Xijin Gudu, located at the foot of Yuntai Mountain in downtown Zhenjiang, is a historical site built along the mountainside boardwalk. Since the Three Kingdoms period, this is the famous Yangtze River ferry, from the Tang Dynasty is an important town of Caoyun, as the only ferry port from Zhenjiang to Jiangbei, it has become the throat of north-south waterway traffic, with an extremely important strategic position. For thousands of years, Xijindu Ancient Street has also become the best-preserved area of Zhenjiang cultural relics and monuments, and is the "context" of Zhenjiang's famous historical and cultural city.
After the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to the changes in the waterway of the Yangtze River, Xijindu gradually withdrew from the function of the ferry, but the bustling street market of the past is still there, from the pavilion to the current Changjiang Road, this short few hundred meters of ancient street is distributed with more than 100 kinds of shops, forming a commercial street of Xijin Ancient Street. We went earlier, and at the same time, the ancient street appeared very quiet due to the impact of the epidemic, which also allowed us to calm down and carefully enjoy the charm of the ancient street. Strolling leisurely down the old street, you will see quaint shops along the street, most of which are relics of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The brick and wood structure and the window rails with carved cornices are all painted scarlet, giving people a feeling of "Flying Pavilion Liudan".
From the perspective of the types of shops in the ancient street, there are not only food, life, and culture, but also many shops that served boat families in those years, such as carpenter shops, cable shops, etc. Most of these shops are two-story buildings, the lower floor is a shop, and the upper floor is an accommodation. Before the liberation, there was also a special police station here, plus the life-saving society and the Guanyin Temple, which was simply a complete small society.
A bluestone road, on the other side is a series of small shops, staggered high fire walls, green vines attached to the wall, children playing and playing, reading newspapers and listening to plays, tourists carrying bags, the shops from time to time wafting out a smell of vinegar, a touch of tea, a burst of wine, all tell us about the prosperity and vicissitudes of "thousand-year-old ferry, thousand-year-old street", let people can't help but have unlimited reverie and nostalgia.
Although the brick and wood shops have adapted to the modern commercial atmosphere, we can still clearly see the inscriptions along the street such as "Ji rui li west street 1914", "Chang'an Li in the spring of the first year of the Republic of China", "De'an Li", and the old well in front of the former site of the Chunshun Garden bun shop, which is still lonely in the corner, reminiscing about the past years.
The deep ruts on the bluestone pavement are enough to prove the prosperity of the old street. The staggered two-storey buildings, the cornices of the pavilion, the carvings on the windows, the mottled counters, and the door panels of the fir wood all show the prosperity and heavy cultural heritage of the "thousand-year-old ferry, thousand-year-old street". Strolling through this quaint and elegant ancient street is like walking in a natural history museum, which is the real gold mine for Zhenjiang tourism.
The four stone gates on the ancient street are inscribed on the forehead: "Feige Liudan", "Layers of Mountains and Mountains", "Tongdu Cihang", "Tongdeng Jue Road", which present the original historical style and style in front of us, Xijindu is a harmonious blend of religion and secularity, humanities and nature, and is an evocative long volume of history.
Nishitsudo Street is ancient and historical, but at the same time it is young and modern. The residents of the ancient street are bathed in the warm sunshine, immersed in the memories of the past, and live leisurely and self-reliantly. Yesterday has become history, and today's Xijindu Ancient Street has been injected with the connotation and vitality of the times. Long history, many historical sites, quaint ecology, pure folk customs, traditional commerce, this is the evocative Xijindu, this is the famous Xijindu at home and abroad.