In fact, the old street is built by a well-shaped, listed head, lower market head, Dongguan pond and Xiguantang along the river. The four streets live in the north, south, east and west respectively. Every street is connected by an abrupt and uneven bluestone road, and every street leaves traces of wind and rain erosion. The bare bluestone floor is badly worn, the white walls and black tiles on both sides are mottled in color, and the wooden building is dilapidated and desolate, which makes people sigh that life is long and the whole artistic conception is filled with vicissitudes of life.
Like many water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, the old streets in Ke Qiao are vaguely antique, and the houses in Ming and Qing Dynasties are well preserved. All kinds of wooden buildings with brick and wood structure, rain corridors, cornices and attics are scattered on the winding streets. Although there is a two-story wooden building, it still looks low and short, the door frame is within reach, and tall people have to bow their heads to get started. The wooden doors on both sides are either open or closed, and various shops have been opened, such as grocery stores, snack bars, barbershops, small teahouses and small hotels. Customers in twos and threes, shops are empty, business is light and unfamiliar, and the complexity of shouting is less.
Ke Qiao Old Street starts from Kedong Bridge in the east, ends at Sanyan Bridge in the west, ends at Desheng Bridge in the south and ends at Xiashi in the north. The cultural heritage of the water town is profound. The ancient canal runs through the east and west of Ke Qiao, accompanied by a winding boat road, crossing Rongguang Bridge and dividing the old street into Dongguantang and Xiguantang. The Jianhu River system in the north and south spans the Tangjiang River, Yongfeng Bridge and Old Ke Qiao, forming a famous "three bridges and four waters" landscape at the intersection.
In the early morning, from the first route of the lower market to the south, the narrow and cramped Qingshi Street can only accommodate three or four people in parallel, with black rafts on both sides, the best attic eaves and neat slates shining. On the street, most of them are vendors selling vegetables. Occasionally, pedestrians rush by pushing bicycles, and the ringing bell makes Gu Xiang quieter. The old man sat quietly in the street, holding his rice bowl and looking at the tourists wandering in the street early in the morning with curious eyes. Inadvertently, however, old people, old streets and old buildings have become the best choice for tourists to have cameras in their hands, and they have become the artistic conception of Ke Qiao remembered from different angles. Walking into Xiguantang, which is paved with a ceramic tile corridor by the river, the river is sparkling in the morning, and the coal cake stoves on the river bank emit white smoke. Men and women wash quilts, mop, scrape fish scales and drop chicken feathers on the river beach. People, rivers and things set each other off in interest, and there is a special interest in the mist.
From a distance, Rongguang Bridge, Yongfeng Bridge and Old Ke Qiao are among the "three bridges and four waters". The Third Bridge connects the four banks and stands tall, which is a classic of Ke Qiao Old Street. The Rongguang Bridge built in the Ming Dynasty is a single-hole stone arch bridge, and the stone protection on the deck is a solid fence, such as a white stone pillow. Outside the bridge fence, lush vines hang all year round, like bridge curtains; There are three Longmen stones embedded in the top of the arch ring of the bridge, and the dragon pattern is clearly visible and lifelike; There is a boat trail at the arch of the bridge, and the heads of water-absorbing animals at both ends are glaring and laughing. There are holes under the invisible bridge, people sleep in the river, white jade causeway, Wu Peng boat, bridge in the bridge, bridge on the bridge, lane on the bridge, you can have a panoramic view, and simplicity is infinitely interesting.
Yongfeng Bridge, which connects Dongguantang and Xiguantang, is a small stone arch bridge made of stone, and the upper and lower stone steps in the shape of eight are connected to the rainwater corridors on both sides of the river. Under the bridge, the painted boat with awning on the faint river glides gently, and the boatman with felt hat paddles with his feet, leaving a string of waves behind him. Bridges are integrated with ancient buildings such as water, roads and people crossing buildings, forming a perfect picture of "small bridges and flowing people" in Jiangnan water town. Unfortunately, the south right side of Rongguang Bridge turned out to be a stone arch bridge, that is, Old Ke Qiao. This stone bridge was demolished in the 1970s, and now it is only a concrete bridge.
Besides Rongguang Bridge, Yongfeng Bridge and Old Ke Qiao, there are Yongfu Bridge, Temple Bridge, Gong Ji Bridge, Mu Hong Bridge, Gaojia Bridge, Sanyan Bridge, Sanjiao Bridge, Yinfeng Bridge, Shangqiujia Bridge, Xiaqiujia Bridge, Zhujiajian Island Bridge, Qiao Liu Bridge, Lime Bridge, Shengli Bridge, Changsheng Bridge, Bow Bridge and Daotang Bridge. Between the bridges, there are mostly ancient stone roads, and there are three or five stone steps on the river pier, where Wu Peng's boat is docked. When you walk across the shore, the boatman will speak Shaoxing-accented Mandarin and warmly invite you aboard, trying to render and experience the water journey with the sound of paddles.
It is said that Ke Qiao Old Street was a market in the 1930s, with wineries, teahouses, rice shops, butcher shops, dye shops and charcoal shops one after another. Every September 12th, at the Ke Qiao City God Temple Meeting, people from eight neighboring towns crowded the streets, with awning boats and harbor boats moored on the shore. The poles were spectacular, so it was called "Keqiao Thousand Bears Pole".
The old street in Ke Qiao, which is near the river and water, has experienced a hundred years of wind and rain, and is filled with poetic ink homesickness.