Recall the Suzhou-Hangzhou Canal passenger ship: "Anchor at sunset to Gusu, stay overnight paddle sound to Qiantang"

A few days ago, I chatted with friends in Hangzhou about the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, saying that the passenger ship of the Suzhou-Hangzhou Canal has long been suspended, and regrets cannot help but be deeply nostalgic.

In the 1990s, I accompanied my leaders on a business trip, and there was a trip from Suzhou to Hangzhou on the way. The leader is a woman, and there is a colleague big sister, and the work of running before and after running and consuming some physical strength will naturally belong to me. At that time, long-distance transportation was mainly buses, and while I was busy with suzhou work tasks, I inquired about the implementation of the journey to Hangzhou.

I remember that the bus station was near the People's Bridge in the south of the city, I consulted the Suzhou traffic tourism map while asking the locals, and learned that you can also take a passenger boat to Hangzhou, the sunset is coming, and the accommodation is on the boat. After reporting to the leader, the leader also felt that taking the boat was both time-saving (no need to stay in Suzhou that night) and money- and a special experience, and readily agreed.

The dock where the ship was boarded was also near the People's Bridge, and the ship was not very large in memory, and the cabins seemed to be four bunks (I can't remember clearly), and the furnishings were ordinary, roughly equivalent to the third-class level of ordinary cruise ships on the Yangtze River, but it was still clean. Set sail in the evening with the setting sun and walk leisurely along the ancient canal. Originally, looking at the ancient canal on the shore did not feel spacious, but in the boat trip to the river, it found that the water flowed soup, the embankment was wide, especially when the big boat sailed by, the waves and waves were wide, which could not help but make people feel awe.

Walking to the famous Baodai Bridge, the sky is getting darker, but the bridge body is clearly visible, and dozens of distinctive arches support the long bridge deck, just like the long dragon floating in the middle of the water, just as Du Mu said, "The long bridge lies in waves, and the clouds are not cloudy? "Suddenly I found that the difference between walking on the Treasure Belt Bridge and swimming from the water is quite large, not only the difference in angles, but also the difference in interest. Looking at the bridge on the bridge is the architecture and function, and looking at the bridge on the boat is looking at the feeling and charm. Moving the boat to see the bridge, you can especially feel the integration of the ancient bridge and the surrounding water and land environment, just like watching a poetic picture scroll, experiencing a flowing beauty meaning.

The ancient canal passes through many rivers and lakes such as the Wusong River and the Taipu River along the way, passing through the prosperous silk capital of Shengze and the ancient towns of Wuzhen, Xinshi and Tangqi. But the line of sight is not good at night, and these ancient towns have not been much developed, the reputation is limited, so at that time did not pay special attention, after the late night in the swaying of the water waves, accompanied by the "sudden" sound of the ship's engine, quietly fell asleep.

The next morning, the steamship docked at Hangzhou Wulinmen Wharf, and we finally arrived in Hangzhou with comfort. Away from the ship ashore, at the exit of the dock suddenly heard someone call my name, take a closer look, it turned out to be a friend of Hangzhou to do tourism Mr. Wang is at the dock to receive tourists to Hangzhou, good coincidence just happened to meet me, really where life does not meet! People can't help but sigh a sentence "Meaning is not unexpected? Surprised? ”

Summarize the itinerary of the night in one sentence, called "anchor to Gusu at sunset, and paddle to Qiantang at night". Huh.

However, with the development of highway passenger transport, the passenger flow of the Suzhou-Hangzhou Canal is increasingly lost, and after the millennium, the deterioration of the situation and finally the suspension of navigation, the Suzhou-Hangzhou Canal passenger transport has finally become history. This feels like the rise of the Jinpu Railway and maritime transport in modern times led to the decline of water transport, which in turn led to the decline of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and several cities along the route. The pace of historical progress is so firm, cold, unstoppable, and not subject to the will of man.

(Description: The picture comes from the network)