Xitang Ancient Town is located in Jiashan County, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. It has a thousand-year history. The cultural atmosphere here is very rich, with the characteristics of the ancient Jiangnan people. Various exquisite ancient buildings and famous snacks will give you an extremely shocking visual impact and stomach impact.
1. Sometimes, I don’t even know why I want to go to a place.
From Tongli, to Nanxun, and then to Xitang, I don't know where I will go to next. My yearning for ancient towns is due to my attachment to the small bridges and flowing water in the south of the Yangtze River. I drew the same image of my own Jiangnan self. It was not until later, when I walked through one town after another, that I realized that although they were very similar in general layout, in the traces of time, each place reflected the light of each place. I caught up with the misty rain in Tongli, and I fell in love with the tranquility of Nanxun. In my spare time, I would read some information about ancient towns. At that time, I didn't know it would be Xitang. Her arrival was so fast that I was caught off guard.
My impression of Xitang comes from Tom Cruise's movies. I don't know whether this advertising effect brought about by the infiltration of the film industry is a good thing or a bad thing for the scenic spot. I learned about Xitang because of the movie promotion, although the exterior scenes of Xitang did not leave me a deeper impression between the camera switches of the movie. But in many travel notes I have read since then, I have seen Xitang more than once. Some of my friends have said that it is good there, and the beautiful scenery always inspires the inspiration of the text. The most beautiful part of their texts is the misty corridor with charming water. I like this simple name that reveals the elegance of Jiangnan. After I came back from Xitang, I re-examined these four words on the map of Xitang more than once. The small town in Jiangnan was condensed into a scroll, and the lines and patterns dyed with ink and water had my footprints over and over again. That's because when I was in Xitang, I was always walking. I walked through every street in Xitang, passed every bar in Xitang, and crossed every small bridge. Except for eating, sleeping, and sitting on the bridge at night to watch the night, I suddenly realized that I was running all the time during my time in Xitang. The camera on me and the angles and pictures I needed forced me to approach Xitang in this way.
During my walk, I saw the hand-drawn map of Xitang more than once. I don't know why I didn't buy it. Maybe at that time, I subconsciously thought that I hadn't left Xitang yet. It wasn't until I walked out that I suddenly had a special attachment to the map. I knew that if I left like this, I would hardly have the chance to walk here again. The map would bring me closer to Xitang and evoke my memory when I forgot. At that moment, I was very scared. I even thought about whether I should buy another ticket to go inside. Fortunately, there were still some for sale at the stall next to the station. I bought one and felt like I had found a treasure.
2. I took a bus from Hangzhou to Xitang. The scene was very similar to when I went to Tongli and Nanxun.
I wait for the train and transfer at a station thousands of miles away from home. I have become accustomed to this way of walking. There are people in my hometown who do the same as me, but they do it for a living, while I do it for tourism. The increase in speed has shortened the distance between cities and towns; the speed of the Internet and information has rapidly increased the popularity of a certain scenic spot. In the huge crowds of tourists, the atmosphere of scenery and objects has been squeezed to pieces.
For the people in the same car with me, I didn’t know whether Xitang was part of their life rhythm or they were just a tourist passing by like me.
After getting off the bus, the inn auntie was waiting for me at the station gate. She rode an electric bike and took me through the periphery of Xitang and went to her home from the east entrance. Later, I always regretted that I was busy taking pictures. When the auntie asked me to have dinner at home, I politely declined. In fact, I rarely have the opportunity to have dinner with the residents here. Perhaps that way would bring me a different experience of this trip.
I stayed at Liren Street in Xitang, which was a short distance from the scenic spot. Because it was Thursday, there were not many tourists, and the riverside was very quiet. The inns along the river all had signs saying "Rooms Available Today". It was not until I walked across a bridge and saw the bridge and water in front of me that I arrived at the real scenic spot of Xitang.
I like Xitang because it is closest to my imagination of Jiangnan. Many of its shops are built by the water or in narrow streets. I didn't buy a ticket, so I didn't go into those memorable houses and gardens. I don't know if there are otherworldly views inside. I just walked along the stone road to the end of the Misty Corridor, and then walked through another street. Later, I kept walking these roads repeatedly, so that I could remember which store sold what souvenirs and which store sold what snacks.
I attached some importance to the purpose of my trip. I kept thinking about how to take a group of photos, but I didn't know where to start. The pictures I had imagined in advance didn't work at all. At the beginning, I just subconsciously raised the camera. The viewfinder was the water of Xitang, the bridge of Xitang, and the tourists of Xitang. The freeze frame after the shutter did not bring me any joy or feeling.
This is the unfamiliar feeling I have before every photo shoot. Because I haven't established a relationship with Xitang yet, what I have to do is to slowly blend in. I am not a resident of Xitang. After spending so many years here peacefully, I suddenly found that the bridge was full of people from the few tourists passing by. I am not a businessman who runs an inn or a shop here. After being here for a long time, the atmosphere of Xitang will always penetrate into it. In the occasional moment of attention, looking at the water and clouds of Xitang, after the smoke and lights have calmed down, it is the charm of Xitang that falls. I am just a passerby. I stand on the bridge of Xitang, but there is a thick layer in front of me. I need to open a door and see inside within a limited time. See as much as you can.
At about 2 o'clock, I had my first meal in Xitang. It was not a feature of Xitang. The only thing that could be associated with Xitang was the time and the place. Most of our three meals a day were fixed at a certain time and place. Only travel would break the original rules. The world is so far away, it would be great to have a few different meals.
I walked along Beizha Street to Yongning Bridge. Standing on the bridge and looking west, I saw the most famous Misty Rain Corridor in Xitang. At this time, there was no smoke, no rain, no lights, and even no sunshine.
There are shops, drink shops, and small restaurants under the Misty Corridor. Many souvenirs can be bought in other places. If there is a difference, it is because of the location of Xitang. I went into several jewelry stores. Like many tourists, I would pick some souvenirs that I liked. But that afternoon, I didn't buy any. There are many tourists and the streets are very narrow. This is an ancient town different from Tongli. Tongli has the Retreat Garden and many Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings. The Retreat Garden alone has given Tongli a different atmosphere from other ancient towns. When I was in Tongli, I spent half of my time visiting the garden. It was raining that day and there were almost no people. Xitang is so similar to the Baijianlou in Nanxun, except that the Baijianlou is where the residents of Nanxun live. In the quiet night, there is not even a lantern. Today, the Misty Corridor is so lively and crowded, with shops densely lined up. They want to use the fame of Xitang to make their goods different from those elsewhere. In appearance, it looks like any other pedestrian street, but it is the foundation of Xitang that gives Neijiang the texture of a Jiangnan water town over time.
I bought a bowl of tofu pudding on Xiaxi Street, and I even walked to the entrance of the scenic area to explore the route for tomorrow's exit. From the exit, you can see the town outside the scenic area, but the narrow alleys separate the scenic area from the outside into two worlds. When I saw the traffic and pedestrians, I thought that might be the life of Xitang people now.
3. There was a time when I asked myself why I came to Xitang.
Fatigue is the heaviness brought by long-term walking without a moment's rest. At that time, I had walked along the Misty Corridor to Shangxia West Street twice, and I had stood on Huanxiu Bridge and Yongning Bridge to take panoramic photos of the corridor in both directions. I found that I seemed to have ignored the atmosphere of Xitang and paid too much attention to the things in the frame. I changed my initial thoughts about the ancient town unconsciously. The intervention of the camera blocked my original sight and made me look at Xitang with another eye. I walked so fast that when a ray of beautiful light flashed before my eyes, I would definitely not notice it.
So I stopped.
I sat by the Misty Gallery and watched a student sketching. He took a photo with his mobile phone and put it there, then watched and painted. The Xitang outlined by the pencil is quiet and simple, without any noise. For many people who learn to paint, they must paint the Misty Gallery when they come to Xitang. Unlike a camera, it needs to be slowly formed stroke by stroke. This is a process that requires time and patience. The movement of light will allow the painter to slowly see the changes in color. After sitting for a long time, every eaves and every brick and tile will also have emotions. I firmly believe that the student must have a deeper impression of Xitang than me, because I have never seen it as carefully as he did. I wanted to sit next to him for a while, but the tourists who came to see him paint seemed to disturb his peace, so I left.
I sat on the Yongning Bridge, next to a photo of Tom Cruise standing on the bridge. I recalled the panoramic view of the long corridor behind the hero and heroine at the end of the movie. This distance made me feel a little lost. Perhaps it was because I had attached too much importance to the myth of movies. Otherwise, movies are not far from us, so close that they are only a glance away.
When the boat started to move, I ran from Yongning Bridge to Huanxiu Bridge with my camera on my back, selected the angle, and then turned back to chase the boat. But the boat and bridge in the frame were still not what I wanted.
I decided to go back to the inn to rest for a while. I walked back from the east side of the bridge. The bars on the street were not open yet, but people who went in at this time could sing for free. A strange singing voice came from inside the house. I didn't know which girl it was.
It seemed to be just a bridge away. After crossing the bridge, it was quiet at Liren Street. There were houses under construction by the water, which might become new shops or inns soon. I heard young voices asking for a place to stay. They were a couple who wanted to see the night view of Xitang. I was also young like them, but at that time, my world was so small.
4. When we got back to the inn, my aunt asked me to have dinner, but I declined because I was tired and had already eaten a lot of snacks.
In fact, there was another reason. I was too picky about food. I was afraid that my eating habits would go against the other party's good intentions. I used to like Jiangnan food so much, but at this time I had no appetite due to the huge physical exertion. At that time, I didn't know that I would have to take medicine for a long time to relieve stomach discomfort.
I saw that it was getting dark outside, so I went out again. Lanterns were hung under the corridor of Liren Street. There were more tourists at night, and the bars started to open. Various kinds of music intertwined and surrounded the lights. When I walked to Anjing Bridge, I saw the reflection of Yongning Bridge in front of me in the water, which looked like a crescent moon. I didn't bring a tripod, so I had to lie on the bridge to keep the camera stable.
There were many people taking photos on the bridge. Just like sketching, the Misty Corridor at night was a gathering place for photography enthusiasts. I had to squeeze into the crowd to take one or two photos, so I had to walk down and walk along the road I had walked several times during the day.
There are always some things that only increase their meaning or beauty in a specific environment. Xitang is destined to be a romantic place or a place for friends to gather. There are too few people around me who are alone like me.
I saw couples and sisters releasing lanterns, and they made sincere wishes. When the lanterns floated down the river, their smiles flickered in the shadows of the lanterns. I saw an old man selling lanterns on the street. I didn't dare to take a photo of him rashly, so I walked up to him and bought a lantern. He saw me carrying a camera and talked to me for a few words. I didn't understand the Jiangnan dialect very well. But he was happy for me to take a photo of him. When I raised my camera to take a photo of him, he lowered his eyes and looked at the pile of lanterns in front of him. The light was not too bright, but it just illuminated his quiet facial features. I suddenly realized that this was actually the Xitang I wanted to take a photo of.
I lit the lamp and put it into the river. I watched it slowly float downstream. I seemed to want to make a symbolic wish, but I didn't know what I made.
Because there were so many people, I went to a store to send postcards to people far away, and went to other stores to buy souvenirs. I once thought that if a place can be left with the most significant mark, the postmark is the most time-tested mark. I have become accustomed to sending postcards to friends far away from home, and the footprints of the mountains and rivers along the way are all recorded in the scenery of the postcards.
After I finished drinking the rice wine dumplings at a restaurant, there were fewer people outside. I saw that the walls of this restaurant were covered with messages, and all the words on them were printed with labels related to Xitang for later visitors to see. Since when did we start to like this way? These impromptu words are just to tell the next traveler that this is Xitang.
If I were with someone else, we might go to a bar. Not only the Misty Corridor, but also wine is a calling card of Xitang. Many people want to experience this kind of lifestyle, spending an ordinary night with many strangers in a water town far away from home. This is one of the purposes of their trip, whether it is due to their own efforts or other factors, just because this is Xitang.
I didn't go to the bar, I just sat on Yongning Bridge and listened to the songs coming from the bar. The wind started to blow and it was a bit cold. I didn't want to leave. I watched people passing by me one by one, and I watched the Misty Corridor opposite slowly become quiet. I didn't walk up from the bridge until some shops were about to close and walked along the corridor inside.
By the time I reached the west exit, Xitang was already very quiet. I saw some shops closing, and I also saw a few people still guarding their stalls. The lights from the open shops spread out from the doorways, casting patches of light and shadows on the corridors. A cleaner began to sweep the floor, and I followed behind him to take pictures, carefully and cautiously, for fear of disturbing him.
The breath of Xitang squeezed out by tourists slowly fell with the wind at this time, falling on the roof tiles of the Misty Corridor, on the eaves, or on the small bridge, under the corridor, and some slowly scattered into the water. Only at this time, your breath belongs to Xitang. All her years only slowly penetrate into your breath when no one is around. Every small alley and every brick and tile also slowly reveal her tiredness after years. I think Xitang may be going to sleep. The lanterns under the corridor are silent without a sound, or they have fallen asleep, even the water has fallen asleep. A man selling Xun sat alone in front of his shop. The shelf behind him was full of these ancient musical instruments. I took a picture of him, but he didn't look at me at all. I don't know why he has to sit there so late.
The streets of East and West were quiet, with only one or two small restaurants still open. I don't know if they were killing time or waiting for late customers. I walked to a shop selling Gorgon Fruit Cake. The owner was still making this local dessert, and the heroine was packing up the stall. I couldn't help but buy a piece, not necessarily for eating, but because this night reminded me of a period of my life, a repetitive life every day, setting up the stall in the morning and closing it at night. Many late nights, when it was almost time to close, I would always run into a late customer.
At this time, only the singing still echoes in Xitang. I am glad that I live far away from here. If I lived in the Misty Corridor, would I forget these songs?
When I walked back along Beizha Street, I saw a few people in a bar listening to music and drinking. A middle-aged singer was holding a guitar and singing songs from his era. I didn't know if he was like those souvenir sellers or people making gorgon fruit cakes, but his lifestyle here was determined by Xitang, or if he was a wanderer who just happened to be here tonight.
The noise of the bar contrasts with the quietness of the window. Under the soft light, the dazzling signs and decorations look like a scene from a fairy tale. The window is a scene from a fairy tale. I wonder if the dolls inside will wake up and start their own world when the night really comes.
I was about to turn to Liren Street, and the singing was far away. When I was about to cross the bridge, I saw that several rooms on the opposite side were completely reflected in the water. If it weren't for the ripples of the water, it would be difficult for me to distinguish between reality and illusion. This was the first place I saw in the viewfinder when I entered the Xitang scenic area. I didn't care at the time. But when the night fell, it became my favorite night view of Xitang.
There are still small shops open at the entrance of Liren Street. The owners may be accustomed to the empty rooms. Xitang is not a fast-paced city. They are used to waiting amid the sound of water and lights.
5. Because I remembered to get up early, I couldn’t fall asleep in the middle of the night.
When I woke up, I could no longer hear any sounds from Xitang. I fell into a daze again until the alarm clock woke me up.
I got up late after all. When I went out, I could already see a faint light in the east. When I rushed to Yongning Bridge, someone had already started taking pictures there. Because of the different light inputs, I had to run back and forth between Yongning Bridge and Huanxiu Bridge. The light spot started from the west side of the corridor, and then moved eastward little by little until the entire corridor was completely illuminated.
I wondered if I would meet some early risers on the street, but many stores were not open yet. Unconsciously, I walked out of the scenic area, crossed the bridge, and walked east along the river. It was a path I had never thought of. The water was as quiet as a mirror, and the houses were reflected in the water, which was a meticulous painting of Jiangnan. I couldn't explain why the turbid water I saw yesterday could be crystal clear and spotless at this time. When I was selecting photos later, apart from the night view, this was the most beautiful corner of Xitang during the day. Maybe I caught up with the time, or maybe there were more beautiful things, but I didn't catch up. Just like I didn't catch a rain or a snow. The Misty Corridor would be more beautiful if it rained. I didn't catch up with the scene of the rain curtain falling from the eaves of the corridor. I only saw the banner with the words "Jiangnan Water Village" swaying in the wind. Xitang is the pearl of the Jiangnan Water Village, it deserves these four words, but there are more and more tourists here. Today is only Friday, but since the sun came out, teams from all over the country have filled the bridge in Xitang, and the tour guides' explanations have filled the alleys of Xitang.
For tourist attractions, this may be a good thing, but for us travelers, there is more helplessness. Perhaps the reason is within ourselves. As long as you are attentive, there is always a place you can find in the noisy attractions. Just like my trip this time, at night and in the early morning, there are places that make me remember Xitang for the rest of my life, but I don’t have more time to consume. I know that there are beautiful mountains and rivers waiting for me in the distance, but it is difficult for me to get involved. I am used to coming to these small towns with the sound of years, and in the process of being gradually devoured by the tourism fever, I catch every brick and tile in time. Many times, we go to a place because many people go to that place, and we are all imitating what others have done. I always want to encounter unexpected scenery, but I don’t know, when those unexpected gifts come to me, should I take pictures and tell those who don’t know?
So I didn't go to Zhouzhuang or Wuzhen again. I stopped going there because of the rumors about their commercialization. I went to Tongli in 2008, and I don't know what changes have taken place in these ancient towns in the past four years. Have they started to send postcards on behalf of others? Have they started to have slow mail like sending to the future?
It was almost noon when I went to a bookstore. The books on the shelves did not bring me joy. I couldn't stand the noise downstairs so I sat upstairs. From where I sat, I saw the words "Send to the Future". Maybe the slow mail method is more suitable only in scenic spots. Send a postcard here and send it to yourself in a few months or a year or two. But I have never known, in the present time when we are running for life, who can guarantee that the place where you live will not change in a few years? Or you have moved somewhere else. The sudden surprise comes from your forgetting of something, as long as you have been there and never left. Therefore, in Xitang, many people are sending slow mail.
The aunt at the inn had already bought the ticket for me. After I checked out, I walked along the Misty Corridor and East and West Lower Streets for the last time. I finally had a bowl of tofu pudding and fried dough sticks across from Tom Cruise's photo. It was very hot, and I was extremely tired so that I couldn't swallow my lunch. I got up a little dizzy, walked along West Lower Street, passed through a small alley, and then walked out.
I bought the hand-painted picture of Xitang that I had always wanted at the stall at the entrance of the station. I sat on a small stone at Xitang Station and waited for the train to Shanghai.
