1. Begonia Fragrant Country
That remote southwest town is my hometown _ Chongqing Rongchang. It is located in the west of Chongqing. There is a nickname called "Haitang Xiangguo".
According to historical records, the word "Begonia Fragrant Country" comes from the famous geographer Wang Xiangzhi's Ji Yu Sheng Di Jing Nan Zhi in the Southern Song Dynasty. There is such a record in Annals of Jingnan: "Living in Chung Shan Man, Haitang is a must-have place for the country, and the people respect it because of its fragrance, so it is called' Haitang Fragrant Country'".
Shi Huihong's "Cold Zhai Night Talk" in Song Dynasty has an allusion. It is said that Peng Yuancai in the Song Dynasty was extremely rich and committed all kinds of evils all his life. He only hates five things. The fourth thing is that he hates odorless begonia. Later, he learned that the begonia in Changzhou, Sichuan has a unique fragrance, and he couldn't help laughing: "Begonia has no fragrance, and only the begonia in Changzhou has a unique fragrance. Is it not a good county? "
There is a record of "Changzhou begonia has a different fragrance" in Baihua Spectrum in Tang Dynasty. "Hundred Flowers Spectrum" records: Begonia is a fairy in flowers, with bright colors, but flowers are odorless and unreal. Changzhou producers in West Shu are fragrant and real, and scholars are precious. "
The culture of "Begonia Fragrant Country" has been recognized in Yongchuan, Dazu, Rongchang and other places, and has become the representative of western Chongqing culture.
Spring is the time when begonia flowers in my hometown are in full bloom.
On the banks of Laixi River and Rongfeng River, in the main roads and parks of the county, the district municipal gardens department planted a large number of begonia trees, including about 6,543,800 begonia, Xifu begonia, Papaya begonia, Petalopeta begonia and so on.
On both sides of Haitang Avenue, begonia pedunculata blooms brightly, with red petals and yellow stamens, attracting bees to play among the flowers. Under the blowing of the spring breeze, the red begonia flower is swaying its delicate posture, just like a shy little girl, silent and lovely.
In the Ming Dynasty's Qunfangpu, it is said that the flowers of sessile begonia are fresh, tender, full and dazzling, which is one of the main spring flowers and trees in the garden.
Yuan Haowen, a poet in the Jin Dynasty, wrote a poem called Begonia: "The branches are full of new green and a little red is hidden. Don't spit lightly, teach peaches and plums to make spring breeze. "
After a winter, the season of begonia in Fang Fei has arrived. The beauty of trees is so warm, romantic and free and easy in the warm spring season in bloom.
2. Changzhou hometown
"Jing Nan Zhi" "Living in Chung Shan Man is unique to Haitang." The "Chang" mentioned in the book is Changzhou.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Changzhou administered Yongchuan, Dazu, Changyuan (now Rongchang) and Jingnan, and later Jingnan withdrew from the county and juxtaposed Yongchuan, Dazu and Rongchang.
Archaeological findings show that Tang Changfu is located in Panlong Town, Rongchang District, so it is called "Changzhou Hometown".
In the seventh year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Changyuan County was renamed Rongchang County because it was the seat of Rongzhou and Changzhou, meaning "prosperity".
Changyuan Town is the seat of Rongchang District Government. It was named after Changyuan in Tang and Song Dynasties and has been in use ever since.
On the banks of Laixi River and beside Haitang Park in Rongchang District, a large-scale Tang-Song style ancient architectural complex named "Changzhou Hometown" rises from the mountains and waters.
During the day, the Lacey River is shaded by trees.
Hit the spring, Haitang proudly blooms. There are rows of leisure umbrellas on the boulevard, and there is an open-air teahouse below, where friends can talk easily; There are also intimate conversations between family members; That kind of leisure makes many foreign tourists and businessmen who come to Chengdu to negotiate business envious. Attracted them to join the crowd drinking tea and chatting to see the river view.
Night arrival, brightly lit. On both sides of the Laixi River, there is a scene of "lights reflecting watercolors".
In the next few years, Rongchang will build a 10-kilometer-long version of the Qingming Riverside Map along the Laixi River.
3. Food in my hometown
Rongchang people used to call themselves "delicious dogs", which means "eating goods".
A bowl of noodles in the morning is spicy and delicious. Whether you wear Zhou Zheng's suit or ordinary clothes, everyone gets together. The noodle restaurant environment may not look so glamorous, but everyone agrees with the taste of noodles.
There are never enough seats in the noodle restaurant. The boss will prepare many plastic square stools, high and low. If the boss is too busy to have time, the guests will move out of the square stool and put it at the door of the noodle restaurant.
When you eat noodles in the morning, you will see such a scene: the guests in the noodle restaurant are full, and the stools at the door are also full. People sit on a small stool, and the noodle bowl is placed on a high stool. Shout, shout, shout with their heads down. Eat well. The one standing, however, came too late and didn't care if there was a place to sit. He just shouted "Boss, have some noodles."
In Rongchang, there is also a special noodle "bedding noodle", which is very famous in Chongqing urban area and all districts and counties. The shopkeeper will tear off a small piece of dough kneaded in advance, quickly and skillfully pull it into a thin piece of dough, throw it into boiling water for a minute or two, and then pick it up. A bowl of noodles costs four or five yuan. I made boiled bone soup, scooped up a spoonful of soft white peas, scooped up a few spoonfuls of fried sauce and sprinkled with chopped green onion. The surface is smooth and delicate, take a bite. A sip of soup is delicious.
Near noon, my stomach began to growl, so I went to the braised goose shop and bought a goose wing or foot, which tasted delicious and relieved my hunger.
By noon, there will be more delicious food There are Sichuan-style pork, fish-flavored shredded pork, boiled meat slices, boiled fish, kung pao chicken, dry steamed beef, fish-flavored eggplant and so on. Cold dishes include white meat with garlic paste, boiled chicken, Rongchang red roast goose, stewed pig face, pig ears, pig mouth, pig heart, pig belly and pig intestines.
Remember, these are home-cooked dishes.
Don't worry about too much meat Rongchang pig, one of the eight famous pigs in the world and one of the three famous pigs in China. A steady stream, in short supply.
If you want to eat vegetables, so much the better. Rongchang District is located in hilly area, with gentle terrain and developed water system, which is suitable for vegetable growth. The supply of vegetables and Rongchang pigs remains unchanged all the year round.
When you reach the border of Chongqing, if you don't eat hot pot, it means that you haven't arrived in Chongqing yet.
Chongqing hot pot originated from the extensive catering mode of boatmen and trackmen at Jialing River and Chaotianmen Wharf in Chongqing in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. The raw materials mainly include tripe, pig yellow throat, duck intestines, cow blood and so on.
Chongqing people laugh at themselves: northerners eat jiaozi, and Chongqing people say they use it for hot pot; Mongolians eat mutton, while Chongqing people say they are used to eating hot pot. People at the seaside eat seafood, and Chongqing people say it is used for hot pot. Anything in Chongqing can be scalded.
This is a must for Chongqing people.
Rongchang's "delicious dog" can't keep his mouth shut. Yellow bean jelly, red glutinous rice flour, lard bubble, Aiba and Zhuba are snacks that can't be separated all year round.
Rongchang braised goose has a history of 100 years and is a must for Chongqing cuisine. Rongchang people have a jingle: "halogen goose, halogen goose can't be seen at a glance." Braised goose meat, red roasted goose wings, braised goose liver and red roasted goose feet are golden and shiny, with rich five flavors and special condiments, which are delicious. It's a snack for men and a snack for women.
If you come to Rongchang, don't make a fuss when you see Rongchang people eating red roasted goose wings or goose feet in the street. This is their snack time.
The weather turned cold, and mutton soup became the favorite of Rongchang people. Rongchang mutton soup is milky white, salty and delicious, with rich flavor, tender meat and no fishy smell. It is a good tonic for autumn and winter.
There is a well-known shop that specializes in all-lamb banquet, steaming, frying, stewing, 18 kinds of martial arts, and finally makes a table for you. The guests with the highest click-through rate are steamed mutton with powder, as well as ants on the tree, fried mutton liver, fried mutton tripe, cumin lamb chops, braised mutton with skin, and red bean paste. My favorite dishes are mutton soup pot, white mutton soup, mutton offal, mutton, mutton jiaozi and all kinds of vegetables cooked in the soup.
Writing here, I am hungry and have the impulse to return to Rongchang.
I love Rongchang and I love my hometown.
Note: The knowledge about history in this article is taken from the Internet, thanks to the original author.