Village in the City: Urban Habitat with Body and Soul

In Shenzhen, at least 60% people live in rural houses in urban villages. Walking in a 2-meter-wide roadway is like walking in a ravine. Sunlight pours down from the roof, just like a beam of light passing through the gap at the top of a tree. Because of the lack of sunshine, the corner has grown shallow and thin moss, full of sense of time, telling the history of this young city.

Still young. Shenzhen has only been established as a special economic zone for 40 years. Before that, it was just a small town in Baoan county, surrounded by more than 1000 large and small villages. Most of the aborigines are Cantonese and Hakkas in Baoan. They are low-key and simple, believe in Mazu, and speak incomprehensible vernacular and Hakka. The network image of them holding a bunch of keys and wearing slippers to collect rent is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Although it is ridicule, it is really rich, and its value lies in the people.

The city is hidden in the streets, and people have their own places here. The countryside of Shenzhen has an inclusive mind. Speaking Mandarin with various local accents, people from all corners of the country live together in the village. Cantonese cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Fujian snacks, chicken pot and other local cuisines gather here; Cultures from all over the world blend here. After living for a long time, you will find that foreigners here don't treat themselves as foreigners, and locals are not as low-key as locals.

Slogan, he came from Shenzhen, which is still very appropriate. The village in the city is their habitat, from which a new ecosystem is derived, and it is also another form of "rivers and lakes".

Some villages in the city are located in the central area of the city, with modern buildings, office buildings, avant-garde art galleries and crowded shopping centers scattered around. The old appearance of rural houses in the village in the city is a bit out of tune with the surrounding architectural style, but people living here are used to it now.

The relatively low price of renting a house in a village in the city is welcomed by outsiders and office workers who pursue cost performance. Although the environment is unsatisfactory, low prices are a specific medicine that can cure sitcoms and dissatisfaction.

I live in a single room with a balcony of only 20 square meters. Because the window faces north, even if it is sunny, the room is dark all day. So if you have nothing to do, go to the balcony to get some air, smoke a cigarette and feel the sunshine and wind. The balcony is about 3m long and 1 m wide. I can't even stretch my feet when I sit down and read. The distance between the front and back of the house is almost two meters, and the distance between the walls of the neighbor's "handshake building" is only 10 cm. In first-tier cities, land is used to the extreme, and the floor area ratio is surprisingly high.

Standing on the balcony, you can hear neighbors brushing their teeth and gargling, running water, and husband and wife bickering. The city is waking up from the noise; With the aroma of cooking, it's time to enjoy delicious food and relax after a day's work. The fragrance of vegetables wafted out of the window in the wind, teasing the neighbor's taste buds and stomach hunger.

According to news reports, some China people living abroad often cook at home because they are not used to western food. Because of the thick oil smoke and the added spices, the strong smell of Chinese food makes foreigners complain. Eating habits were formed when we were very young. The taste buds and hippocampus in the brain record the story of home and homesickness, and are also associated with overseas and domestic. Just like the kitchen fireworks in the village in the city, it links thousands of families in my hometown.

It's too far. Neighbors who have lived for several years don't even know what they look like, let alone say hello to each other, because there is no intersection between work and life. "Chickens and dogs hear each other, and old people don't talk to each other." For more than two thousand years, many things haven't changed much.

Your room is your state of life. Living in a humble room will not make us belittle ourselves, change the environment, only change our mood. Happiness is a choice.

One room, one person, one table and one chair. Read, study, think, eat and sleep. "I am a humble room, but I am virtuous." "A scoop of food, a scoop of drink, in the mean lane, people can't bear to worry, and they won't change their fun when they go back." That's probably the case. A good attitude is an essential character for a better life.

We left our hometown, trudged hundreds of kilometers, and finally camped in the village in the city. It is not so much the pursuit of dreams as the compromise of reality. In a place that provides more job opportunities and higher income, maybe it is closer to the dream?

Just like the garage in Silicon Valley, many inspirations are brewing here, and many awesome people started here. There are flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, cicadas in summer, snow in winter, sunshine, air and water, vegetable markets and convenience stores, and miracles!

The former boss made a living by selling vegetables in his early years, and later engaged in the fashion industry until the company went public. At the monthly meeting of the company, he shared his early struggle and talked about the past life in the village in the city, which was amazing. Let's talk about "late rain time". Because of the aesthetic distance, rumination is not the anxiety of being trapped in that year, but more about reaching the other side of the dream.

He said, "Sometimes I inadvertently think about the living conditions of our colleagues after work, what kind of house they live in, what kind of room they sleep in, whether they live in a poor farmer's house like I used to, and work hard for the future ..."

Some people ridicule that the village in the city is a combination of urban and rural areas, and going out into the countryside is prosperous. It should be a place where both the body and the soul can be accommodated. Simple and independent, in a relatively private space, let us temporarily leave the company's 8-hour working state and enjoy the fun brought by life.

Eating is not easy. Village in the city is a compromise with high cost performance. The village in the city is located at the edge of the city center and has its own scenery and existence, that is, reasonable vitality. Let people stand on the soil of first-tier cities, and let people who work hard outside like me have a "base" to pursue their ideals, so that they can attack and retreat.

"Better than a coffin room in Hong Kong." We can always find reasons to accept the status quo. As Dumas said in The Count of Monte Cristo, "All human wisdom is contained in these two words: waiting and hope".

"Rented life" inevitably makes people have a "temporary" mentality, unlike living in their own house, but there is always a lamp for you. Having been in love for a long time and feeling "at home" can also be regarded as "a little fortunate" to comfort myself. With hope and expectation, everything is worth it.

Cities are upgrading, and some villages in the city are also facing demolition and rectification. Tenants either rent apartments or houses at higher prices, or move to villages in the city far from the city center to exchange time for space.

Some people left their youth and returned to their hometown with memories here; Someone bought a new house and got a "green card" to become a new immigrant; Someone went to Dongguan and Huizhou, which are further away from the customs. Some people still persist, continue to struggle with a group of new dream catchers and "Houlang" and continue to write new stories. Village in the city has new blood and content.

For a long time, Shenzhen has been criticized as a "cultural desert" by the media and established cities. The village in the city is not as famous and historic as the hutongs in Beijing, the alleys in Shanghai and the Huizhou architecture with white walls and black tiles in the south of the Yangtze River. Villages in the city are as young as Shenzhen, and there is not enough time and culture to precipitate.

On the contrary, it is young people who have made Shenzhen. They have no idol burden, travel lightly, are more energetic and innovative, and have more possibilities.

The city within the city is the historical and cultural "container" of Shenzhen. It is inclusive, open, innovative and eclectic, giving the city a unique connotation and urban character, showing its development process, where it came from and where it will go.

If you want to trace the source of this city, let's start from the village in the city. Perhaps, the future village in the city will be protected as a historical relic for future tourists to visit, and the guide robot will talk about its construction technology, lifestyle, spirit of the times, historical mission and symbolic significance.