Yangzhoupeopleoftensay:"lanebylane,lanebylane,lanebylane,lanebylane.ItcanbeseenthatYangzhouisacityofalleys.Therearemorethan500alleysintheoldurbanareaofmorethantensquarekilometersinYangzhou.TheDongguanStreetwearevisitingtodayisoneofthemostrepresentativehistoricalstreets.ItreachestheancientcanalintheEastandGuoqingroadinthewest,andislocatedinthenortheastcorneroftheancientcityofYangzhou.Itisabout1000meterslongandfivemeterswide.Thestreetsareallpavedwithlongstones.ItistheCBDoftheancientcityofYangzhou,thatis,thebusinesscircleofthecentralcity.
BecausethestreetfromwesttoeaststraighttothegateofDongguan,itiscalledDongguanStreet.Dongguancitygate,formerlyknownasLijingate,waswhereancientLijinferrywaslocated.LaterLijingatewasrenamedDongguangate,andLijinferrywasrenamedDongguanancientferry.
CultureisthesoulofYangzhouCity,andtheancientcityistherootofhistoryandculture.Well,DongguanStreethasarrived.Streetsandalleysarethe"pulse"oftheancientculturalcity.PleasetakeyourbelongingswithyouandgetoffwithmetowalkintothepulseoftheancientYangzhoucity.
Weallsay"athomebymother,gooutbyWall".Sotoday'stourrouteisalsoagainstthewall.Why?BecauseDongguanStreetisa"fishbone"streetsystem,ifitisnotagainstthewall,itislikelyto"cross"intohistory.
WalkingintoDongguanStreet,youcanseetheantiquesceneofthemarket.DongguanStreetisacommercialstreetintheMingandQingDynasties,soifyougoahead,youwillfindmanytime-honoredbrandsinDongguanStreet.
In2006,theMinistryofCommerceofthepeople'sRepublicofChinarecognizedthefirstbatchof"Chinesetime-honoredbrands".Twoofthemwereselectedinthisstreet,onewas"SanheSimipickles",theotherwas"XieFuchuncosmetics"."Sanhebrand"and"Simibrand"seriesofpicklesarewell-knowntraditionalproductswithfourcharacteristicsoffresh,sweet,crispandtender.Theyarewell-knownallovertheworldandsellwellathomeandabroad.Oncewonthehighestprizeofpickles--thenationalsilveraward,itistheoutstandingproductofYangzhoupickles.Ifyouliketoeat,youcanalsobuysomeinDongguanStreettoeatwithbreakfast.Inadditiontopickles,Yangzhou'sfamoussnacksshouldnotbemissedhere.Whatwesmellnowisthestinkytofu,whichissosmellyandfragrantthatyouwillneverforgettoreturn.Let'stalkaboutthecrispyyellowbridgepancakes,includingcrabroe,wildvegetables,meatfloss,hamYoucanchoosefromallkindsofflavors.
Aftereating,let'stakealookatthedailynecessitiesofYangzhoupeople.Themostfamousis"threeknives".Theyarebarber'sknife,pedicure'sknifeandkitchenknife,whichnotonlyreferstoYangzhou'sgoodknifeedge,butalsoreflectstheprosperityofYangzhou'sthreemajorserviceindustries.Inotherwords,thesethreeknivesalsorepresentthreemajorserviceindustries:Barberkniferepresentshairdressingandbeautyindustry,pedicurekniferepresentspedicureandbathindustry,andkitchenkniferepresentscateringserviceindustry."WhenyougotoYangzhou,youcaneatwell,haveagoodtime,andalsoenjoyshavingandtakingabath",whichhasbecomeatypicalportrayalofcomingtoYangzhoutoenjoylifeinthepastthreehundredyears.Yangzhouisalsofamousforlacquerware,rangingfromhandicraftstomobilephonependant,whichshowsthewisdomofYangzhoupeople.
Nowwearelookingatthe"XieFuchun"cosmeticsstorethatfemalefriendsaremostconcernedabout.ItistheoldestexistingcosmeticsenterpriseinChina.In1915,"XieFuchun"cosmetics,togetherwith"Maotailiquor",wonthegrandprizeofPanamaInternationalExpositionoftheUnitedStates,andwasrecentlyratedas"300nationalkeyprotectedbrands".Beautiescan'tdowithoutdressingup.Ofcourse,theycan'tdowithoutcosmetics.XieFuchun'straditionalproducts,suchasduckeggpowder,icemuskoilandincensepieces,areknownasXieFuchun's"threewonders".Itisoftensaidthat"SuzhouRougeYangzhoupowder".XieFuchun'sfragrancepowderismadeofnaturalpearlpowder,whichisverynaturalandmild.Itisnotlikeaddingtoomanychemicalcomponentsincurrentskincareproducts.
Infact,asatouristattraction,theresidentialbuildingsinDongguanStreetarealsoworthseeing.Theyhavenotchangedtheiroriginalrhythmoflifebecauseofthedevelopmentoftourism.Fromthem,wecanfeelthehistoricalflavoroftheancientcityofYangzhou.WalkingslowlyinDongguanStreet,sometimespassers-byrush,orwalk,orbicycle.WecanhavealookatthereallifeofYangzhoupeopleandlistentowhattheyaresayinganddoing.TheresidentsofYangzhouaresimpleandhospitable.Theyoftentaketheinitiativetogreetyouandevenguideyouenthusiastically.
Well,nowthatweallknowsomethingaboutDongguanStreet,let'sgiveyouanhourtoreallyfeelthethickhistoryandsplendidcultureofDongguanStreet.Rememberto"gooutagainstthewall"Oh!