Many visitors to Nanjing want to see the south of the old city, but they often only find the old man. With Zhonghua Gate as the boundary, the south of the old city is divided into two areas, the east of Laomen has become a scenic spot of online celebrity in Nanjing, which welcomes or sends away countless tourists every day. In contrast, the west of Laomen is inevitably too lonely. Just because there are not many people, some small alleys in Laomenxi are more tasteful. There are many undeveloped alleys here, hiding traces of the passage of time. In these humane alleys in Laomenxi, you will see the most primitive appearance of Nanjing.

As the saying goes, "Beijing Hutong, Nanjing Alley", if you want to explore the most grounded life or cultural background of a city, you can't leave the streets and alleys in Kaicheng City. Laomenxi, which consists of thirteen historical streets, such as Mopan Street, Yingao Lane and Mingyang Street, has opened up another way of life in the ever-developing city of Nanjing. Perhaps this is the life atmosphere that the old city should have. Breaking into the old lane of Menxi from the bustling and noisy outside world, the noisy sound of traffic is getting farther and farther away, and the street in front of us is becoming narrower and narrower, as if you were in another world and in a completely different immediate environment, and you can't adapt to it for a moment. There are low-rise buildings on both sides of the old street. The walls painted with lime have become mottled, and some have exposed red bricks inside the lime. Some walls are plastered with advertisements or for rent, and the strong old street atmosphere can't help but evoke memories of childhood.

In the old-fashioned alley, there are hall-style houses, which are inlaid on both sides of the aisle in a patchwork way. The walls are decorated with time-honored windows. In the courtyard paved with bluestone slabs, a patio is quietly placed in the middle. I think the reason why the old street has the flavor of the old street is probably that there are clothes hanging in the air everywhere in the old street, wires connected one by one, and so on. Everything seems to be chaotic at first glance, but in fact, they are "living" step by step, and in the day after day, the days are dull and flowing. In front of the old-fashioned houses, almost all plants such as Chinese rose and hydrangea are planted, which means that people here know how to add a little touch to the plain life. The lively vegetable market occupies a whole street, and listening to the sound of people buying and selling in front of the stalls, people's life in the crowded market feels so close. In the old street, you will also see the old barber shop, the signboard is worn out, there are leather sofas in the store, and most of them are waiting in line. In the canteen selling snacks and cold drinks, the price is written on the wooden board and displayed on the wall. The children are picking snacks around the door.

Walking through the narrow alley, I watched the people living here live slowly, and remembered that when I was a child, I came home from school at this sunset, laughing and running through every street with my playmates. Those bluestone roads that I stepped on as a child recorded the footprints of our growth and became unforgettable. In the old city, of course, there are delicious food hidden in the corner. In Xiao Li's soup bag, you can eat authentic and cheap crab yellow soup bag. People in Menxi, from snacks to big nameless old noodles, and many shops have witnessed the time of the old street, which has become the most missed taste in the memory of a generation.

In Jinling, where more and more high-rise buildings have been built, such old streets are even more precious. I don't know when such old streets will be submerged in the development of the times, and the old city in memory will be farther and farther away from us.