The History and Culture of Yangshuo West Street in Guilin

West Street is the most historic street in Yangshuo. West Street was founded on 1674. It faces the Lijiang River in the east, Dongling in the west and Lian Bi Peak in the west. Paved with local betel nut marble, it is dark and shiny, and the low brick house left over from the Qing Dynasty, with white walls and red windows, reveals the simplicity and elegance of Lingnan architecture.

At that time, the intersection was a part of the prosperous business center of the county, and the four major businesses were located in the corner of the intersection. Wan, who deals in daily necessities, tobacco and alcohol, Chen Gongxing, who is famous for selling southern goods and local products, and Pu Tongchang and Yuan 'an firms are all powerful Cantonese businessmen and tycoons in Yangshuo business circles. In addition, local businessman Liu Laixing plays an important role in Yangshuo's economic life. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Crossstreet Commercial Center gradually declined.

The western section of the early West Street was surrounded by a city wall, so it didn't go directly under the Gaoze Peak beside the highway as it is today. Going out of the city from West Street, you have to pass a small street opposite Jiangxi Guild Hall, called Xiheng Street, and turn to the main west gate. So Xiheng Street is actually a part of West Street.

Later, after the road from Guilin to Lipu was built, in order to get out of the city from West Street, a direct road was demolished from the city wall, and the earliest bus station was built next to it. At that time, in order to adapt to the trend, the section from east to west was renamed Xima Road. After the founding of New China, it was always called West Street. During the Cultural Revolution, it was renamed Dongfeng Road because it avoided the word "West", meaning "East Wind Overwhelms West Wind". It was not until 1982 that the old name was restored.

Yangshuo West Street is the earliest place where Chinese and Western cultures contacted and merged in Yangshuo. Christianity was introduced to Yangshuo around 19 17, and was preached by Li Shaogeng and his wife. The place was rented in a private house in the east of West Street, and dozens of people joined the church. At that time, the British missionary Chen Fayan, who was in charge of the Guiliu section (in Chinese), often passed by Yangshuo and visited Mr. Li's house. He played the accordion and sang poems at the entrance of Jiangxi Guild Hall in West Street to attract the masses and preach, attracting crowds all over the street. Therefore, people in Yangshuo West Street were the first to contact foreigners.

Mr. and Mrs. Li Shaogeng studied in Wuzhou Kendo School in their early years (a school established by the Union Bible Theological Seminary in Wuzhou). After graduation, they went to various places to preach and teach. They settled in Yangshuo in the 1930s. After the July 7th Incident, refugees from enemy-occupied areas fled south in succession. At that time, the Guangxi provincial government set up the Refugee Relief Committee, and Yangshuo also set up branches accordingly. Out of love for socialism, Mr. Li took an active part in relief work and was responsible for refugee reception. One day, Ma Zesheng, English proofreader of Shanghai Commercial Press, was found in the refugee register. Unfortunately, when Mr. Li was thinking about the national disaster, all the useful people became refugees. Through the interview, ask him to be a tutor, teach some English to the children, and solve the children's life problems. At that time, some business owners in West Street also sent their children to study after hearing the news. Due to the increasing number of people consulting, Mr. Ma moved the class to Guangdong Guild Hall (Ma Zesheng is from Panyu, Guangdong) to continue teaching. The textbook used was published by Zhong Zheng Bookstore and was widely used in Guilin Middle School at that time. This is the first English class in the history of Yangshuo. In the class, a man named Li Chunmao made rapid progress in English. Soon, he designed billboards in Chinese and English for Xilin Photo Studio in West Street, which was regarded as the first English signboard in West Street.

Some institutions of Nanjing Academia Sinica of the National Government also moved south to Yangshuo, and most of them settled in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall behind the gymnasium at the end of West Street to continue their research work. Among them, the researchers of the Institute of History and Biology have a high level of education and love sports very much. They often hold basketball and football training and competitions with local people.

Another group that moved south to Yangshuo was a foreign language cram school for officials of the National Government. This class is specially designed for the national government to train military attaché s and military representatives and translators abroad. It has five languages: English, French, German, Japanese and Russian. Teachers are mainly from China, and some foreigners are employed to teach. Famous scientists in China, such as Li Siguang and Zhu Kezhen, have taught and lectured in foreign language classes. At that time, the top of Lian Bi Mountain and West Street were full of foreign voices, which was another scene.

The foreign language class was held in Yangshuo for about half a year, then moved to Chongqing and moved back to Nanjing after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.

In addition, there is an "enemy people's refuge" that moved to Yangshuo. They are nationals of Germany, Japan, Italy and other countries. The United States and Britain troops stationed in Guilin often come to Yangshuo, and West Street has become a distribution center for multinational personnel. At that time, Yangshuo County soared from more than 2,500 people to 1 10,000 people, with mixed personnel and a combination of Chinese and Western. This is the most glorious period in the history of Yangshuo West Street.

Celebrities from all walks of life who went to Yangshuo at that time included Ms. He Xiangning, General Song, Liu Yazi, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun and many other revolutionaries and cultural celebrities. Art masters Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi and Huang Dou once lived in West Street, and they all created paintings with Yangshuo and Lijiang as their themes.

When visiting Yangshuo, the famous patriotic overseas Chinese leader had a cordial conversation with a pupil named Chen in West Street and took a group photo as a souvenir. At that time, the media praised him as "patriotic overseas Chinese met their compatriots in the motherland, and Chen Chen's family happened to meet Shuo Cheng on a blind date", adding a much-told story to West Street.

After the founding of New China, Sino-Soviet relations were in a good stage. In the mid-1950s, some Chinese aid experts from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries also visited Yangshuo from time to time, which was the first foreigner to visit Yangshuo after liberation. At that time, the famous Soviet oil painter Maksimov and some photographers had been to Yangshuo. The Soviet Union's Crocodile Pictorial and Soviet Pictorial have published works of art and photos of Shuidongmen Wharf and West Street in Yangshuo.

In 1960s, there were fewer foreigners visiting Yangshuo, but some delegations came to Yangshuo as distinguished guests. The most important of them are Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh, Danish Queen Elizabeth, Nepali TiBista and Cambodian Prince Sihanouk. After they landed at Yangshuo Wharf, most of them visited West Street on foot, and the people of Yangshuo consciously lined the streets to welcome them. The most frequent visitor is Prince Sihanouk.

From 1970s to 1990s, nearly 40 heads of state and government visited West Street. Numerous foreign guests are parliamentary leaders, vice presidents, deputy prime ministers and cabinet ministers. Former US Presidents Nixon, Carter and George H.W. Bush went to Yangshuo and strolled in West Street. Carter and his wife even go sightseeing by bike in the street. They all praised the scenery and folk customs of Yangshuo. 1998 After President Clinton visited Yangshuo Fishing Village and West Street on July 2nd, there was a upsurge of Yangshuo West Street at home and abroad.

West Street is a perfect combination of Chinese and Western cultures. Historically, except for a few shops, most residents of West Street were farmers. For a long time, they have maintained a semi-commercial and semi-agricultural state of "semi-rural and semi-store, which can be used for business and farming", making Xijie people form a dual character of being open-minded in the city and loyal in the village. Although West Street has become the main tourist service street in Yangshuo, people in West Street still maintain their simple character. West Street still maintains a quaint and charming antique: a dark blue stone road, two rows of low brick houses left over from the Qing Dynasty, and the Jiangxi Guild Hall, which is carved with beams and painted buildings, exudes a touch of antique and a strong antique. Walking into West Street is like walking into a neat farm yard. You will be warmly received, you will buy China-style goods with good quality and low price, you will taste delicious Chinese and western food, and you will feel at home. In West Street, you don't have to worry about being ripped off. People say that West Street is full of excellent ancient customs in China.

In the early 1970s, Yangshuo County was officially opened to the outside world. After enjoying the scenery of Lijiang River, many western tourists came to Yangshuo and accidentally walked into West Street, and found that there was such a charming small street among the beautiful mountains and rivers. Just as Columbus discovered the New World, these westerners wrote down their novel and superficial impressions of West Street in travel guides published by western countries. In the 1980s, self-help tours flourished, and western self-help tourists came to West Street one after another. These westerners, who are physically and mentally exhausted by the hustle and bustle and fast-paced work in the west, seem to have found a harbor to rest here. Many western tourists are crazy about West Street. Some live here for a few days, some live for ten days a month, and some even live for half a year or several years; In the past two years, more than 10 million self-help tourists have come to West Street every year. The reputation of West Street is getting louder and louder, and it has become a street with rich traditional culture of China and distinctive western characteristics.

West Street is the biggest English corner in China. Although Xijie has been learning foreign languages for more than 60 years, the real upsurge of learning foreign languages was in the 1980s. With the increase of foreign guests, people in West Street learn English spontaneously in order to do business and cope with western tourists, and both men, women and children participate. From 65438 to 0993, a young man named Owen came to Yangshuo alone to seek development. He was fascinated by the foreign language atmosphere here and thought it was the best place for foreign language teaching in the world. Through unremitting efforts, he founded a private buckland Commercial Foreign Language School. Six years later, the school has begun to take shape, with more than 500 teachers and students, including foreign teachers, and trained a large number of foreign language practical talents. At the same time, it also provides an ideal place for foreigners to learn the traditional culture and art of China and the East, which has been widely concerned and recognized by Chinese and foreign media. Buckland's oral training camp and computer room are located in West Street. American Yaxi International Education Consulting Company also set up camp in Yangshuo. These schools and units provide foreign teachers for Yangshuo and Guilin and train business English talents.

1999 During the summer vacation, the Yangshuo county government invited Mr. Li Yang, the founder of Crazy English Teaching Method, to open an "English Summer Camp" in Yangshuo, and more than 600 people flocked to sign up. Due to the quota limit, many people have no choice but to come. At that time, the restaurants, bars and cafes in the whole West Street were crowded. They learn languages from foreign tourists in Yangshuo and discuss the differences between Chinese and western cultures. During this period, 10,000 domestic tourists came to visit, which made the originally quiet West Street really hot for some time.

In West Street, most operators know English, and people in West Street can often be seen talking or chatting with western tourists fluently in English. Even women in their seventies or teenagers can talk with foreigners in English. Many western tourists say that they don't feel strange when they come to West Street, and they can communicate with local people without painting their feet. The English environment in West Street has also attracted many foreign language students and some people who are going abroad to practice English in West Street and enjoy the English environment of not going abroad. After visiting West Street, some professional authorities decided that West Street is the largest natural English corner in Chinese mainland at present.

West Street is a hotbed of transnational marriage and love. The cultural exchange between the East and the West has gradually changed the conservative traditional concepts, especially the concept of marriage and love. Many young people in the streets have accepted the idea that love has no national boundaries. Also, due to more westerners' visits and contacts, street people seem to gradually dilute the difference between "locals" and "foreigners". More importantly, many westerners often come to West Street or live in West Street for a long time, so that boys and girls in West Street have the opportunity to get in touch with and understand western boys and girls and have the conditions to cultivate their feelings, which leads to frequent stories of transnational marriage and love. In the 1990s 10 period, there were more than 100 pairs of transnational mandarin ducks, among which the boys in West Street or those who worked in West Street married foreign wives, the girls married foreign husbands, and several pairs were western boys who came to West Street as door-to-door sons-in-law. Many people in West Street are busy going abroad to visit relatives in their spare time, and bravely say that with convenient transportation and communication, it is easier to visit relatives in Europe than in the past. Some westerners who can't afford to be sons-in-law and daughters-in-law in West Street simply move their families to West Street for a long time. By the end of 2 0 12, more than 2 0 foreigners had settled or done business in West Street, and quite a few western restaurants in West Street were run by foreigners. Therefore, people nicknamed West Street "Global Village".

West Street has become a new cultural landscape in Yangshuo. In recent years, the "foreign phenomenon" in West Street has become the focus of media tracking. CCTV and some influential media at all levels and even in the west have introduced West Street to people in large quantities, which makes people itch and want to see it. Many people use holidays to help the elderly and take care of the young to "see the west street"; Many foreign schools organize English "summer camps" and "winter camps", and crowds of students flock to West Street. People in West Street, with their simplicity and faithfulness, receive these "fellow villagers" from nearby and rural cities like foreign guests. Some people who seldom meet foreigners often feel uneasy when they first come to West Street. In fact, it is unnecessary to worry about going to West Street. West Street people are very considerate of "fellow villagers", and all places marked in foreign languages are equipped with Chinese; If you want to talk to foreigners, try your foreign language level. As long as you explain it to the shopkeeper or waiter, they will enthusiastically "match the bridge" for you. If you want to eat western food, the waiter will also tell you how to hold a knife and fork and how to cut the steak. A northeast girl who came to West Street for the first time put it well: "Foreigners feel at home when they come here, so we China people are still struggling!"