I am accustomed to calling the streets in the ancient city of Canton "ancient streets". In the big family of Guangfu City Scenic Area, it is not a tourist attraction, but every time I come to the ancient city of Guangfu, I am willing to come here to see.
Follow the city gate to the ancient street, and you will feel the ancient charm in a prosperous picture. Immersed in the world of blue bricks and gray tiles, my mind enters the market scene of ancient times. There was a longing for these scenes, and it is in such an environment that people can feel the simple and ancient customs. Today's prosperity of commerce certainly brings convenience to people, but the congestion and congestion still bring new troubles to people. Maybe it's because the ancient street retains such a charm that it makes me feel like I can't go back!
The initial understanding of the ancient city of Guangfu originated from the description of his parents. They are all from Yongnian County and are very familiar with the history. When I was very young, I knew from my parents that Dou Jiande, a peasant rebel army in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, had built the capital here, and that it was the seat of Guangping Mansion during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and that it was the county seat of Yongnian County after liberation. When the story of Yang Luchan stealing fists from Chen Jiagou three times was adapted into a movie, it aroused my desire to watch it. Due to young age and inconvenient transportation, it has never been possible to make the trip.
When I first came to Guangfu Castle, I was in my thirties, and the dilapidated walls of the city wall showed many broken walls, and although they retained their original scale, they could only be positioned at the level of "ruins". My friend and I had a great deal to get to the top of the wall, and the wall without battlements seemed to be a hard wound, even though the wall was so wide that it was difficult to feel safe. As far as the eye can see, the wide surface of the water is overgrown with weeds and thorns, and the inherent spirituality of the water flow is also damaged. After the footsteps around the city walls stopped, the idea of going to the city to see the streets of the ancient city disappeared.
After a few years, Guangfu City has become a 5A-level tourist scenic spot. I came here as an author to see the city walls restored to their former majesty and grandeur, and the streets, although decorated with antique charm, have not lost their earthy colors. In addition to being happy, he became a frequent visitor to Guangfu City.
The sunlight lifts the curtain of thousands of years, and the construction adds vivid colors to the ancient street. The renovated streets are lined with bronze statues, all of which are pictures of the lives of the ancients. While telling people that they have entered the ancient city, it also tells the ins and outs in the form unique to the ancient street. During the Spring and Autumn Period, when Qi Henggong built the soil as a city, it was already inhabited by humans; When Dou Jiande established the capital here, it had formed a local political and economic center, and a large number of people lived here inside and outside the city; In the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to the fact that it became Guangping Prefecture, its "center" scope was expanded, coupled with the developed transportation and smooth waterways, which promoted the development of commerce here; During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, they both contributed to the victory of the war.
The main feature of the old street is the prosperity of the old town, which used to be a private house and is still a private property, and almost all of them have been converted into shops, and most of the shops are restaurants. Whether it is a restaurant or a shop, the products are mainly local food specialties. These include crispy fish, tofu skin, and southern sugar, which are convenient to eat and suitable as gifts for friends and family.
Looking at the ancient street through history, I feel that its charm is constantly evolving. Since the time of human habitation, it has been largely similar to other villages in the northern part of the continent, relying on the most traditional way of farming. After discovering the advantages of water resources, they began to live a lifestyle such as fishing. In its most prosperous Ming and Qing dynasties, the common people chose a wider range of lifestyles. Because the water and land transportation was relatively developed at that time, it attracted surrounding merchants to stock up on goods here and then transport them to other places. This situation has promoted the development of commerce here, and also allowed special products such as crispy fish to come into being and be well promoted.
If the ancient streets decorated with gray bricks and green tiles have obvious antique colors, the inheritance of these specialties is the best interpretation of the essence of charm. It is precisely with the emergence of these specialties that the significance of the ancient street has been better enriched. All kinds of specialties have been welcomed by more and more people, and the ancient street has opened its wide arms to welcome visitors from all directions.
When you are accustomed to entering the ancient street from the East City Gate or the South City Gate and enjoying the pleasure brought by the charm of the ancient street, you consciously regard this as a scene in Guangfu. On that day, I went to the ancient city wall, went up from the east city gate, and came down from the south city gate, and came to the familiar ancient street again......
Holding an oil-paper umbrella alone/wandering in the long, long/lonely rainy alley/I hope to meet/a lilac-like/sad girl......
I didn't bring an umbrella that day, so I had no intention of meeting a lilac-like girl. It's just that in the artistic conception of smoke and rain, I feel as if I am in the south of the Yangtze River.
The unique and rare northern wetland depression landform of Guangfu City plays an important role in maintaining ecological balance and regulating climate. There is water in the surrounding depression all year round, the water quality is excellent, there are many kinds of aquatic organisms, there are hundreds of kinds of fish and wild plants, as well as various birds, forming a landscape of shallow reeds and deep lotus cattails, which is a rare "land of fish and rice" in northern China.
As early as the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, a protection policy was introduced in this regard. The common people also have a strong awareness of the protection of natural resources, and even when the city of Guangfu is no longer the county seat of Yongnian County and the city walls have been forgotten, there has been no damage to water resources and living things.
I recall the scene I saw when I first climbed the ancient city wall, and I was worried about the lack of mobility of the water, which also stopped me from visiting the ancient city. I can't imagine what the ancient streets looked like at that time, maybe they weren't as clean as they are now, maybe they were unacceptably messy, but the locals' deep-rooted sense of protection should be a valuable asset, and it is on this basis that they will experience the baptism of tourism and revive the northern land of fish and rice.
The ancient street maintains a deep connotation, and when it tells the development and changes of the ancient city with its unique charm, it also makes people listen to it, so that another rich appearance of Guangfu City appears in their minds. Under the traction of the agility of the water city, more beautiful pictures are pieced together.
When the drizzle was falling, I went to a shop to take shelter from the rain, and I gained a deeper understanding of the ancient street from people's conversations. So on a sunny day, accompanied by local friends, I walked to the depths of the ancient street.
The street layout in the ancient city of Guangfu is four main streets, eight small streets, and seventy-two turns. The four main streets include four main streets, east, west, north and south, and still retain their former names and layouts. The eight small streets include Yingchun Street, Tunshi Street, etc., due to reconstruction and other reasons, the name and layout have also been changed several times, and it is difficult for anyone to say the exact name and origin.
The East Street is connected to the West Street, bounded by the Fu Ya, the West Street from the West City Gate to the West City Gate, and the East Street from the East City Gate to the East City Gate. The North and South Avenues are not on the same line. Its Middle Street and South Street are the most prosperous places, and they are also the places that tourists must pass during their visits to the city, and they are also the ancient streets in my mind and impression. There are many ancient buildings in the city, and the scenic spots that have been formed include the government office, the former residence of Wu Yuxiang, the courtyard of the martial arts, etc. It is mainly distributed in eight small streets.
Compared with the bustling East Street and South Street, West Street and North Street are slightly inferior. The four main streets are home to residential houses and merchants. The Middle Street and South Main Street are mainly sold with local specialties, so they can attract tourists to stop here. West Street and North Street are mainly engaged in daily necessities, and locals generally come here to get involved in it on weekdays.
There are residential houses and ancient buildings in the eight small streets, and there is no noise brought by commerce, but the opening and protection and development of various scenic spots also attract everyone. In addition, there are some special products such as southern sugar production plants in it, which also adds vitality to it from another angle.
The houses in the 72 turns are all dwellings, and their houses are no different from those of the northern villages, but after the houses are painted gray, it is easy to bring people into the antique artistic conception.
The former residence of Wu Yuxiang, which we are familiar with, is located in one of the eight small streets - Yingchun Street. This is a courtyard group with late Qing architectural style, covering an area of 9,000 square meters, and is now a key cultural relics protection unit in Hebei Province. Wu Yuxiang is a native of Guangfu East Street, as a late Qing Xiucai, born in a scholarly family, an official family, and has been extremely fond of martial arts since childhood. In 1852, he studied boxing under Chen Qingping of Zhaobao Town, Henan. After returning to Yonghou, Wu Yuxiang devoted himself to studying, innovating and developing on the basis of his original boxing skills, forming a unique set of postures, learning and then turning into a family of his own.
Both Wu's Taijiquan and Yang's Taijiquan are now listed as national intangible cultural heritage. The convening of the World Taijiquan Friendship Association here has attracted more people to the depths of the ancient street.
The charm of the ancient street has a cultural package, so that its image is showing a pleasant style in the increasingly full, and the cultural value is also being continuously excavated and has been better utilized.
Today, after having a comprehensive understanding of the ancient street, I realized that my understanding of the charm of the ancient street was so superficial. Any kind of prosperity has an attractive charm, and it is easy to enter a sad situation when it stagnates in the face of charm. The opposite of prosperity is desolation, and when it develops in the direction of prosperity, sometimes due to overdevelopment and other reasons, the surface prosperity cannot hide the deep desolation. The ancient street takes inheritance as the direction, and after creating a prosperous scene, all kinds of local resources can be better released. After getting more and more people's recognition and acceptance, he will definitely always grasp the right direction and refuse to hold hands with desolation, maybe this is the source of the charm of the ancient street!