To Chengdu, Taikoo Li and Chunxi Road are a must visit. But do you know, just one street across, there is an old street is not simple, it is the earliest commercial pedestrian street in Chengdu, Chunxi Road business district appeared 15 years later than it!
This is an old street that no one in chengdu knows, and generations of people have left vivid life marks here; here a large number of traditional cultural symbols of old Chengdu are gathered, which is one of the old streets and alleys with the most Chengdu characteristics; here is the beginning of Chengdu's step-by-step modernization and has created many "firsts"; and now, history has given it a new mission, "urban renewal" has sent fresh blood to it, and this old street is moving towards new life.
It is the Huaxing Street precinct.
One day 112 years ago, huaxing street was crowded, and people gathered rushed forward, waiting to see a novel event: a bright electric fire. On this day, the Chengdu Persuasion Field, which has been preparing for one year and costing 40,000 taels of silver, officially opened in Huaxing Street.
At that time, Chengdu people had never seen electric lights, the pursuit of fashionable shopping malls from Shanghai to buy back the generator to generate electricity, and in the front and rear of the field each hung a large electric ball, every evening when the lights lit up, the gathered masses will come to watch, clap their hands and marvel, it is a good way to attract customers.
The lively scene when the persuasion field opened in 1909 according to Chengdu Fangzhi
At that time, the persuasion field can be said to be lined with shops, a variety of high-grade, mid-range and close to the level of mass consumption of a wide range of goods, tea houses, liquor stores, bookstores, catering, bathrooms, tailors and so on came into being.
Therefore, the first commercial pedestrian street in Chengdu appeared in Huaxing Street. It was only 15 years after its appearance that the Chunxi Road business district began to appear. Chengdu Persuasion Field is the first to open the centralized business model of Shangjia in southwest China, becoming the earliest commercial center and the birthplace of modern commerce in Chengdu, and together with the persuasion fields in Beijing, Tianjin and Hubei, it is listed as one of the four major persuasion fields in China.
In the second year after the opening of the persuasion field, the persuasion field was renamed the commercial field, and this name is still used today.
When it reopened in 1986, the Chengdu commercial mall was based on Chengdu Fangzhi
On Huaxing Street, which was completed a year before the persuasion field, there is also a heavy landmark, that is, Yuelai Tea Garden.
There is no old Chengdu people who do not know Yuelai Tea Garden, which is the base camp of Sichuan opera where "the heroes gather and the famous characters are like clouds", known as the "drama nest". When I was a child, I went with my mother-in-law to drink tea, eat melon seeds, watch Sichuan opera and listen to commentaries, which is the collective memory of many old Chengdu people.
People who came to the tea garden in 2016 to drink tea and watch the play
When it first opened, Yuelai Tea Garden implemented the practice of buying tickets to watch the play, taking seats in the right number, and for the first time officially opened female guests to enter the theater, but the entrance was divided into two places, even if it was a husband and wife, they must be separated.
In 1912, Kang Zhilin, the leader of the Sichuan opera circle at that time, gathered many famous Sichuan opera artists and established a large-scale opera class jointly formed by 8 opera classes in Yuelai, the Sanqinghui, and used the Yuelai Tea Garden as a performance base for a long time. Then two more drama classes joined, and the Yuelai Tea Garden also became a "permanent livelihood for the people".
The Sichuan opera actors who are putting on makeup in the backstage of Yuelai Tea Garden and waiting for the stage
After the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, initiated by the Sanqinghui, all Sichuan opera and Peking opera actors in Chengdu established the Jingchuan Drama Industry Actors Association to support the War of Resistance in October 1938, which was located in Yuelai Tea Garden.
In 1954, Yuelai Tea Garden was converted into Jinjiang Theater, and in 1997, the Sichuan Opera Art Center and the Sichuan Opera Museum were established here.
Jinjiang Theater before the construction of the fence
Today, the commercial market has gradually dimmed, and Taikoo Li, a chunxi road across the street, has become the "center of the universe" of the new era. I don't know if people can remember when they praise the city's strong spending power, but the city's modern business started from here and came all the way.
The Jinjiang Theater opposite the commercial hall is under construction, opening another comprehensive renovation and expansion. Perhaps in the near future, we can also see this "drama nest" full of years and dust, no longer exclusive to the elderly, but become a fashion gathering point for more young people.
In the 17th year after the completion of the Yuelai Tea Garden, a brine restaurant opened across the street and named it "Pan Pi City".
Du Fu wrote in "Kezhi" that "Panyi City is far from tasteless", which means that because it is too far from the market, guests can only be treated with simple dishes. Presumably, taking this name must be the humble words of the store, after all, it is difficult to adjust the mouth, and if it is not smooth to eat, there is no need to blame.
Don't underestimate this small brine restaurant, its background is not ordinary. Prior to this, there was a very popular brine restaurant in Chengdu, named "Dehouxiang", which was founded by Dong Liao Zelin, the first helper of the Chengdu Pickle Gang at that time. The establishment of "Panyi City" can be described as a combination of strong and powerful, and in today's words, it is the result of "the full superposition of superior resources".
Today's Panyi City, standing on Huaxing Street, is extremely recognizable
Among its three founders, one of them is Mou Maolin, an apprentice who successfully trained in Dehouxiang, and the other is Leng Yuanfeng, the owner of Yuelai Tea Garden. In the era when everyone had to listen to the opera, the status of Yuelai Tea Garden in the Chengdu Sichuan opera circle was second to none, and it was full every day. Leng Yuanfeng specified that both the theater code list and the front glass board of the stage should be advertised in The Pan piao Market, and soon, the business of the Pan Pi City overwhelmed De Hou Xiang.
No matter how large the flow, there is no good taste, and diners will not buy it. The taste of the "Pan Piao City" brine dish is fragrant but not spicy, and it is a combination of Sichuan brine and Cantonese brine flavors. The raw materials are first marinated to make them flavored, and then marinated in a brine pot, which has both the aroma of Sichuan brine and the aroma of Cantonese sauce, wax and wine.
The freshly cooked brine of Pan Pi city makes people salivate
To this day, the "Panyi City", which has the names of "China's time-honored brand" and "Chengdu Intangible Cultural Heritage", is the originator of Chengdu's brine dishes, and it can be said that it is still the "old and mellow" taste of a hundred years ago, which makes diners queue up every day.
Their buns are only sold at 4 p.m. every day, and are limited to 1,000 pieces. It is not to learn the current business routine to engage in hunger marketing, but only this time every day the masters have the time to do it.
Only new customers will stretch their necks to look at the menu on the wall, and the regular customers have already thought of today's brine when they are in line, and when they wait, they will report the name of the dish to the clerk: a pound of duck tongue, half a rabbit, and another pound of duck foot board.
At three o'clock in the afternoon on weekdays, there are customers in front of the window of the panpi market to buy brine flavor
His family's meat pot helmet is the most pressing, first on the stove slightly roasted, and then drizzled with hot marinade, a bite, the meat aroma at the same time burst out in the mouth, fat but not greasy, the taste is quite suitable. If you want to eat the pot helmet, it is best to go in the morning, and whether you can eat it in the afternoon depends on luck.
Much-loved marinated meat pot helmet
If you encounter the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Day, Spring Festival, these big festivals, the light duck will sell more than 1,000 pounds a day, arches, hooves also have to sell 600 pounds, basically the sales of dishes have to double or triple, the queue can be lined up from the store entrance to the Jinjiang Theater across the road.
In 2016, the scene of queuing in front of Panpi City
In 2021, diners come to visit on weekday afternoons
When the entrepreneur created this store in Huaxing Street, he may only want to support a wife and children, and may not hope to become a century-old store. Along the way, "Panyi City" has become an unforgettable taste memory for generations of Chengdu people, and a gastronomic symbol that has been carried forward.
The "secret recipe" of this is not only the old brine with a strong style, but also the recognition of Chengdu people's adherence to the quality of a hundred years and the long-term love for the past years.
On Huaxing Street, there are too many memories of old Chengdu people: bowl of omelette noodles in the morning, eat Yutian roast vegetables at noon, then go to Yuelai Tea Garden to order a cup of tea, take a nap in comfort, watch a Sichuan opera or listen to Li Boqing's Sanda commentary, and go home at night and don't forget to bring back the brine dishes of the pan market.
At that time, this was definitely the most popular lifestyle, and now young people like to punch in the net red shop and go to the bar to bungee. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that this is the earliest Internet red street in Chengdu.
In 2015, "Net Red Shop" on Huaxing Street Photo / Feng Hui
However, since 2010, with the large-scale municipal demolition and transformation of the old city, the old net red shops on Huaxing Street have begun to have a turbulent fate.
The first to move was the Huaxing Street omelette noodles. On September 12, 2010, huaxing street omelette noodles opened on the last day, attracting many old customers to stay nostalgic, many literati writers in Chengdu even made a special trip to Huaxing street to eat noodles to say goodbye, and many local media reported that the old store would be relocated.
A bowl of omelette noodles satisfies the stomachs of many Chengdu people
In 2016, the Yutian Hotel, one of the "most cattle and flies restaurants" in Chengdu, was relocated. Like the treatment of Omelette Noodles on Huaxing Street, the old customers are reluctant and the media posts farewell.
In the same year, Zili Noodle Restaurant was relocated.
Before the relocation, diners sitting in the aisle of the courtyard of the Zili Noodle Restaurant eating noodles Photo / Feng Hui
The Panpi City, the commercial field, and the Yuelai Tea Garden, which were fortunate to stay in place, have also been fenced in and upgraded.
In 2017, Chengdu proposed to promote the upgrading and transformation of the iconic area of the "Tianfu Jincheng" city at a high level, just to make it the most intensive cultural resources, the most exquisite scenic spots and the most authentic scene of life in contemporary Chengdu. The overall layout of Tianfu Jincheng is "Eight Streets, Nine Squares and Ten Scenes", and Huaxing Street is one of the Eight Streets.
In October 2020, the transformation of Huaxing Street was completed, and the relocated old shops also returned to the streets and alleys not far from here, and the happiness of Chengdu people returned! And this century-old street has finally completed its renewal and is rejuvenated.
Just past August 16, the launching ceremony of major projects of Chengdu Urban Renewal and Old Residential Renovation and Upgrading Project was held, and Huaxing Block, as a highlight project that has been completed, ushered in the first "highlight moment" after the update.
It is understood that since the beginning of this year alone, Chengdu has launched 35 precinct renewal projects, 313 old residential renovation projects, and 200 community renewal projects. Among them, the first ring road city well life circle has become a trend, when you stroll among them, you can truly feel the rich cultural heritage of old Chengdu and the fashion charm of new Chengdu.
Why is Chengdu so obsessed with promoting urban organic renewal?
To take a very simple example, we all like to use a new generation of smartphones, and if a city is not updated, it will also have the result of backward elimination.
The organic renewal of an area is closely related to people's good life, which can not only greatly improve the production and living environment, but also promote regional industrial upgrading and create new jobs.
Come and feel the newly renovated Huaxing Street area!
Today's Huaxing Street is full of retro-style buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the glorious past of this street can be found here, preserving the cultural memory and urban texture of this street to the greatest extent.
Renovate a new business yard
In the wind lane, the glorious past of this street is displayed all the way, creating many firsts in Chengdu and even Sichuan, such as: Chengdu's first national post bureau Daqing Post Office, Sichuan's earliest police school Sichuan Police Academy, Chengdu's earliest telephone bureau Chengdu Telephone Bureau, Chengdu's first cinema Changyi Cinema... Chengdu's first Western-style barber shop and Chengdu's earliest photo studio were all born here.
The entry of many new formats has made this old street that has almost been forgotten by the years "live" again.
When we came, it was a weekday afternoon, and we could see a lot of hipster Influencers taking photos and punching cards outside the very characteristic shops and on the street. Young people sat in the outdoor area of the coffee shop to chat, and the nearby uncles and aunts also picked the "wind outlet" to sit and cool off. This collision of tradition and modernity is played out in this neighborhood today.
In front of the door, young people sitting and drinking coffee and chatting
The Archi Bookstore, located on Huaxing Shangjie Street, which opened softly on the 30th of last month, is a composite space that integrates various functions such as exhibition art, architectural design, cultural creativity, etc., and most of their behind-the-scenes teams are from Shanghai.
Retro and fashion have produced a proper combination of collision in this small space, which makes people feel very comfortable. "Yes, comfort is the feeling we want to convey to our customers the most in this space." The head of operations at Archie Bookstore told us.
The stray cat in Archie's Bookstore is Archie Bench
Enter every room here and you will be pleasantly surprised like opening a blind box. The café's bar is piled with thick and thin books, and the aroma of coffee fills the space; choose a book, walk to the nap backyard, and take a leisurely nap in the breeze.
Archie Bookstore retains a lot of the layout and decoration of the original old house, but adds a stylish design that makes people feel very comfortable
There are regularly different exhibitions, and the ongoing exhibition of "Reslit" sculpture is about the homeland, streams, birds and elk
Next door is the Ming Tea House, which is really a "bit famous" tea house. At the door, you can first see an acrylic modern art vase and the inscription of "do not eat from time to time", walk into the door to the tea fragrance overflowing, simple and ancient modern three-dimensional art decorations and illustrations make people feel advanced but no sense of distance.
Nowadays, there are more and more young people who like pure tea, but when you feel that you can't fit into the atmosphere of the old tea houses in Chengdu, you may wish to try the Ming Tea House. Here, you can taste tea for life. By the way, his family's refreshments are also very special and worth a try.
Adjacent to this street, there are many old tea houses in Chengdu, so the unique design of the tea house is considered to be different. And which kind of space do you prefer?
In addition, there are many popular Internet celebrity shops on this street: Three Missing One, Cuifang, KIIWII... Sichuan cuisine, Western food, coffee, bars, Chengdu special snacks can be found here, can meet your all-weather consumption needs.
Pure Yang show, urban immersion, curatorial style, interactive sharing and display as one of the multi-functional space, with external image display, business negotiation, brand promotion, community residents cultural and entertainment activities presentation and other functions.
A series of commercial and public welfare activities will be held here, forming a huge linkage between cities, communities, residents and brands, and driving the overall industrial transformation and upgrading.
More than 100 years ago, people in the commercial field would not have imagined that Huaxing Neighborhood would become what it is today. After experiencing brilliance, loneliness, silence and renewal, this street has finally shown strong vitality, which makes us look forward to it.
And the city we live in is still being updated every day, wonderful, and will also be staged in all corners.
——Man Chengdu. Cities -
The text | Ten Miles, Qian Fan
Images | Ten Mile, Man Chengdu Database, and provided by some respondents
Edit | Ten miles
Design | Qianfan
Executive Producer 丨 Wang Hong