The streets of Hefei old town

Because of work, I came to Hefei on a hot summer day. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the place has become familiar from a stranger. Among the customs and customs of this city, what impressed me most was the streets of the old city. It’s not that the streets here are different, it’s just that you’ve been exposed to them a lot and you’ve developed feelings over time.

My daily work and life place is in the industrial area, which is located in the northeast corner of Hefei, far away from the bustling city and crowds, and has no atmosphere of life. I hate this kind of living environment and always choose to escape for a short time. So I often ride my favorite bicycle through the streets, lingering in the noisy streets and alleys, enjoying the quiet tree-lined paths, and wandering on the flat asphalt roads.

I always feel that the best part of Hefei is the old city full of fireworks. The small old city is surrounded by a ring-shaped open ring park. The park is full of evergreen trees all year round, and outside the park is a moat more than ten meters wide. There is a marble-paved path among the flowers, plants and trees in the garden. If you walk along it in the early morning, the sunlight passing through the dense forest will hit the dew-dropped leaves, and you can see the colorful leaves swaying in the breeze.

Speaking of Ring City Park, we cannot fail to mention Ring City Park Road. This is a two-way single-lane asphalt road that is quiet in the midst of the bustle. It is interspersed among the dense forests in the park and is a real boulevard. There is a two-meter-wide pedestrian path on the roadside, which is very neatly repaired and suitable for walking. Every summer night, there are always people walking slowly on the trail to cool off. With the dim lighting, if you press the camera shutter at this time, the photos will show the style of old photos from the Republic of China.

I love riding on the Ring Parkway. Although this road is a bit narrow and can only be driven on the outside of the motor vehicle lane, it is in good condition and friendly to road bikes and cyclists. If you are lucky, there will be a cool wind passing through the woods, carrying the natural fragrance of the vegetation. When you breathe it in, you will feel a great sense of comfort.

There is a bustling main road running east-west in the old city called Changjiang Road. It is said that this is the first road built in Hefei, but I have not verified it. But the old provincial government is on this road, and the highest-end shopping mall not far away is also on this road. I don’t think it can be faked. This road has been under repair since the first time I saw it, and it is still being repaired now. It has never stopped. In the middle of this year, the road that was riddled with holes due to subway construction was finally paved with asphalt and gravel, and the non-motorized lanes and sidewalks on both sides were also repaired. Yangtze River Road has a new look, but the iron gates of the empty government buildings are closed tightly, and the soldiers who were still on guard here the year before last are missing.

On the south side parallel to Changjiang Road, there is a road named after my hometown, called Anqing Road. The Chenghuang Temple in Hefei is on this road. The Chenghuang Temple section of the road is always very congested. Parking spaces were allocated on both sides of the original two-way two-lane road, so it became a two-way one-way road. The Chenghuang Temple and its surrounding buildings are in Huizhou style, simple and elegant. There is a time-honored non-staple food store on the west side of the South Gate entrance. The pastries and noodles inside are delicious and affordable. The adjacent facade room is a popular milk tea shop in Hefei. The decoration style is simple and elegant Nordic style. Order some noodles and drink the refreshing milk tea, and forget about the troubles of the world. Sitting in front of the grocery store makes it easier to keep an eye on the bikes, so my cyclist friends and I often use this place as a meeting point.

In addition to cycling, let’s talk about the streets we walk on. If you like shopping, then the Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street in the center of the old city is a good choice. In terms of shopping and eating alone, this pedestrian street is no different from pedestrian streets across the country, so I won’t go into details here. The difference is that there is a grand and dignified mansion in the center of this north-south street - the former residence of Li Hongzhang. I didn't go in to visit, I just watched from the outside. The tight and compact black bricks and tiles, and the carefully carved door tower windows make it look like a deep house. It's just that the stone lions on both sides of the door have been touched and become shiny, losing their majesty.

The street in front of the southern entrance to the pedestrian street is probably the slowest street in the old town. Probably because there are no traffic lights installed, and pedestrians entering the pedestrian street never give way to cars. Fortunately, our cycling party is not afraid of crowds. We can always find a way out of the crowds and successfully arrive at a milk tea shop we often visit.

Since I had the best milk cap so far in this store, it has become another meeting point for our rides. The owner of the store asked us if we could lose weight by cycling, and we joked: "You can't lose weight by cycling because you drink too much milk tea at home."

There are also impressive streets in the old town. There are a few, but I don’t go there often, so I won’t mention them. In fact, what I want to talk about more is the country roads in the counties in the west and south of Hefei. Especially in the spring and autumn, the woods and crops growing freely surround people, and the vast and full green makes people fascinated.