By Yuling Chen, EDITOR
The spring with warm sunshine is an ideal season for traveling, appreciating flowers, and going on outings. The atmosphere will be full of life and energy with lots of people.
Different from the bustling areas, Songji Ancient Town, located in Yongchuan District of Chongqing, is by the riverside. The seemingly isolated location brings it a feeling of apartness from the noisy world. Tired of the hustle-bustle of big city life, you may enjoy a leisurely life here.
The locals have hung the chopped and thread-skewered seedy mustard (Brassica juncea var. gemminfera) over the wooden panels by the streets and will process them into crispy and refreshing preserved Szechuan pickle. It will be appetizing to get a bite of this delicacy with the meal, and the flavor is quite unique and better than the packaged ones.
They also dry family-planted potatoes and sweet potatoes in the containers under sunlight. They remove the variegated ones and keep those in pure white. Because of this, the starch processed by the traditional method will bring long-lasting aftertastes to the farm-produced delicacies.
In addition to the family-made food materials, one technique might only remain in the childhood memory of some people. The previous generation would cut the green bamboos into splits and weave them into various farm tools. Fortunately, the skill has been passed down to this day.
The paint surface of the gate has been mottled. And several aged people were sitting in the yard and chat leisurely, revealing the gentle pace of life here.
By contrast, people would replace the red couplets every year. Growing old with the ancient town, the aged have also become one of its sceneries.
During the past years, the ancient town has also witnessed people’s growth, from birth, growing up, and finally to old age.
Although the heavy traffic and crowded people have disappeared in the bygone days, you can still enjoy the singing breezes, high sky and extensive water here. With your back against the ancient town and watching the bustling world afar, the leisurely life free from wordly troubles or adversity reveals another “golden period” of this Songji Ancient Town.
Source: CQCB