Huizhou Old Shipyard

Beneath the Shuimen Bridge on the west bank of the Xizhi River, the Huizhou Old Shipyard stands as a physical record of a century of maritime labor. The site spans 730 meters of coastline, anchored by 8,000 square meters of mid-twentieth-century industrial architecture. Inside the former casting and mechanical workshops, blackened stone pillars and mottled walls carry the heavy, tactile memory of continuous manufacturing.

The story of this ground begins in 1889 with a small wooden boat workshop. By 1950, laborers organized the Huizhou Workers' Shipbuilding Cooperative, eventually merging private yards into a massive state-run enterprise. During the peak production years of the 1960s and 1970s, more than 400 workers filled these open halls. Their hands shaped over 900 wooden and iron vessels annually. They engineered the "Hongxing 188," the first advanced steel-structured passenger ship to navigate the Dongjiang River. You can still see the original slipways and track layouts sloping directly into the water, where newly forged hulls once slid heavily into the river current.

The rise of highways silenced the shipyard by 2007. The dry docks emptied, and the freight warehouses gathered dust. Today, the complex breathes again through careful preservation. The Qianzhenge museum occupies the old workshops, displaying over 100,000 local historical artifacts. Visitors walk among antique furniture and mid-century tools, trading heirlooms at the weekly weekend market. The surrounding worker dormitories now house rooftop cafes designed like ship decks, offering sweeping views of the water. Soon, the renowned Pioneer Bookstore will open within these walls, filling the 12,688-square-meter renewal zone with reading rooms and art spaces.

The welder’s spark and the clang of hammers have faded, replaced by the quiet rustle of pages and the hum of cultural exchange. The Huizhou Old Shipyard remains a vessel for the city’s memory, anchoring the past while navigating a completely new current.