Memory lane

Strolling along jiangyin's changjing street is like traveling in a time machine - but on foot

Changjing Street has survived a changing world.

Indeed, wandering its cobblestones is akin to taking a stroll down memory lane, a place where the country remembers centuries past.

Residents still dwell in houses built in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties that huddle against a kilometer-long canal. A network of nong (alleyways) radiates from the waterway that streaks this swathe of Jiangsu province's Jiangyin city.

Buildings borrow architectural sensibilities from both the northern and southern Yangtze River Delta, since inhabitants are descendants of Anhui province and neighboring Wuxi city.

The buildings have been restored but with a light touch. Patches of peeling paint and plants sprouting from rooftop shingles imbue the area with an ambiance of authentic antiquity.

Locals joke Changjing was the "ancient CBD" (central business district).

Traditional vessels piled with pottery still ply the canal alongside vessels that bob with tourists.

Birds chirp from inside cages that dangle next to red lanterns. Dogs bark from entryways. Fish float through the languid watercourse.

Changjing is like a time capsule that has endured several periods.

It hosts a Republic-era teahouse, a shopping mall from the 1970s, the manor of a Ming salt merchant and a commune converted into a cinema.

There's also the Dafu Silk Worm Field, the Zhang Dalie Folk Museum and the childhood home of classic film star Shangguan Yunzhu, who appeared in 30 movies decades ago. The house has been converted into a shrine to the celebrity.

While modernity and urbanization reconfigure the world - with particular ferocity in China - Changjing isn't likely changing much any time soon.

erik_nilsson@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/15/2016 page37)