The scene of Hexiwu

The following is what I recorded about Hexiwu in the first half of the 1940s:

Hexiwu Town is narrow from north to south and long from east to west. There is a three-mile road from the east gate to the west gate. The main street is not very straight.

The town has no city walls. There are 8 city gates at the four intersections. To the north: Yaowang Temple Gate; to the east: Laoye Temple Gate and East Gate; to the south: Jishikou Gate. , main entrance, Mushi Gate; west: Ximen, Xishaomen.

The main entrance is lined with the Liu Brigade Headquarters (the Japanese built a towering observation tower in this courtyard - the gun tower), the police station, and some government and business offices.

There are many temples inside and outside the town, such as Yaowang Temple, Laoye Temple, and Chaoyang Temple outside the east gate. The mosque in front of the main gate, the small nunnery temple inside the Muushi Gate, and the Gongde Chanlin Temple outside the Xishao Gate were just ruins at that time, which were burned down by the Eight-Power Allied Forces. There is only one well left in the Liang'an Temple in the northeast corner.

There are also three ancient large stone bridges on the avenues leading to the west and south.

The streets are lined with shops of all sizes, with plaques and signboards dotted all over the place, as well as shops selling daily necessities. The town does have a somewhat prosperous scene, especially on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and September. Very lively. Many prestigious shop names are still vivid in my mind. They are crowded in the center of the main street from Zhai Street to Dongheng Street to the west. Such as: Wanhe Hao, Tianlixing, Dejuyong, Dechanghao, Zengshengji, Yijulong, Sanyihe, Fuhaiju; Hengyuan Hotel, Yadong Hospital, Yongyang Photography in the west of Zhaijiezi Museum; there is Lanji Pharmacy in the back street. Yihecheng Iron Shop; Shaoguo in Hengyuan Hotel in Xishaomenli.