When traveling to Guangdong, you must not miss Chaozhou. This is the city with the best preserved ancient city atmosphere in Guangdong Province. Relics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties can be seen everywhere, and some ancient arcade streets that have emerged in modern times can also be seen everywhere. What’s more, this is the origin of Chaozhou cuisine in the world.

Whether it’s the sight, taste, or humanistic atmosphere, it makes people miss you endlessly.

There are many old streets in Chaozhou, and there are dozens of them with unique styles. In addition to old streets such as Ngee'an Road, Xima Road, Horizontal Road, Taiping Road, etc., there are also many small alleys in the ancient city. All the top ten ancient alleys are in Paifang Street.

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These ten alleys are Youzao Yixingjia and Jiashi Guzheng'an. The first five alleys used to be home to a large number of celebrities and dignitaries and are known as "Fugui Alleys" among the locals. The last five alleys are where ordinary people live.

The current Zao Lane was originally the location of the kitchen of Kaiyuan Temple, an ancient temple in the Tang Dynasty, which shows the grand scale of Kaiyuan Temple at that time.

The word "Zao" in Zaoxiang is very vivid, and it just echoes the kitchen.

Youxiang, which is parallel to Zaoxiang, was the place where Kaiyuan Temple stored sesame oil in the past.

The total length of Zao Alley is only 302 meters and the width is 5 meters. It looks very ordinary on the outside, and the exterior walls of some houses are mottled and discolored. However, the elegance of the time can be seen from the buildings such as Zhu Zhai and Han Confucian Academy.

There are many traditional Chaozhou courtyards scattered in Zao Xiang. The paintings on the entrances of some courtyards are still clear. It can be seen that they have been carefully maintained, while the paintings on the entrances of some courtyards are incomplete.

Over the years, the property rights of some yards have been resold several times, but the history of the house will not change. It has always stood there quietly, telling the story of time.

Longxi Jiujia is a legendary house in Zao Lane, built in 1938. The owner Huang Xuelin was once the manager of Tan Kah Kee's Shantou Company. This old house was later sold to Li Menjiang Saizhen by the descendants of the Huang family, and the door plaque was changed to "Longxi Jiujia", Longxi.

Located in Gansu, you can see the origin of the owner.

Similar door plaques are very common in Chaozhou ancient alleys. Basically, you can know the origin just by looking at the plaque.

Zao Alley also has an outer wall blessed by the Heavenly Official. I don’t know when it was left over.

This wall should have been repaired in recent decades, but due to the erosion of wind and rain, the outer wall is slightly mottled and cracks have appeared in the wall.

Looking up, I saw green plants growing vigorously in the inner courtyard, and some branches and leaves even extended outside the wall.

Except for a few courtyards that have been developed into inns, the buildings in Zao Alley have basically retained their original historical appearance. Without checking the information and asking the locals, it is difficult for foreign tourists to imagine that this was once a place where powerful people lived.

Looking from the street corner, it looks more like a civilian residence.

Wenlindi in the ancient alley looks ordinary, but its history can be traced back to the late Ming Dynasty.

The residence at No. 22 Zao Lane is also a Ming Dynasty building. Its first owner was a native of Raoping. He served as magistrate of Qinshui County, Shanxi Province. He was said to be erudite and talented, but there are few documented records.

Although some houses were converted into inns, due to the protection of cultural relics, no large-scale renovation was carried out. The slightly dilapidated appearance gave them a sense of age.

There is an introduction sign at the door of the key cultural relics protection unit in Zaoxiang. Visitors can learn about its history through the introduction.

Wangyu Hall, No. 36 Zao Lane, was built in the early Qing Dynasty. It has a three-entry layout and the painted paintings on the door are still clear. They are all auspicious contents, which are derived from folklore, myths and legends, and historical allusions.

Similar paintings are common in well-known houses in Chaozhou. From the content of the paintings on the door, you can basically tell the owner's reputation and wealth level. Ordinary houses have no decoration.