of the East Sea' in Investiture of the Gods." There is also a saying that Nezha "made trouble in the sea" at the Sancha River mouth, but Chentangzhuang is clearly closer to the legendary "geographical location." ⭐The late Tianjin cultural and historical expert Li Shiyu also said that, according to some old residents he visited, the place where Nezha "made trouble in the sea" was Shanghequan and Xiahequan. Before the Ming Dynasty, the area outside Chentangzhuang was the sea, which later receded to the Tanggu area. 🔥The "Water Pass" may be in "Nezha Town" ⭐In the film, Chentang Pass is a beautiful border town nestled between mountains and water. Historically, Chentangzhuang had Chentang Pass. ⭐According to historical records, during the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods, the Huai Army was transferred to Tianjin, and in addition to farming, they also opened up the Haida Road section in this area. Thus, Chentangzhuang became a checkpoint with a "permanent pass" to collect taxes on goods. ⭐Another theory about the origin of Chentangzhuang is that the Ming government granted "dragon tickets" to the Chen family from Hongdong County's Dahuaishu Village in Shanxi, who were the first to arrive here with the Yan King's northern expedition. They built ponds and dams to prevent flooding of the Haihe River, naming it Tang. Wei said that in the oral traditions of local residents, this place was anciently called Chentangzhuangzi Village, and because it was built near the water, it was called Chentang Pass. "I think the original Chentang Pass was a water pass." ⭐Wei visited several native residents of Chentangzhuang and showed reporters a large amount of "oral history" data. Old resident Yang Jianting told Wei that the Chentang Pass mentioned in the past was roughly where several small rivers converged near the former casing factory in front of the Bohai Radio Factory. There was a bridge over the river, which was the former Chentang Pass, actually just a few large houses. ⭐Elder Ge Qiusheng recalled hearing that Chentangzhuangzi did have a Chentang Pass, "which could also be called a checkpoint." Long ago, when people from Tianjin's urban area went to Haipuzi (now Beitang area) by the sea to buy seafood such as sliced fish, daggertooth pike conger, hairtail, and prawns, they had to pass through the checkpoint at Chentang Pass on their way back and forth. ⭐In myths, legends, and novels, Nezha made trouble in the "East Sea." In fact, the name "East Sea" varies from time to time. In pre-Qin times, it often referred to the Yellow Sea, while in the Ming and later periods, and now, the East Sea is equivalent. In literary works, it often refers to the vast sea in the east. Regarding the debate between the East Sea and the Bohai Sea, the Tang Dynasty's Chu Xue Ji · Di Bu Zhong · Hai Er records: "The East Sea is also called the Bohai Sea, and it is also commonly called the Cang Sea." 🔥Looking forward to the resurgence of the Nezha IP ⭐On old maps, Chentangzhuang has two villages, Shanghequan and Xiahequan. Legend has it that Nezha left his wind-fire wheels here. Xiaoguandong in Hexi (now the Xiaohai area) once had the Nezha Temple and the mansion of Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li. In 1982, when Yanyuan was built at the end of Machang Road, a statue of Nezha was built in the "Nezha Stirs Up the Sea Pool," with surrounding murals depicting scenes of Nezha's birth, stirring up the sea, rebirth, and battles. In 1986, two groups of bronze statues, "Nezha Stirs Up the Sea" and "Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl," were forged on the old piers of the Shizilin Bridge, but were later removed due to bridge renovations. In 2011, when the White Swan Building was completed, the owners proposed building a statue of Nezha with three heads and six arms. In 2015, the statue of Nezha at the Hexi Cultural Center was displayed as an intangible cultural heritage project... ⭐In the film, the Tianjin accent of the people of Chentang Pass brought bursts of laughter from the audience. One of Tianjin's famous crosstalk artist Liu Wenheng's representative works, Miscellaneous Talks on Local Operas, humorously portrays Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King speaking with the Jade Emperor in Tianjin dialect, reinforcing the impression that Li Jing and Nezha are Tianjin "natives." In fact, since the Ming and Qing dynasties, folk dances (stilts), dramas, quyi, and art works based on the theme of Nezha stirring up the sea have appeared in the Tianjin area. Numerous derivative works and products such as novels, films, TV series, animations, sculptures, and video games have continued to emerge. ⭐On May 1st of last year, at the former site of Chentang Pass, the Bohai Radio Factory, a "Nezha Town" officially opened, reviving the Nezha craze. Murals of the old Chentang Pass, murals of Nezha's "birth," various Nezha cartoon images, and cultural and creative products are attracting more and more tourists. Especially on Li Nezha's ID card, which starts with "1201," the place of origin is "Tianjin," and the address is "No. 13 Yujiang Road, Chentangzhuang, Hexi District, Tianjin." "This is our Tianjin native." Almost every Tianjin native who visits here takes a picture of their "fellow townsman" and posts it on their WeChat Moments. There are also Tianjin hemp flowers made into "Qiankun Circles" here. A tourist left a message: "Should I eat it with seafood? It's like making trouble in the sea with Nezha."