Rarely have I encountered a city as interesting as Shaoxing.
One day on the road, a friend suddenly told me that I had been reading Lu Xun's "Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" recently.
"Needless to mention the green vegetable beds, the smooth stone well fence, the tall acacia trees..." This string of sentences suddenly appeared in front of me.
When I was in junior high school, it was a very hard experience to memorize this text without knowing anything, but now I can't. I suddenly recalled that there was a herb garden when I was a child. A tree, a grass, a flower, a stone, that small piece of land has brought a lot of joy.
Suddenly an idea came to me, why not go to Shaoxing and see the Baicao Garden, see the oil flies singing lowly and the crickets playing the piano in the Baicao Garden, reminisce about my beautiful childhood, and review the junior high school text "From Baicao Garden to Sanwei". Bookstore".
From Baicao Garden to Sanwei Bookstore
My first impression of Shaoxing was on the train. A few years ago, when I was passing through Shaoxing on a train, I saw the houses built along the water in the countryside of Shaoxing, exuding the charm of a Jiangnan water town. I decided at that time that I must visit Shaoxing Water Town when I have time.
Today I came to Shaoxing city for the first time. As expected, the first thing that caught my eye was a beautiful water town scene. There wasn’t much decoration, it just looked so natural, which made me fall in love with this city instantly.
Baicao Garden, the backyard of Lu Xun's hometown, where he played as a child. Probably because of the text "From Baicao Garden to Sanwei Bookstore", this place became well-known.
The Baicao Garden itself has no special scenery, it is just an ordinary yard. But with a little childhood feeling, it will be fun. Especiallyit is quite interesting once you think of that text.
According to the guidance of the text, the most iconic landscape of Baicao Garden should be the "green vegetable border". Yes, this is the green vegetable patch, and now various vegetables have been planted again.
The second most iconic feature of Baicao Garden is the smooth stone well fence. Here, the "smooth stone well fence" is it. It took me a long time to find it.
What kind of fun did Brother Xun have in Shijinglan? What is written in the text is to stand on the stone well railing and jump down. Thinking about this scene in your mind, the family members next to you must be shouting, "Brother Xun, you are not allowed to stand up there."
It is said that this is the "tall acacia tree".
The "purple mulberry" may be this tree, because it is the largest and only mulberry tree in the yard, and it looks to be quite old.
There are also infinitely interesting mud wall roots. "The oil flies sing here, and the crickets play the piano here. When you turn over the broken bricks, you will sometimes meet centipedes; and cantharides. If you press its backbone with your fingers, it will make a snapping sound and a burst of spurts will spurt out from its rear orifices. smoke."
"You can't go in the long grass, because it is said that there is a big red snake in this garden." But I searched for a long time and never found where the "long grass" was.
In winter, Brother Xun and Runtu made traps to catch birds in the snow of Baicao Garden. Speaking of Runtu, I have to mention the place in the picture below. This is the kitchen of the Zhou family, where Lu Xun and Runtu first met.
Brother Xun mentioned in "Hometown", "I looked forward to the New Year every day. When the New Year arrived, Runtu would also arrive. Finally, at the end of the year, one day, my mother told me that Runtu had arrived, so I ran away Go and look. He is in the kitchen, with a round purple face, a small felt hat on his head, and a bright silver collar around his neck."
Runtu, who came from the countryside, could catch birds, thorn in the melon fields, collect colorful shells, and fish... Have you ever imagined such country life, such poetry and distance?
It's a pity that both Brother Xun and Runtu finally said goodbye to their dream-like childhood.
"I don't know why my family sent me to a book school (Sanwei Bookstore), and it is also known as the strictest book school in the city." After writing such words, Brother Xun really didn't know why. ?
Lu Xun was already 45 years old when he wrote "From Baicao Garden to Sanwei Bookstore". But this middle-aged man actually still has a child living in his heart, which is really wonderful.
After leaving Baicao Garden, let’s go to Sanwei Bookstore. "Go east, walk less than half a mile, cross a stone bridge, and you will find my husband's home." Yes, after crossing this bridge, you will find Sanwei Bookstore.
The waterway under the stone bridge is filled with awning boats coming and going. Boating should have been the main mode of transportation in Shaoxing, but now it is mostly for tourists. Shaoxing City still retains many such waterways.
Sanwei Bookstore is less than 100 meters away from Brother Xun's house, but it seems like a different world. I always feel a little depressed, but the infinite fun in the Herb Garden is more relaxing.
Apart from the plaque, the logo of Sanwei Bookstore is this painting. Brother Xun wrote, "It depicts a very fat sika deer lying under an old tree."
On the table on the left side of Sanwei Bookstore, there is also the word "Morning" engraved by Brother Xun, a young man who struggled on his way to school.
"There is also a garden behind Sanwei Bookstore. Although it is small, you can climb up the flower bed there to break plum blossoms, and look for cicadas to shed on the ground or on the sweet-scented osmanthus tree..." This is the small garden. It is really small.
There is not as much fun here as Baicao Garden, and it can be regarded as a small escape. Brother Xun wrote that in this yard, "the best thing is to catch flies and feed ants, quietly and without sound. However, there are too many classmates in the garden for too long, and it won't work. The teacher is in the study Then he shouted: "Where have everyone gone? ""
Some other halls and courtyards in Sanwei Bookstore have almost the same style as all the ancient houses and former residences of celebrities that can be visited now.
But I’m afraid it’s hard for Mr. Xun to imagine that his Baicao Garden and Sanwei Bookstore would become the most famous scenic spots in Shaoxing today, with countless tourists traveling thousands of miles to look for the green vegetable beds, smooth stone well fences, and tall honey locust trees...
In the Lu Xun Memorial Hall next to Sanwei Bookstore, there is also a wax figure of Mr. Fujino.
Next to Baicao Garden, a Xianheng Hotel was built according to the description in the novel "Kong Yiji". There are a lot of people coming to eat, but the price is not too expensive.
Fennel beans, this food is mentioned many times in "Kong Yiji" , and is Kong Yiji's most commonly ordered dish to go with wine. Kong Yiji also said that there are four ways to write fennel for fennel beans. Today I finally ordered a plate of fennel beans and a bowl of Shaoxing rice wine, but I discovered that fennel beans are actually black beans!
Have a bowl of Shaoxing rice wine. It looks like Chinese medicine and tastes a bit like Chinese medicine, slightly bitter. The alcohol is quite strong, and I feel dizzy immediately after drinking a bowl of wine. This plate of stinky tofu is quite good. Unlike the stinky tofu in other places, this stinky tofu has no smell.
Inside the Xianheng Hotel it was written "Kong Yiji already owes nineteen cents". In the Xianheng Hotel, a plate of fennel beans and a bowl of rice wine, this simple combination is enough fun. I imagined Kong Yiji's time.
There is a statue of Kong Yiji at the entrance of Xianheng Hotel. To this day, the atmosphere inside and outside the hotel is still full of joy.
Shaoxing, a place with many celebrities
Shaoxing is a city with profound historical heritage and rich literary and artistic style. It has produced countless celebrities since ancient times. In the city of Shaoxing, it feels like you can see the former residences of celebrities or historical sites everywhere.
In addition to Brother Xun, Lu You, Wang Xizhi, Qiu Jin, Zhou Enlai, Cai Yuanpei, and Xi Shi all left monuments in Shaoxing. The three-day tour in Shaoxing made up for a lot of Chinese history.
Shen Garden, not far from Lu Xun's hometown, was originally just one of the thousands of gardens built by wealthy people in the south of the Yangtze River in ancient times. But Lu You's love story also became popular.
In fact, what I knew about Lu You before was that I only remembered "He died before he left the army, making the hero burst into tears." I didn't know much about his love story.
"Red crisp hands, yellow vine wine, the city is full of spring scenery and willows on the palace walls..." It is said that Shen Garden is the place where Lu You and Tang Wan wrote "The Hairpin Phoenix".
Today, the "Hairheaded Phoenix" by the two of them is still engraved in Shen Garden, but it seems that it was rebuilt by later generations. This is also the check-in place for ordinary people to visit Shen Garden.
Nowadays, the renovated Shen Garden is a typical Jiangnan garden, with pavilions, pavilions, rockeries and ponds. Similarly, the feelings of visiting Shen Garden are more important than the scenery.
In the Shen Garden, there are Yue opera performances of Lu You and Tang Wan's story of Chai Tou Feng, but due to the language barrier, I couldn't understand it, so I had to join in the fun.
If you are willing to spend a few dozen yuan more, Shen Yuan will have a larger Yue Opera performance of "The Hairpin Head Phoenix" in the evening, with subtitles on the LCD screen next to the stage. This time it can be more arty.
When visiting Shaoxing city, an important part is to check in at the former residences of various celebrities.
The first is the former residence of Qiu Jin. It turns out that this pioneer of the Revolution of 1911 was also a Shaoxing native.
Check in at Ivy Bookstore, which is the former residence of Xu Wei, a Chinese writer from the Ming Dynasty. But I have to admit that I really didn’t know who Xu Wei was before. After reading the introduction carefully, I realized that he was a very famous calligrapher and painter, but his fate was very bumpy.
Check in at Zhou Enlai’s former residence. By the way, I really didn’t know before that Zhou Enlai was also from Shaoxing.
I've been wondering why there are so many celebrities in Shaoxing. It's probably because of Feng Shui.
In addition to checking in at various attractions, it is also interesting to visit various old houses and small alleys in Shaoxing city. Two friends mentioned before that traveling to Shaoxing is suitable for leisurely travel.
To slowly appreciate the ancient streets of Shaoxing, it seems that three or four days is not enough. A friend told me that I didn’t feel bored even after walking around Shaoxing for more than a week.
The charming Jiangnan water town
For a while, I was obsessed with the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, and the water town in Shaoxing impressed me the most. Different from several other well-known water town scenic spots, Shaoxing Water Town still retains a relatively pure atmosphere of life. Shaoxing city is dotted with many waterside residential areas. The one that makes me linger the most is Baziqiao Straight Street.
Baziqiao Straight Street is named after a local ancient bridge with a history of more than 800 years - Baziqiao.
Standing on the Bazi Bridge and looking at the scenery on both sides, it is really beautiful.
Viewed from this angle, this stone bridge looks like an "eight" character, so it is called the Eight-Character Bridge.
There will be some tourists coming to Baziqiao Straight Street to take pictures, but there are relatively few people. When I take pictures here, the residents here also stare at me in surprise. It can be inferred from this that tourists do not visit this place very often.
The willows are green, the water is green, and when the breeze blows, walking on this stone road is exactly the feeling of an authentic Jiangnan water town. Sitting by the river and watching the water plants floating with the flowing water is a great place to be in a daze.
Under the setting sun, Baziqiao Straight Street is quiet and peaceful.
The Bazi Bridge is located at the intersection of three streets and has four entrances. Local residents told me that this was an ancient overpass.
It seems that most of the people living on Baziqiao Zhi Street are elderly. Most of the young people have moved to the new city.
I was so enamored with the scenery of this neighborhood that I wanted to stay here for one night. I asked the residents here if there was any accommodation nearby, and they were very surprised that there was no hotel here.
Originally, I thought this place was already a very mature scenic spot, but it turned out that it was just an ordinary residential area without much development. Fortunately, I finally found a hotel nearby.
I have been thinking about a question. In this kind of street built along the river, will someone accidentally fall into the river?
The Eight-shaped Bridge in the early morning, illuminated by the sun. The uncle in the east is rinsing his mouth, and the eldest sister in the west is washing vegetables. This picture is too beautiful to look at.
Have you ever imagined standing on a small bridge in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, waiting for someone?
I had a meal of soy milk and fried dough sticks near Baziqiao Zhi Street early in the morning, and I remembered many things from those years. In our hometown in Sichuan, there was also a river. You will always see people washing clothes, ducks, and bedding by the river.
The water town in the dream, the hometown in the dream. I have been to famous scenic spots such as Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen, Xitang, and Nanxun, and I found that my favorite is the Baziqiao Street in Shaoxing.
Shaoxing’s lakes and mountains
In the early morning, we left Baziqiao Straight Street and continued to the East Lake located on the edge of Shaoxing City. Although it is a man-made lake and is not large in area, it still has some scenery of lakes and mountains. The most important thing is to have good weather.
Taking a awning boat ride is a must when coming to Shaoxing, and you can also experience it in East Lake. The masters rowing the awning boats use both hands and feet, which seems very difficult.
This was originally an ancient quarry, and these strange mountains are the result of quarrying.
This sunny day is quite satisfying.
I forgot the name of the stone bridge that leads to the small island in the middle of the lake, but it looks pretty good.
If you have the strength, go up to the top of the mountain and look down at East Lake Park. Here you can see the landform of Shaoxing, which is half hilly and half plain.
The Mausoleum of Dayu is also in Shaoxing
The tomb of Dayu who controlled floods is also in Shaoxing? I really didn’t know it before I’d been to Shaoxing. It is said that Dayu was buried under this stone monument at the foot of Kuaiji Mountain.
Kuaiji Mountain, located in Shaoxing, is a mountain that appears in many historical documents. It turns out that Kuaiji Mountain looks like this.
Dayu was enshrined here and buried here. There is a bronze statue of Dayu on Kuaiji Mountain, which can be reached by climbing more than 900 steps.
Standing on Kuaiji Mountain and overlooking Shaoxing City, the scenery is very good. It is a city with mountains and rivers, ancient history and modern civilization intertwined.
When climbing Kuaiji Mountain, we encountered a huge long-term insect - the millipede on the road.
A visit to the Mausoleum of Dayu.
The Mausoleum of Dayu, visited by Qin Shihuang and Sima Qian, is one of the key places to visit in Shaoxing.
There should be a certain emperor who left a stone monument here.
Preface to the Lanting Collection, also in Shaoxing
I don’t understand calligraphy or Wang Xizhi, but that doesn’t stop me from being arty in Lanting. The "Preface to the Lanting Collection", known as the best calligraphy in the world, was also born in Shaoxing.
"The Preface to the Collection of Orchid Pavilion" says, "In the ninth year of Yonghe, when I was in Guichou, at the beginning of late spring, I met at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji, to do the wedding ceremony... Here there are high mountains, lush forests and bamboos, and clear and turbulent streams. The reflection belt is on the left and right, leading to the flow of water, and the people are sitting next to each other. "
After more than 1,600 years, what is the real scene of Lanting? Lanting can no longer be found, but many of the scenes described in it still exist.
"At the beginning of late spring, we will meet at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji." This is what Kuaiji Mountain looks like in late spring and early summer. As expected, this place has "lofty mountains, luxuriant forests and bamboos."
"There are clear currents and turbulent waves, reflecting the left and right. It is thought that the flowing water is flowing, and the people sitting next to it are next to each other." The flowing water and flowing water should be built by later generations, simulating the feeling of sitting down and taking the second place.
"It's a clear day, the sky is clear, the wind is gentle, and the wind is gentle." Very good, I'm very lucky. Today I arrived at Lanting, the sky is clear, the wind is gentle, and there are no clouds at all. The scene Wang Xizhi saw back then should not have changed much to this day.
Legend has it that Wang Xizhi loved geese, so he also raised several geese in the small pond in Lanting. These geese are not afraid of people and will actively come to play with tourists.
The Wang Youjun Temple, which commemorates Wang Xizhi, has a history of more than 300 years. The small pavilion inside is very beautiful.
I always thought that the original manuscript of "The Preface to the Lanting Collection" was stored in some museum, but it turned out that the manuscript had long been missing. What the authentic preface to the Lanting Collection is like is already a legend.
A stone tablet in Lanting Scenic Area seems to have been left behind by Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong. It feels like the ancient stone steles left in many places today were left by Kangxi and Qianlong.
Chinese-style garden architecture, with green tiles and white walls, is very beautiful when you look closely.
Meet the water town again
In addition to the Baziqiao small block, there are many ancient blocks built along the water in downtown Shaoxing. Cangqiao Zhi Street and Shusheng’s Hometown are two well-known places. Let’s first take a look at the waterway of Cangqiao Straight Street. The scenery is not inferior to that of Zhouzhuang and Wuzhen.
Local residents told me that Cangqiao Street has become more commercialized. There are many tourists coming, and all kinds of tourist commodities and specialties are sold on the streets.
But I feel that compared to most scenic spots, this is a fairly conservative ancient street. The houses here are basically occupied by local residents.
The sun is warm at sunset. I have sat on the bridge and watched the flowing water countless times, but I just couldn’t get enough of it.
This time I finally saw what was going on. When rowing a awning boat, you mainly use your feet instead of your hands.
I saw a tower while passing through the city. I don't know its name. It seemed to be a bit old.
The hometown of the calligrapher is another old neighborhood. It is said to be the former residence of Wang Xizhi. Wang Xizhi lived more than 1,600 years ago. I don’t know if this statement is reliable. But no matter what, it is very interesting to walk here and listen to a lot of unofficial history.
However, I feel that this fan bridge was probably built by later generations in order to restore the historical story.
An alley with stone paved roads.
The Shusheng’s Hometown Block is also the former residence of Cai Yuanpei, so come here to check in.
The hometown of Shusheng is also a water town scenery, which is most suitable for slow-paced travel.
There are many scenic spots in Shaoxing city, which are relatively scattered. In order to have a more comprehensive experience, I printed all the scenic spots on a piece of paper and checked each place.
Anchang Ancient Town
About an hour away from Shaoxing city, there is also the famous Anchang Ancient Town in the Jiangnan area. Adhering to the principle of visiting as many places as possible at one time, I also visited this place by the way.
I spent two days shopping in Shaoxing. I got up at 6 a.m. every day and went back to the hotel to rest at 11 p.m., walking quickly all the way. Maybe I was a little tired, so I didn’t take too many photos in Anchang Ancient Town. I just walked back and forth a few times.
I don’t know why, but this ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River has many people from Fuling, Chongqing. After doing the math, Shaoxing is at least 1,000 kilometers away from Fuling.
Walking around Anchang Ancient Town, I heard people speaking with Chongqing accents along the way, and many people were playing mahjong.
I also spoke with a Chongqing accent and chatted with people on the street. They all thought I was from Chongqing.
There are almost no people in Anchang Ancient Town at night. On the clean and simple streets, it really feels like home. Under the street lights on an early summer night, mosquitoes are flying and frogs are croaking. This is a scene from a long time ago.
I found a small, simple hotel to stay in in the ancient town, but the conditions were not good. But this shabby feeling is authentic and in line with the style of the ancient town.
Anchang Ancient Town is also a relatively life-oriented residential area. I woke up early in the morning and walked around the ancient town. I saw an old lady on the other side of the river cleaning the toilet, an elder sister on the Henan side washing her hair, and an uncle next to me washing fish. This mixed picture makes people feel a little uncomfortable. But life, once you get used to it, maybe it will be fine.
Stop and take a closer look at the houses in Anchang Ancient Town. Some places actually have the charm of ink painting.
A visit to Anchang Ancient Town! Sugar and sausage are the specialties here. After tasting them, I feel that the specialties in ancient towns all over the country have the same taste.
After leaving Anchang Ancient Town, we visited a scenic spot called Keyan. The ticket price of more than 100 yuan felt not cheap. There is a Buddha statue carved in the Sui Dynasty, which should be the biggest attraction of the scenic spot.
Keyan Scenic Area built an antique theme park called Lu Town based on Lu Xun's "The True Story of Ah Q", "Blessings" and "Social Opera". However, I feel that this theme park is too modern, a bit monotonous, and not as charming as the old streets in Shaoxing city.
There is also a relatively large lake in Keyan Scenic Area, and the scenery of the lake and mountains is quite pleasant. There is a long embankment inside that is quite interesting and very photogenic.
A unique water stage in the Jiangnan water town. It is probably because of Lu Xun's novel "She Opera" that it became known to many people. I was lucky enough to experience a night social opera in Wuzhen before, but I still couldn’t understand it because of the language.
I still remember that it was mentioned in "Social Opera" that Brother Xun took a boat to go to the theater at night. On the way home, his friends stole mangosteen beans in the fields and cooked them.
The beans cooked and eaten in the wild are just more delicious than those on the dinner table at home. This was true even in Shaoxing 100 years ago.
(over)