Chapter from the book "23 Reasons to Fall in Love with Hangzhou", written by Natasa Vujicic
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Grand Canal is the world’s oldest and longest manmade canal. For centuries, it was used to transport silk produced in Hangzhou to Central Asia and Europe by land. The canal also served as a part of the Maritime Silk Road which led to India, Persia, and Egypt, covering the whole known world at the time. During the Southern Song Dynasty, almost a millennium ago, Hangzhou was exporting silk in more than fifty countries of the world.
The area around the Grand Canal, Gongshu District (拱墅区), once a center of the textile industry, was a place where factory workers lived. It was a humble neighborhood on the outskirts of Hangzhou. Some of the old factories, such as the Tongyi Cotton Mill (通益公纱厂旧址) are still preserved in Qiaoxi Historic Block (桥西历史街区). This area was a place of hard work and rough trade. Today, it is a place of leisure and art.
Near the textile factory, is another place reminiscent of the old Hangzhou, Zhongxin Jishi Chacaihui Town Hall (中心集施茶材会公所). Here, seven generations of performers have been sharing their views on local events in a very unusual way known as “fever babbling” (小热昏). It all started with pear syrup candy (梨膏糖, a traditional Chinese medicine and confection believed to help relieve coughing and stimulate appetite). Trying to attract buyers, sellers of this medicine would sing and gossip about distinguished men and women of Hangzhou and criticize high society. In order to avoid punishment, the sellers would pretend their words were the result of fever. Once a smart way to sell medicine and today an intangible cultural heritage, this practice is most likely to end with this generation. If you take the opportunity to check out what “fever babbling” is all about, be warned: even if you are fluent in Mandarin, you probably will not understand a single word. You actually may end up feeling like a total ler (六二, "liu er" or "62," pronounced as "ler" in Hangzhou dialect can be translated as "dummy”), as the performers use the local dialect, which, in my opinion itself is a reason to visit.
In the alleys all around, life goes on, completely unaware of your presence or the fact that we are in the twenty-first century. Bedsheets hang-drying between one-story houses, neighbors sitting together in narrow alleys, and a hair saloon out in the open where you can get a haircut for as little as ten yuan are regular sights.
Following Grand Canal toward the south, is another block of traditional houses and alleys around the Xiao River (小河直街历史文化街区). It is a perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee or a tea, while sitting on a small balcony overlooking the water.
The next stop on the route is Daguan Bridge (大关桥), once considered the entrance to Hangzhou, where all the ships paid their toll on arrival. Customarily, visitors to this area would light incense in Xiangji Temple (香积寺). The temple is stunning and surprisingly not crowded. This is the heart of the Dadou Historic Block (大兜路历史文化街区), which is even more beautiful at night, when the area is lit with red lanterns and full of peddlers.
However, one of my favorite places, right on the bank of the canal is a small Taoist temple (张大仙庙 – Zhangdaxian Temple), which I discovered wondering around with friends. We made a wish, lit the incense, waved it up and down three times, placed it in the sand. I took the bowl of lottery sticks (签) and shook it so that only one came out. The Taoist priest (道士) took the stick, replaced it with a piece of paper, read it and raised his eyes to meet mine, giving me a puzzled look. He then insisted to hear more about my wish. After I said it out loud, he blatantly stated that it was not very likely to come true. Knowing that we would be leaving Hangzhou in less than a month, my only wish at the time was to move back there some day, as a family. However, as the young priest calmly explained, even if we did come back, it was not likely to be for good. My husband, he said, seemed like a man of ambition, and as such, he would always rush toward change. I knew he was right.
Then and there, I understood the simple truth that I am no different than anyone else. I will not get special treatment just because I want it desperately. With a heavy heart I decided to go where life takes me. After a year of refusing to face the move, that morning with its bright sun and crisp air slapped me back to reality and made me realize I need to start packing. Our time in China was coming to an end.
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