In order to help you find the long-lost flavor of the New Year and choose more places to buy new year's goods, my colleagues went to Guanchengxi Village and Humen, and I decided to take you to Shilong.
Shilong, once one of the "four famous towns in Guangdong (Guangzhou, Foshan, Shunde Chencun, Shilong)", is an important business center in Dongjiang River basin and provincial and port areas. As one of the most prosperous business districts in Dongguan, many Dongguan people have left memories of shopping in the past. Now, the subway R2 line goes directly to Shilong, so it is more convenient to buy new year's goods here.
Go to Zhongshan Road "Nianweier"
Where is the strongest New Year atmosphere in Shilong? Zhongshan road, of course When it comes to this, many Dongguan people know it.
Shilong people used to call it "old street". In this "old street" of Shilong ancient town, arcades with Lingnan characteristics can be seen everywhere. Under the arcade, there are many old shops with a long history. Maybe you're just pointing to one, maybe you've been opening a store for 20 years or 20 years. The store sells the most traditional things. When it comes to traditional festivals, everyone will automatically come here to punch in.
Before the Spring Festival, the "annual flavor" here was very strong.
Accompanied by Lin Yinshang, a staff member of Shilong Wenguang Center, we walked into the "Old Street". The most striking thing is definitely the store that sells new year's goods. There are many in this street. Lanterns are hung high, and red is particularly eye-catching; The word "fu" is overwhelming, one by one; There are also many couplets, Chinese knots and pendants, which have caused fires around. Various Year of the Rat mascots and New Year pictures have also been placed in a conspicuous position to remind everyone of the arrival of the New Year. Just walk into a shop and people come and go.
It has long been the habit of Shilong people to come to the old street to buy new year's goods in the New Year. "Couplets, door stickers, window grilles, New Year pictures and red envelopes are all necessities for the New Year. I come here to buy it every year. Moreover, Zhongshan Road has both wholesale and retail, and the price is much cheaper than that of supermarkets, and there are many kinds. I like all these, and I don't know which one to choose. " Ms. Huang, who is choosing goods, said.
Lin Yinshang said that for her, everything she needs at home must be purchased here first. One is that the goods on Zhongshan Road are very affordable, and the other is to take care of the neighborhood business. Merchants also try their best to keep the old neighborhoods, making the business very warm. In a shop called Tongxing Spring Festival couplets Wholesale Department, the proprietress told customers while collecting money: "This window grilles can be pasted with wet towels, and this needs glue. I will give you a bottle of glue and some red envelopes. Thank you for your help. " Everyone is also used to bargaining. "I will buy some wild things if I plan to pull." Talking and laughing, the sale becomes a success.
Some people say that the internet is so developed now that you can buy new year's goods with your fingers. There is no need to run around as usual. But in fact, shopping in the "old street" is like going out to buy new clothes with my mother at the end of the year. The warmth of the whole family purchasing new year's goods is hard to be replaced by the Internet.
And this busy figure and happy smiling face that everyone is preparing for the New Year, the unusual noise and prosperity of the old street, and the sense of ritual when we go shopping when we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year may be exactly what we are trying to find.
Visit old streets and old shops
Visiting arcades, old streets and old shops is actually like a process of discovering treasures.
There is a shilong specialty Li Quan and caramel shop in the old street. Maltose and grapefruit peel are the best gifts for the New Year. There is also a ceramic shop, for example, bowls and pots can be changed here during the Chinese New Year. There are also cloth shops, Four Treasures of the Study shops, electrical appliances shops, towel shops and tea shops, which are very nostalgic and cheap, so I can't bear to come out after shopping!
In fact, Zhongshan Road is only a part of Shilong Old Street. Shilong Old Street consists of dozens of large and small commercial streets, many of which are famous for their names, such as Tofu Lane, Mahu Lane, Xianxiang Street, Pitang Street, Danhua Street, Huamian Street, Buting Street and Zhuqi Street.
We want to buy new year's goods, such as food, clothing, use, play, supply, delivery, dry, fresh and cooked, which can be found in these streets around here. The old street is like a huge Taobao box. If you look around, you will find what you want.
When you come out of Zhongshan Road, cross the Taiping intersection and walk all the way to the right, you will see an antique old street-"Bamboo Street". Bamboo here is also worth buying. For example, bamboo chairs and stools are very fine in workmanship.
When you pass by, you will see some "preserved fruit shops" from time to time. Lin Yinshang said that these stores have been open for more than ten or twenty years. Those who come here to buy new year's goods must be authentic shilong people. Imported snacks, preserved fruits and traditional China New Year snacks are packed in transparent candy boxes, as well as various candies, dried prunes, raisins, dried sweet potatoes, olives, pickled mangoes, pickled papaya, ginger slices and squid whiskers.
Aunties in the street also set up stalls to sell "New Year Flowers", which are sacrifices to God during the Spring Festival. They were made into "cakes", and the exquisite "Shoutao" cakes attracted many neighbors to stop buying.
Shilong people attach great importance to couplets. Xiao Chen, a stone dragon in the street, is helping people write Spring Festival couplets. According to the size, its price is 1.6 m 20, 1.8 m 28 and 2.5 m 50. Lin told me that there is also an 80-year-old master who writes couplets. Every year at this time, he will set up a stall to help the neighborhood write Spring Festival couplets. Everyone in the old street knows that he has practiced technology for decades. You can look for him when you arrive.
Go straight ahead and you will reach Shilong Trade Market, where there are many dried seafood. For Dongguan people who love food, the last thing to miss during the Chinese New Year is seafood.
Or, go to the nearby Sha Tau Kok Comprehensive Market, which is also one of the favorite shopping places of Shilong people and a recommended place to buy small commodities and clothes. Ji Hua on the street corner is a popular choice for many Shilong people to buy new year's goods.
Close contact with non-genetic inheritors
In fact, it is an excellent experience to come to Shilong to pick up the new year's goods while visiting.
In the ancient streets, there are two famous century-old shops.
Dehexing Lion Dance Shop at the entrance of Taiping Road is a traditional craft shop that makes lion dance heads and unicorn heads by hand. From the age of 17, Guo Runtang officially followed his father to learn the ancestral lion head making skills. With nearly 40 years of experience in lion head production, he is the inheritor of Shilong lion head production skills and provincial intangible cultural heritage projects.
"Four generations of our family have been engaged in this kind of production, and four brothers and sisters in the family have inherited their father's production skills." The lion's head is made entirely of handicrafts and exquisite materials. It takes about a week to make a lion's head. Before and after the Spring Festival is the peak season for ordering. Guo Runtang did not stop his work while talking. His products are not limited to customers in the city, but even people from Huizhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong come here to buy and even sell abroad.
Xinchang Drum Shop, which is also the intangible cultural heritage of Dongguan, is also located on Zhongshan Road. Shilong Xinchang Drum is famous for its exquisite and delicate hand-making, and its technology is complicated. Two months before and after the Spring Festival is the peak period of drum sales, and the store is very busy. Ye Haohe, the inheritor, is taking a few people to paint a "lamp drum" reserved for a guest, and painting flowers. This two-meter-high "lamp drum" is used to add happiness to people.
If you come here, you must go to the store. The shop is small, and there is an all-iron casting machine in the middle to cover the drum skin. Every nail has a great history. If you are interested, you can quietly observe the drum making process and feel the unique charm of the ancient method.
Besides playing, there are delicious foods. At the intersection of Baihua South Road, there is the favorite fat peach roast restaurant of Shilong people, as well as the well-known Qixiang restaurant. Of course, it is also good to try some seasonal foods when shopping, such as lotus seed candy, winter melon candy and dried papaya.
Video blue leaf Zuo
All-media editor Ning Xinchun