There are no Shanghainese who do not know the "big world", and there is no old man from other places who does not know the "big world". This is a little more than enough, but before the reform and opening up, the big world was indeed juxtaposed with the International Hotel and Nanjing Road, which was the "city standard" of Shanghai, and in fashionable terms, it was a "business card". But how many Shanghainese have not gone to the "White Phase Big World" for many years! At that time, the milky yellow hexagonal minaret pointed directly at the blue sky and stood proud of everything, but now it is shrunk at the junction of Yan'an Road and Xizang Road, hiding in the shadow of the surrounding high-rise buildings, standing on the overpass and looking around, not carefully distinguishing it can not find its figure, naturally it has moved out of the hearts of Shanghainese. To be honest, it is not even clear whether it is open or closed; in the previous stage, I heard that it was reopened after renovation, but whenever I took the bus and saw that the door was cold and cold, let alone the "big world", even the heat of the "small world", I could not help but be suspicious again. So the community center could sign up for a free tour, and I went right away.
Yesterday (25th) afternoon went. It is "as old as old", very kind, but so clean, neat, sparse, and very strange. It was built in 1917, when it was known as the "first playground in the Far East", the founder was Huang Chujiu, the owner of Wuzhou Pharmacy, and in 1930 it was transferred to the operation of Jin Rong, and the plaque had the words "Huang Ji" on it. After the liberation, the anecdote of arranging for Jin Rong to sweep the garbage at the gate of the Great World came to life, and I don't believe that Lao Huang was already a dead man, he did not flee to Hong Kong like Du Yuesheng, and he would not be so mean to him. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was renamed "People's Playground", later named "Youth Palace", and renamed "Great World Amusement Center" after the resumption of business in 1981. It has been closed for renovation since 2008, and it was reopened on November 26, 2016 in 2017, but the average Shanghainese really does not care much.
Inside is the hall where 12 haha mirrors are placed, which is the heart of the big world, because all the expectations and joys are released here! The laughter to overturn the roof is exaggerated elsewhere, but it is appropriate here. Men and women, old and small, the countryside in the city, the most reserved tourists in the mirror to see themselves fat as Laurel, thin as Hartai (are hollywood's famous comedians), small head, short head long, serious imbalance, from the "country of villains" to "the country of giants", and even became "Tarzan of the Apes", they do not recognize. Laugh out loud, laugh and bend over, laugh out of tears, watch yourself laugh, watch acquaintances laugh, watch other tourists laugh, everyone laughs, almost didn't laugh and rolled on the ground. It turns out that people can be so ugly, but fortunately God's men are merciful! This is the unique haha mirror of the "big world", such laughter is also unique in the world, hearing it will know, step into a happy nest, hundreds of miles, but also for the sake of "a laugh is fast"! So when I saw the only five or six tourists in front of me smiling so gently and so quietly in front of the 12 haha mirrors, I knew that it was over, the big world in the memory was over, the nostalgic dream was shattered, just like those mirrors were shattered...
I used to think the big world was big, but now I don't think it's big at all, that is, three four-story buildings are connected together and surround an amphitheater. How short the fourth floor is, the size of the "big world" can also be imagined. Each floor has several small theaters that take turns performing opera, opera, song and dance and juggling, as well as movies and concerts. Most tourists can listen to all of China in one day when they see and listen to it here; a small number of tourists who intend to see one kind of thing find the best seat early, which is much cheaper than watching a play outside theater. What I remember most is that when I was a child, I drilled in the pile of people, even if I heard a "little red guy, die"; when I grew up, I heard Yu Lina play "Liang Zhu" here, such as the melody of crying like a complaint made the whole world suddenly quiet, I even felt the coolness of the water and moonlight, and the original "big world" would be gentle...
The most fascinating place in the big world is its fierceness, crowding, and noise, and its indissoluble pyrotechnic smell and market atmosphere. Most of the troupes performed here are second-rate and of mediocre quality, but the strong happy atmosphere of national revelry is not found in any elegant art hall! Often the whole family travels together, the theater comes out to go to restaurants, restaurants to eat and then go to see the theater, 3 dimes a ticket, the happiness of the common people are all packaged here to enjoy, how happy! Therefore, without the bustle, crowding, and noise, there is no "big world", no matter how well the building is repaired, even if every brick and tile of the old time is put back in place, it is not a "big world".
Yesterday, except for a small theater with fan competitions, it was empty. Most of the tourists are free elderly people, because there is a parade of intangible heritage in the Yangtze River Delta on the square, which is to give the actors a show. There are very few foreign tourists, which has a lot to do with the epidemic period, but seriously, there are so many attractions in the magic capital today, who will think of this big world that was once a big red tourist such as "carp crossing the river"?
History is fast moving, "big world", "international hotel"... These signs and business cards have become cultural relics, the city is developing, the aesthetics are changing, and new signs and business cards are constantly appearing. The value of cultural relics has become immortal, far exceeding those prominent "Internet celebrities". They embody history, they are history in themselves, and history will go down in history. "Nostalgic dreams are shattered" is certainly full of sorrow, but this is the price that must be paid for history's great strides forward. "Broken dreams" are better than "broken dreams": "broken" has nothing; "broken" makes the moon turn into stars, and every bit melts into the blood. Why don't a generation of Shanghainese have their factors in their bodies?
There is a library in heaven, so there should be a "big world" there.
