Small details, big history (Mobile Photography in Guangzhou)

While waiting for the tram, I looked up at the stop sign. Under the Canton Tower stop was marked the corresponding English: Canton Tower. Canton reminds me of the biannual Canton Fair (Canton Fair). Cantonese (Cantonese) uses this word. If it hadn't been for this accidental glance up, I would have forgotten that Canton is the English name of Guangzhou.

John Glasgow Kerr wrote an English travel guide to Guangzhou (Canton Guide, a very old book, published in 1889). This travel guide covered the expressions of "Guangzhou" by foreigners at that time: The City of Canton is situated on Pearl River, 90 miles from HongKon. It is the Capital of Kwong-tung Province, and contains about 1,000,000 inhabitants.

Unfortunately, the Canton in modern history has gradually faded out of our lives. When we say the English name of Guangzhou, we often say Guangzhou instead of Canton. I remember a friend studying in the UK told me about an embarrassing incident that happened to him in Manchester. When it was his turn to introduce himself at the freshman meeting, he mentioned that he was from Guangzhou, and his classmates were confused. Later he learned that Guangzhou is an unfamiliar word to most Westerners. If you say you are from Canton, they will understand. To them, Canton is one of the most famous cities in China. The word Canton is included in Western dictionaries and history textbooks, not Guangzhou.

01 Two items in one cup: Cantonese-style morning tea

There is a saying: Eat in Guangzhou, and of course you can’t miss morning tea when tasting delicious food in Guangzhou. Drinking morning tea in Guangzhou has "one cup" "Two pieces". So what does "two pieces in one cup" mean?

The so-called "one cup" comes from an iron-spout teapot with an tile tea cup in the earliest tea house. More coarse tea leaves were put in the pot. The tea leaves are bitter and have no aroma, but they can refresh and refresh the mind. Rinse the intestines and stomach. The so-called "two pieces" refer to the snacks in the tea house in the past. They were mostly rough sponge cakes, taro cakes, carrot cakes and the like. Although they were not very tasty, they could fill their stomachs and were quite beneficial to the working people who did menial work. . Later, in order to cater to the requirements of different classes, teahouses began to select some beautiful teas (mostly Pu'er, scented tea, etc.) and use mountain spring water to make tea; at the same time, the quality of the "two pieces" gradually became more and more sophisticated, with more and more varieties and more production. It became more and more refined, and then gradually formed the characteristics of modern Guangzhou teahouses.

Before going to sigh for morning tea, I searched for authentic time-honored restaurants on Ant Nest, such as Taotaoju, Lianxianglou, and Datong Restaurant, which were all recommended on Ant Nest. I finally chose Datong Restaurant. , speaking of Datong Restaurant, this is a super time-honored restaurant. When I went there that morning, I saw the local parents-in-law queuing up there to drink tea early in the morning.

In fact, I particularly miss the scenes I have seen in some old film and television works: teahouses in old Guangzhou used to use dim sum cards (the kind with cards hung on the wall that can be turned over), and the clerk pushed the steaming The tin dining car came out, and tea drinkers rushed up to choose their favorite refreshments. But nowadays, computerized entry is used instead of snack cards. You can check the menu first and then deliver the meal instead of the hot iron dining cart. I can’t tell whether this is advancing with the times or the loss of tradition. I just like old things. The self will deeply regret the demise of these things.

02 Shishi Sacred Heart of Jesus Church

The Shishi Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on Yide Road in Guangzhou has a history of more than 130 years. It is the largest church in the Catholic Diocese of Guangzhou and the most magnificent existing one in China. It is one of the twin-spire Gothic buildings and one of the four all-stone Gothic churches in the world (the other three are Notre Dame de Paris, Westminster Abbey, and Cologne Cathedral), but I am not going to talk about it. "Stone Chamber" has these titles, but tells some small details and stories about it.

I don’t know if you have noticed that “Rome 1863” and “Jerusalem 1863” are engraved on the left and right corners of the front of the “Stone Chamber” respectively. The origin of these two inscriptions is still related to the old priest at the door. Only through conversation did I learn that the "Stone Chamber" was built in 1861, and the foundation stone laying ceremony was held in 1863. It is said that at that time, a missionary transported one kilogram of soil from Jerusalem and Rome and placed it under the foundation to express the "foundation of Catholicism". Jerusalem in the east, Rome in the west."

3 Our Lady of Lourdes Church

This is the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Shamian. The priest on duty here is a slightly fat little man who is very kind. No matter whether the questions you asked were simple or not, he answered them patiently.

Unlike the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in the Stone Chamber, I noticed that there was a basin of clean water placed at the entrance of Our Lady of Lourdes Church. The fat priest said: This is holy water, water consecrated by the priest. When believers enter or go out, they light holy water and make the sign of the cross (the direction of the cross in Catholicism is forehead, chest, left shoulder, right shoulder) to remind themselves that they have been baptized and at the same time express a kind of reflection.

Different from the "Stone Chamber", Our Lady of Lourdes Church is a single-pointed imitation Gothic building. Both are from the Catholic Diocese of Guangzhou. The difference is that the "Stone Chamber" is from the Catholic Diocese of Guangzhou.

Pay attention to the gauze scarf (or apron) tied around her waist. This is because the Catholic Church does not allow women with shorts and skirts that do not reach the knee to enter (the girl was wearing A pair of shorts were blocked outside the door by a fat priest. There was a gauze scarf on the right side of the door, which had to be wrapped around it before entering).

04 Qinglianju

Qinglianju has a very classical and elegant name. I entered the store out of curiosity. There were ancient style long skirts and various singles on display. Who was the clerk? A girl wearing a beige quaint long dress. During the chat with them, she learned that the store manager is a Chaozhou native who once lived in Fenghuang Mountain in Chaozhou. He loves tea (more precisely, he loves Dancong), believes in Buddhism, and loves lotus flowers. , the logo below was designed by the store manager. At first glance, it looks like a blooming lotus flower, and then when you look at it, there is a palm shaped like a pinched lotus flower. The relationship between Buddha and lotus is very close. It can also be said that lotus is the incarnation of Buddha. In addition to the logo, the shadow of lotus can be seen in many objects in the store. There is a saying in Buddhism: Buddha nature can be seen when a flower blooms, and this flower refers to the lotus.

I originally wanted to buy tea from Qinglianju as a gift for my mother (because my mother particularly likes drinking tea). Together with the store clerk, I searched about the effects of Dian black tea, Xigui and other teas to see which one. Suitable for my mother’s age group. Since I don’t really like drinking tea, I don’t know exactly what kind of tea my mother usually drinks. As a result, I can only temporarily put aside the idea of ??buying tea here. Before leaving, I asked for a Qinglianju business card and added the WeChat ID of a female store clerk. She said she could mail it directly to me next time, which was quite lucky.

The lamps and lanterns of Qinglianju are all made by themselves, and most of them are based on lotus flowers, which are particularly exquisite:

The following are the lamps and tea sets on the two tea seats:

This is a store that collects many old objects, ranging from beaded soap to large screen dressing tables; there are ancient harps, as well as modern record players, keyboards, printers, etc. The collection is quite mixed:

06 Hualin Zen Temple

If people of the older generation knew that I was taking pictures unscrupulously in a quiet place of Buddhism, I would probably be immersed in it. It's a pig cage.

Something happened at Hualin Zen Temple that made me laugh or cry: I went to Guangzhou this weekend to see an old classmate whom I hadn’t seen for a long time. He went to Hualin Zen Temple with me. It was close to noon, and he said that he saw that there were vegetarian meals available in the temple cafeteria. I said I would follow you there to take a look. Because I was observing the scenery of the temple along the way, I was a few steps behind my classmate. Unexpectedly, he went directly into the temple cafeteria. I also opened the lid of someone else's pot, but was scolded by Miao Zhu. When I realized that Miao Zhu was scolding us two, I was filled with 10,000 grass mud horses galloping in my heart. I would not cheat my teammates like this (embarrassed face + innocent face) ).

Guangzhou is a very tolerant city. You can see office workers in a hurry and old Guangzhou neighbors enjoying their morning tea leisurely. You can see tall buildings rising from the ground and antique arcades. Xiguan Mansion, when you walk carefully in this city, you will find traces of the great history of this city in every little corner and detail.