Before going to Yangshuo this time, I was full of wonderful imagination and wanted to see the West Street in my impression again.

Eight years ago, when I graduated from college and traveled, I set off from Wuhan and went to Guilin with my friends. Yangshuo fulfilled all our fantasies at the time. A long old street with various shops on both sides, from handicraft shops to small bookstores, from Guilin's special delicacy rice noodle and snail stuffing to a small live house where the resident singer sings softly. have. There are many small stalls on the roadside, selling all kinds of hairpins, all kinds of strange stones, and all kinds of ethnic style jackets, skirts and trousers made of linen, cotton and silk.

The people on the street are also interesting. Tourists with different skin tones looked at the products at large and small stalls, negotiated prices with the bosses, and finally sat together to eat at a pizza shop and rice noodle shop, and went to a tavern to sit and drink in the evening.

Matching this bustling atmosphere are the well-proportioned buildings on West Street. Most of the buildings on West Street are old houses from sixty or seventy years ago (from Du Niang Encyclopedia), and a few are from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some are newer, some are older, and the whole is very harmonious.

For us back then, we were looking at the mountains not far away on West Street, sitting on the roadside and chatting about the future. When we were in our early 20s and nodding, we didn’t fully know what the future would be like. It is as hazy but full of charm as West Street in the rain in May.

However, this time, it was still May, and when I went to West Street, I couldn’t regain the good feeling I had back then.

I arrived in Yangshuo in the afternoon. I wanted to go shopping on West Street in the evening, so I went, and then I encountered the first unexpected thing.

The first thing I noticed was not West Street, but a business district called Yitian West Street. Obviously, the IP of West Street was used. The neon lights of the commercial complex are particularly conspicuous at night, the shopping mall radio plays loud music, and the entertainment facilities in the square are also very popular. I was even stunned for a moment before I realized that the dim street in front, with no light and no people, was the real West Street.

I walked around West Street in the evening. I was so sad at the time that I unfortunately didn’t take any photos. There are very few people. Only nightclubs are popular in the whole street. Please note that it is a nightclub and not a small bar. The noisy disco sound, the constantly changing lights and the laughter of young people in sexy clothes make the West Street outside become more and more popular. lonely.

There are no longer stalls on the street, and the shops seem to have been unified. There may be a dozen or so shops selling specialty osmanthus cakes with the same brand on the whole street, and a few "special clearance" shops , but that pizza shop is still open.

The original scattered buildings no longer exist. From the last time I came here to this time, there may have been upgrades and renovations in the middle. When I came here this time, West Street was undergoing another wave of upgrades. All the houses seem to be made the same, with white walls and wooden railings and windows. It is indeed neat, but maybe because I am old or have seen too many ancient towns, I always feel that such streets have lost their charm.

I can understand that for people living in Yangshuo, it is good to have a shopping mall where they can eat and hang out. I can understand it, but it can obviously be placed a little further away, so that it will not be open to tourists. Causing misunderstandings will not make West Street too commercial.

I can also understand that the buildings on West Street may be a bit old and need to be renovated, but is it really necessary to put a "new Chinese style" template on all the houses? There are very well-preserved ancient cities and streets in China, such as Pingyao, Shanxi, and ancient Huizhou. The local protection measures are basically to restore the old without damaging the whole. West Street is all made into one. It's really unheard of. Originally a very unique and historical street, it was suddenly changed into an "antique style street". Wouldn't it be heartbreaking?

To be honest, tourists also have their own actions to show their dissatisfaction with the development of West Street: In the past, when people went to Yangshuo, they probably lived on West Street, but now they basically live outside. Yes, because West Street is no longer an old street and because the business district on the edge of West Street and the nightclubs on the street are too noisy. In the past, West Street was known as "Foreigner Street", but now there are fewer foreigners because it is no longer distinctive. In the days when the overall openness was not as good as it is now, many foreigners would be willing to come to West Street to experience the slow-paced Chinese small town life. But now, I know from my own observations combined with chatting with local innkeepers that when foreigners come, like The days of living in West Street for a week are gone. I visited West Street during the day and night, and I met a pair of foreign tourists in a rare tavern at night. Compared with 8 years ago, there were indeed far fewer tourists.

Fortunately, the landscape of Yangshuo still exists. Non-motorized lanes have been paved along the Shili Gallery, which is safer. Some new projects have also been developed, and there are more varieties.

But Yangshuo West Street should be as fascinating as the mountains and rivers. The "poetry and distance" that it once was no longer exists! I don’t know if it will be a pity and regret if we look back at such changes ten years later.