Cangqiao Zhi Street is an original historical district in Shaoxing, Zhejiang.
Shaoxing, with a history of 2,500 years, is known as the "museum without walls". Small bridges, flowing water, awning boats; green bamboos, weak willows, and the sound of oars. It is not a pre-designed scenery, but it is born like this and has lasted for thousands of years.
In October, I stayed at Jinjiang Inn Shaoxing Shengli Road, which is located at the intersection of Shengli West Road and Huancheng West Road, the main roads in Shaoxing. Downstairs of the hotel is the Fu River, which flows slowly and quietly day and night.
After leaving the hotel, go right and pass by Datong Academy and Guyue Library. Take a quick look around and continue your wandering. In the 2,500-year-old city of Shaoxing, the scenery changes every time you move, and cultural relics are everywhere. It is difficult to see it, but there is no need to regret it.
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Although it is the National Day holiday, Shaoxing here and now is so peaceful, like a refreshing dream.
As I walked, a slightly wider river suddenly appeared in front of my eyes, and dozens of awning boats were jostling and moored along the river.
Further ahead is the famous Cangqiao Straight Street.
There are many famous scenic spots in Shaoxing, such as Lu Xun’s hometown and Shen Garden, but here, the streets and alleys that I can’t name are the Shaoxing that I want to hang out more. White walls, dark tiles, living next to the river. Occasionally, there are awning boats carrying tourists slowly passing by. It is neither noisy nor crowded, and only the gentle waves can be heard. The boatmen here all use their feet to row oars. When you first see them, you can't help but be surprised.
I think, this is Shaoxing, this is the water town.
The 1.5-kilometer Cangqiao Straight Street is located in the center of Shaoxing City and consists of three parts: rivers, residential buildings, and neighborhoods. The history can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. The name "Cangqiao" comes from the fact that it was the location of Shaoxing Prefecture's warehouse and post station at that time. Most of the residential buildings on Cangqiao Zhi Street were built in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Many Taimen with local characteristics are well preserved. In 2003, it won the "UNESCO Asia-Pacific Region Cultural Heritage Protection Excellence Award". Cangqiao Zhi Street is an original historical district, where about a thousand aboriginal households live. The old gates, lattice windows, flowers and stone benches in the patio, and the old-fashioned coal stoves in the corners have always been there, interacting with any tourist. Nothing to do. The old houses here are all built near the river, and it is said that every house has a small river port in its backyard.
The so-called Taimen, according to relevant information, refers to an independent house with a regular plane and vertical expansion. It is generally composed of a patio, a main room, a side chamber, a tower, a group of grounds, etc. There are 43 large and small gates on the east and west sides of Cangqiao Straight Street. Speaking of which, Taimen is very similar to a courtyard house in the north. Local people say that in the past, several families often lived together in one Taimen, but the current situation is unknown.
Many Taimen are open, and the tour guides of some tour groups will explain the history and current situation of Taimen to tourists on the spot. However, a lone ranger like me will not see anyone when walking into a certain Taimen. Disgusted, it seems that I have seen enough to not be surprised.
In the Taimen, life is passing. Ordinary, yet endless.
Walking along the stone road by the river, you can see clothes drying racks supported by bamboo poles everywhere. Transparently washed sheets and clean towels are clamped with clips to bask in the wind and sun. If you look carefully, you will see a soybean oil bucket filled with water hanging from both ends of the bamboo pole. It seems that they are afraid that the sudden wind will blow over the simple clothes drying rack. I walked in the light shadow of the sheets and the slightly swaying trees, savoring the days in the streets and the smell of sunshine.
Walking further, there is a briquette stove burning in the corner of the old house by the river, and an old kettle is smoked out. Old-fashioned fire tongs set aside, common in Shaoxing. This is true for Bazi Bridge, and so is Cangqiao Straight Street.
Shaoxing does not object to the merchants on Cangqiao Zhi Street as long as they are not built in Laotaimen, but it does not promote or encourage them either. Cangqiao Straight Street was never intended to be a commercial street. Visitors came and went, perhaps unintentionally. On this rather small street, there are quite a few petty bourgeois milk tea shops that invite you to read in a daze, but they are nowhere near as crowded and tiring as those in Gulangyu Island or Lijiang. There are also some famous restaurants on Cangqiao Zhi Street, and the old-fashioned taste of Shaoxing cuisine attracts visitors from all over. I also passed by a yellow tavern and tasted a small cup of red wine.
While strolling along Cangqiao Straight Street, I met a flower seller. She was wearing blue cloth trousers and aqua blue buttoned-up jacket. No, such retro clothing was not the point. The point was her hair, which was combed into two long and thin braids. It was gray, but it was not the same at all. chaos. She used a simple bamboo pole to carry two old baskets, which contained a few thin and small flower seedlings, maybe pomegranates, with a few small orange flowers. The moment I first met her, I felt in a trance that I had traveled through time, or that she had traveled through time...
The restoration and transformation of Cangqiao Straight Street is not only to continue the cultural atmosphere of an ancient historical city, but also to Efforts should be made to make the lives of the indigenous people here more comfortable. Some data say that the place has basically been "renovated as before". At the same time, every household has added sanitary facilities to bid farewell to the era of toilets, and sewage pipes have been integrated into the city's sewage network. Television, telecommunications, electricity and water pipes were buried underground at once.
Here, it is not out of touch with the times, and similarly, it is not out of touch with history.
This is the Shaoxing I love and the Cangqiao I love.