Separated by water?

I can’t help but think that if I had just seen it for the first time, in my mind Huludao would be a steaming sea market full of pros and cons.

Huludao has a deep relationship with Mount Putuo. In the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), Putuo Mountain established township-level political power for the first time. The following year, in 1935, Huludao was merged into Putuo Mountain Township. At the end of 1958, the People's Commune was established. The Putuoshan Township Government was changed to the Putuoshan Brigade, the Putuoshan Management Area (including Huludao) was established, and was included in the Shenjiamen People's Commune. In 1961, the Putuoshan Management Area was restructured into the Putuoshan People's Commune. In 1963, Huludao was separated from the Putuoshan People's Commune and established as an independent commune. In 1984, it was renamed Huludao Township.

In my memory, the gourd boat was the main means of transportation from Mount Putuo to Shenjiamen. Many mornings, I put on beautiful clothes and followed the adults to wait at the head of Tuangu Road early. People were talking and looking in the direction of Huludao. With a long sound, the ship docked, and the crew lowered the long and narrow gangplank from the ship.

People crowded towards the gangplank, and the voices of adults and children calling, the crew’s on-site command, and the sound of waves lapping on the coast were all heard together. After everyone got on the boat, the gangplank was withdrawn to the boat, and it slowly drove away from the dock and headed towards the Shen family gate. This situation lasted until the Putuoshan Passenger Terminal was completed and put into operation in the early 1980s.

There is such a folk story circulating in Putuo Mountain. When Chiang Kai-shek came to Mount Putuo to worship, on his way to Huiji Temple (Foding Mountain) in a sedan chair, he pointed to the small island opposite and asked the sedan bearer: What island is in front of you? The bearer was a local resident and immediately replied: Huludao. In Zhoushan dialect, "gourd" and "roadless" are homophonic. Chiang Kai-shek, who was in the middle of the war, felt unlucky after hearing this, and finally gave up Zhoushan and chose Taiwan Island.

The elders of the previous generation spoke in a clear and precise manner and could accurately name the bearers. Referring to relevant historical data, Chiang Kai-shek climbed Mount Putuo four times to visit and worship Buddha. If it is true that he went to Huiji Temple in a sedan chair as the folk say, it should be on May 11, 1949, when he went to the island for the third time.

According to Chiang Ching-kuo’s diary:

According to historical records, in view of the strategic military status of the Zhoushan Islands, the Kuomintang listed the Zhoushan Islands as a key defensive forward position in East China. Chiang Kai-shek was determined to hold on to the Zhoushan Islands. Proposing the slogan "Defend Zhoushan", he wanted to build Zhoushan into a "rejuvenation" base for "counterattack" on the mainland, and visited Dinghai several times to supervise the battle.

Every time I take the cable car slowly down from Foding Mountain and see the gourd-shaped Huludao in the opposite sea, I think of the allusion between "gourd" and "roadless". Even if this folk legend spread in Putuo Mountain is true, it cannot be the main reason why Chiang Kai-shek gave up Zhoushan and moved to Taiwan with his dream of "counterattacking the mainland". But in my mind, the closeness between Huludao and Mount Putuo has increased.

The first time I went to Huludao was probably in the late 1980s. I followed my second uncle to visit relatives. My second uncle first asked me, would I get seasick? I said, no. I still have this little bit of confidence. I have never gotten seasick when traveling to and from Shenjiamen. We took a boat on the island fishermen at Tuan Kwu Road. The boat was very small and could only accommodate 4-5 people. What impressed me most was that not long after the boat left the pier, I vomited. Now I know that this section happened to be in the Lianhuayang area, and the wind and waves were extremely strong.

We stayed one night on the island. I can’t remember many details. I only remember that it was full of fishy smell, and it was very lively with many buildings built. The houses were very close to each other. People talked loudly, with the cheerful enthusiasm unique to fishermen. They are also islands, only 1.4 kilometers apart, but the living environment here is completely different from that of Mount Putuo.

At that time, it was normal for Putuoshan people to have relatives and friends in Huludao. Before Putuo Mountain was rebuilt and opened to the public, the living standards of fishermen were relatively high, so it was common for girls from the mountain to marry on the island. Whenever people from the island come to visit relatives and friends in the mountains, they always bring some dried shrimps, cuttlefish and other fish products, making their neighbors envious.

So I have always had a long-cherished wish to visit Huludao, which has long been blurred in my memory.

I finally made the trip with my friends a few days ago. We set off from Shenjiamen Duntou Pier. There were about 30 people on the boat, most of them old people. According to the crew, the number of passengers per day is fixed at 20-30 people. There are hundreds of people living on the island, the youngest of whom is nearly 60 years old. They basically go to Shenjiamen and Donggang to purchase some daily necessities, or to Look at the children and grandchildren who live there.

After sailing for about 50 minutes, the boat sailed along the sea from the south to the northeast of Mount Putuo. Putuoshan Pier, Nanhai Guanyin, Fanyin Cave, Baotuo Temple... We admired these familiar scenery from a different angle and looked for their different beauty. This is an extra surprise during this trip to Huludao.

About 80 minutes later, the sailing ship docked. After a commotion on the ship, the passengers were carried ashore with their hands on their shoulders. In front of us is a flat cement road, an open gravel beach, and row upon row of buildings built against the mountain. However, we did not feel the curiosity and joy of seeing the unfamiliar scenery after arriving. Instead, we felt heavy and depressed, because everything we saw was dilapidated and gloomy.

General stores, cold storages, cultural centers, shops along the streets... these vaguely identifiable buildings have witnessed the island's former prosperity.

During the most prosperous period of Huludao, the 0.95-square-kilometer island was home to more than 900 households and nearly 3,000 people. There was a hospital of more than 400 square meters, a complete primary school for 360 people, and a 430-seat theater... ..

With the implementation of the policy of relocating small islands to large islands, residents on the islands have moved to the main island. The former primary school has been turned into a nursing home, the shops along the street are covered with moss, and the cultural center is almost in ruins. , only Thean Hou Temple is still gorgeous and colorful, becoming a unique beauty in the gloomy scenery of the island. It is said that the incense is still strong on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month.

As a famous and wealthy fishing village back then, the residents of the island made great contributions to the development of Zhoushan’s fishery industry. For example, the people on the island created a unique method of deep-water pile driving and netting based on local sea conditions; they raised funds to build a small power plant, and were one of the first villages in the Zhoushan Islands to turn on electric lights and develop motorized fishing boats in batches; shrimp towing and net fishing technology It advanced and became Zhoushan's famous hometown of shrimp.

The former prosperity here has become history, and today's dilapidation will also become history. Only the ebb and flow of tides, beaches and rocks have become the eternal scenery here. The sea area in front of us was once the main battlefield for local residents to make a living and develop. Now, in our eyes, it is an indispensable scenery of the island. The beach here has sand and pebbles. Taking advantage of the special geographical location across the sea from Mount Putuo, the landscape on the northeast side of the mountain becomes the scenery on the sea level here, which is very colorful. We relaxed and enjoyed the unique natural scenery here.

On the boat back, we met an old man who was nearly 70 years old and born and raised in Huludao. He had lived in Donggang for a while, and he had seen the world. He was wearing tight jeans and a plaid shirt, and his movements Agile and energetic, he told us about some people and things on Huludao, especially some past events on Mount Putuo.

According to him, Huludao people have contributed to the development of Mount Putuo. There used to be the ship repair yard of Huludao at the head of Tugu Road. The Huludao people took the overall situation into account and sold it to Putuoshan for 280,000 yuan. The Putuoshan people used the money to connect Huludao with submarine cables, which ended the diesel engine industry on the island. The history of power generation.

Huludao still does not have running water, and it still uses roof water connections to solve the water problem of residents on the island. The old man seemed a little confused when he said this. Those reservoirs and underground wells have not been disinfected for many years. I wonder if the water quality meets the drinking standards?

We asked the elderly, have they ever thought about retiring in Donggang? The old man replied that he left his hometown for the sake of his children, hoping to help them leave the island and establish themselves in Donggang. Now seeing that the younger generations are living a stable life, he thinks about returning to his roots and spending the rest of his life in peace with his old house on Huludao Island and a group of elderly people. . It is quiet and comfortable here, the cost of living is low, and it is more suitable for retirement.

Yes, except for the everlasting sound of waves, it is very quiet here. Time will eventually take away these persistent old people and all the marks of their lives. Without subsequent development and utilization, Huludao will eventually become an uninhabited desert island, just like many small islands in Zhoushan.

Everything has its chance. Although Putuo Mountain and Huludao are separated by a sea, they have performed different development processes in the same time, like a dog in the white clouds, which is really sad.

After I came back, I posted a photo on WeChat Moments. An old man was lying in the window of a house by the pier talking to us. One of my classmates who lives in Putuo Mountain left a message saying that the old man was a relative of hers.

I was not surprised at all, and thought to myself: A piece of clothing with water is like a root.