Qibao is an ancient town. When I was a child, I often heard about Qibao. That was because my father drank and often talked about "Qibao Daqu". Although he usually drank Panda Brand's "Class B Daqu", occasionally he would ask me to buy one when something happened to make him happy. Bottle of "Qibao Daqu". Relatively speaking, the price of Qibao Daqu is a little more expensive. I clearly remember that the trademark on the Qibao Daqu bottle is a stone arch bridge. Later, I heard that the crickets in Qibao are brave and can fight fiercely. People who are slightly older than me will go to Qibao to catch crickets in groups after autumn. In my opinion, Qibao is far away from us, and it is not easy to go to Qibao Town.
More than thirty years ago, I visited small towns such as Zhenru, Jiangqiao, and Huangdu around Shanghai. At that time, these small towns still had the scene of water towns with small bridges and flowing water, but now , the stone bridges, old streets, and white tiled walls there have disappeared due to development and construction. Qibao also retains an old street with the legacy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and an old bridge across Puhuitang. Compared with them, Qibao is much luckier.
Qibao is actually very close to us. If there is no traffic jam, we can drive there in half an hour. Because there are no memories of the old days, there is no comparison. I wonder how much ancient charm the rejuvenated old street still retains. The first thing you see when entering the old street is the archway. Perhaps it is a form of oriental architecture. However, as far as architecture is concerned, pavilions and corridors can provide shelter from rain, and houses and buildings can accommodate people. I wonder what the function of this archway is? However, this seemingly functional archway has a strong sense of form, contains the humanistic spirit and demonstrates the oriental culture. The old street is paved with stone slabs, and there are shops on both sides. Even if it is a one-door shop, there is a decent wooden plaque. The street is full of apricot flags, selling everything, including food, drink, etc. There are also various tourist souvenirs to wear. There was an endless stream of people walking shoulder to shoulder through the small streets. This has become a tourist spot for Shanghai residents to visit on weekends. I think that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, perhaps the Republic of China, there should have been such a dense array of shops and bustling scenes.
The most famous thing about Qibao Old Street is Tangqiao, the three-hole stone bridge that has gone through four to five hundred years of vicissitudes, and the Puhuitang flowing quietly under the stone bridge. With stone bridges and streams, Fanshui Town has become more attractive and lively. Sitting on the three-hole pond bridge, looking down at the water with fine lines, you can feel the three holes trembling slightly in the waves, and the flowing pink walls and black tiles reflected in the water. It suddenly occurred to me that from the top What flows down should be the evolution of history; what flows eastward from your feet is the inheritance of the times.
Sitting in the antique-style Henglin Teahouse, you can see water through the lattice windows. While drinking tea, I savored the water that carries history and era. On both sides of the flowing water, there are black tile roofs, gray gables, and wooden lattice windows filled with oriental aesthetics. Think of the old streets paved with bluestones and the stone bridges that bear witness to history. Perhaps, it is the development of tourism that saved these ancient towns. Perhaps it was the development of tourism that destroyed these ancient towns.
Looking from a distance, Qibao’s Tangqiao lies quietly on the Puhuitang water flowing silently eastward. I don’t know why I remembered that the trademark on the bottle of Qibao Daqu that my father drank was the three-hole one. Tangqiao.
Suddenly, on a whim, I thought of Qibao Ancient Town; I thought of the old street in the ancient town; I thought of the various special snacks on the old street: fragrant and delicate bean paste dumplings, white-cut mutton that is both fat and thin, and browned mutton. Crispy stinky dried tofu. The shop facing the street was crowded with diners feasting on their food. Those who couldn't squeeze in simply stood or squatted at the door of the shop, holding it in their hands and chewing it in their mouths. The taste was so good! I didn’t think about anything else, so I quickly took my wife and took the plane and headed straight for Qibao.
The liveliness of Qibao Ancient Town exceeded my imagination. An old street no more than two meters wide is like a canal, and the people rushing along the street are like a tide. Locals, foreigners, men and women, many foreigners, and even elderly people in wheelchairs all gathered in the crowds of people in the old street. Tides of people surged forward along the canals. The old street was suddenly packed with people coming back. The whole street was filled with the shouts of people calling for their children and the shouts of vendors at the top of their lungs. The noisy sounds of people, mixed with the various smells of oil smoke, spicy and fishy smells, spread from the narrow street through the low eaves on both sides of the old street, flew into the air, and dispersed in all directions.
The old street runs from east to west and is estimated to be no more than 2,000 meters long. The Puhuitang River divides the old street into two sections, the north and the south. There is a three-hole stone bridge on the river. It is named Puhuitang Bridge because of the river. I guess the age of the bridge should be similar to that of Qibao Old Town.
The small shops in the northern section of the bridge mainly sell small handicrafts and trinkets; while the southern section of the bridge is lined with small shops selling exquisite snacks. Tourists can start from the crab apple cake at Qiaotou. Along the way, they can bake on the fire, fry in oil, boil in water, steam in a cage, drink tea and drink. road.
I have bad teeth and a bad stomach. I can only look at blessings but not eat them. After struggling for a long time, my waist and back ached, and my mouth was sore and my tongue was dry. I looked around to find a teahouse. There are many teahouses in the town, but what I am looking for is the kind of teahouse with a tiger stove at the entrance, a few old Eight Immortals tables in the hall, and four long benches around the table. There is such a time-honored teahouse on the old street. The store facing the street is not big. The old house has old walls that are peeling off. There are six Eight Immortals tables in the house. Several old-fashioned ceiling fans hang on the low roof, spinning feebly and swayingly, bringing the slightest cool breeze to the stuffy teahouse. . There is a waist door at the junction of the east wall and the south wall. When I walked to the door, I realized that there was a whole other world inside. Stepping out of the waist door is a small patio. To the east of the small patio is a large living room that can hold more than a dozen Eight Immortals tables. This is a bookstore. Some listeners who had arrived early were already sitting inside. While cracking melon seeds and drinking tea, I waited patiently for the show to begin.
In the teahouse, elderly tea drinkers gathered around the table. The small black purple sand teapot was gently rubbed in their hands. From time to time, they added a few sips of tea to the small white tea bowl and tasted it carefully. , chatting slowly, Wu Nong’s soft words came from the teahouse from time to time. I couldn't help but feel something in my heart. This is the rhyme I'm looking for, a rural rhyme that can penetrate into my bones. This kind of charm is something you can only imagine in urban teahouses and restaurants. We immediately found a bench and sat down. The seat fee was three yuan per person and there was unlimited public tea. If you order "famous tea" and add tea costs, it costs 4 yuan. I ordered a pot of Longjing tea and it only cost ten yuan. The waiter gave us a small pot of tea and two tea bowls. The thermos was placed on the table and we could refill it after we drank it.
Soon we became one of the tea drinkers. They said that this teahouse was once run by individuals, but it was difficult. It is now taken over by the Qibao Town Government. In order to improve the cultural and entertainment life of the elderly, a book party is arranged every afternoon in the large room at the back. So this place is called "Qibao Bookstore". Old people who buy tickets to listen to books only need to pay another yuan for tea, and they can spend an afternoon leisurely. There are no activities in the bookstore in the morning, but the elderly can play cards and chat here. This teahouse opens at 4:30 in the morning. Old tea drinkers from far and near come here early every day. The old teahouse has become a good place for them to gather and relax.
I asked if there is still a tiger stove now? They said it was the one at the door, but now they are all heated by electricity, so it was just a show. The old people recalled the era of Laohu Zao with emotion. They all said that the boiled water produced by Laohu Zao was delicious and sweet.
An old man sitting at the table to my right caught my attention. His gray hair and gray beard are not decorated at all, his expression is naturally smiling, and although he is old, his eyes are bright. As a hobby of photography, I think he is a very good photographic subject. I wanted to take some close-ups of him but was worried that he would be disgusted, so I first held the camera to take pictures of the scenery around him. After he got used to my camera, I offered to take some photos of him. He pointed at the camera and asked me if there were any photos here? I showed him the image and he was very happy. After a while he said he was leaving and casually put on his gray and white plaid hat. I was stunned by the look of him, what a phenomenal model he is. In particular, his free and easy temperament is definitely not comparable to that of second- and third-rate models. I hurriedly said to him, "If you're not busy, I'll take some more pictures for you." He sat down again, stuck out his tongue playfully, and made a weird face. I photographed him one by one.
He really left, I should have treated him to a pot of tea. He drank the tea he brought in a LocknLock cup. When taking pictures, he held up the cup and asked me, did you take this picture? I told him it was taken and he left with satisfaction. He stepped out of the teahouse and disappeared into the crowd.
After he left, a feeling of melancholy came over me. He and I have never met before, and he cooperated very well by letting me take a few photos. I think he must really want to get photos, but I couldn't satisfy his request for the moment. He doesn’t have an email address, let alone access QQ. I thought that if I could print out the photos and send them to a teahouse later, it wouldn't matter if I didn't meet him, because the waiter at the teahouse knew him and would pass them on to him.
The old man is gone, and I no longer have the intention to take pictures of other scenery. We have also left, but I miss Qibao Ancient Town, Qibao Old Street and the teahouses on the old street.