Foreword: Walking into Shajiabang and encountering Yanyu Jiangnan

Many well-known places, places you once looked forward to, will come as scheduled in your daily life. Admittedly, it will not forget, nor will it hinder it because of the mountains and the long road.
Today, I finally walked into Shajiabang. From the north at sunrise to Jiangnan in the evening, I met here with the misty rain Jiangnan that I yearned for when I was young.

Aerial photography of Shajiabang

I prefer small bridges and flowing rivers in the south of the Yangtze River, old streets full of memories, and some unique local specialties and delicacies. This time we came to a condensed Jiangnan area called Shajiabang. This place is not only the name of the scenic area, but also the local place name. It is located in the southeast of Changde City, Jiangsu Province, near the bank of Yangcheng Lake. It is also a 5A-level tourist attraction. Here, we can feel the small bridges and flowing water in the south of the Yangtze River. Of course, the cultural heritage here is also very profound, and it is also a tourist resort. You need to slowly taste and watch it.
Many people know the classic Shajiabang and Aqing Sister-in-law, but they don't necessarily know that Shajiabang is in Changshu and the high-speed railway was opened this year.

Shajiabang is not only a national wetland park, but also one of the 100 classic red tourism scenic spots in the country. The transportation in this scenic spot is very convenient. Tourists can watch the macro scene of reed swamps in the scenic spot. It is also the scene of some large-scale live-action dramas, such as "Let the Bullets Fly", which plays a wonderful anti-Japanese story for us. In general, only by experiencing and savoring it for yourself can you know how enjoyable it is to play here.

This scenic spot is unique and makes full use of the region's green ecological environment, revolutionary history, and folk culture experience to develop tourism. There are also a lot of delicious food here. It is a unique Yangtze River Delta region. A good place for leisure and vacation. Standing on the stone bridge of Shajiabang, I was very moved. I finally had the opportunity to experience such a poetic place and love such a life. It reminded me of the condensed West Lake here. Standing on the bridge, I thought of the legendary story of the White Lady meeting Xu Xian on the broken bridge.

Shajiabang is not only suitable for playing, but also suitable for experiencing life. It also shows the unique characteristics of Jiangnan. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery here on foot or choose to enjoy it by boat. Just looking at the environment here makes me fall in love with the characteristic scenic spots here, which are unforgettable. For example, the Historical Memorial Hall vividly displays the revolutionary martyrs of Shajiabang. The reed Maze, as the center of the scenic spot, also makes tourists enjoyable. Experience the charm of a reed swamp. The film and television base interprets the characteristics of Jiangnan towns. In spring, you can listen to dramas, taste tea, and enjoy a comfortable life. Being in this small town, life slows down and my heart becomes calm.

This scenic area really makes good use of existing natural resources to create a tourist area rich in Jiangnan fields. Here, you can also taste casual delicacies such as hairy crabs in Jiangnan. Such a comprehensive tourist area not only has rich cultural and historical heritage, but also has beautiful natural scenery, and the folk experience is even more commendable. There can always be a habitat that people aspire to, and Shajiabang is the habitat I aspire to.

Experience the Thousand Crab Banquet

This time we ate Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, a specialty of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, but not in Yangcheng Lake, but in Shajiabang in Changshu. This hairy crab is very authentic and is also a national landmark product in China. Yangcheng Lake in Jiangsu Province is a freshwater lake. The hairy crabs cultivated in the waters of this freshwater lake are of excellent quality and delicious taste, making them the most authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs. Such hairy crabs with delicious meat make them greedy. It is said that female crabs in the ninth month of the lunar calendar and male crabs in October are also the gluttonous delicacies in Jiangnan. Such seasonal delicacies should not be missed. This time, I finally tasted the male crabs in October.

On October 15, 2020, the 21st Shajiabang Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab Food Culture Festival Thousand Crab Banquet was held at Hengjing Old Street in Shajiabang Scenic Area, Changshu. The purpose of this Thousand Crab Banquet Food Festival was to allow more people to eat the most authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, which at the same time also enhanced the popularity of Shajiabang Scenic Area.

One of the most famous activities is held only once a year, and it even rained continuously this time, but it still did not change people's expectations for the Thousand Elderly Banquet. The guests who came to participate in the event included not only travelers from all over the world, but also leaders from Shajiabang, general manager of Jintang Crab Industry Company, and representatives of Changshu Self-Media Alliance. Everyone came here to taste the authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.

This year is a special year, so the scale of this Thousand Crab Banquet is not very large, but the atmosphere at the scene is still very high. Various performances and interactive sessions are very interesting. Those lucky enough to participate in the interactive sessions can also get living hairy crabs. Some Aqing sisters-in-law perform on stage wearing blue cloth clothes with printed elements, carrying hairy crabs in their hands or holding small woven baskets. They all have unique characteristics. Some Aqing sisters-in-law shuttle between diners and are very hospitable.

While participating in the interactive activity, my friend next to me got a burly hairy crab. Unconsciously, I finally arrived at my favorite part to eat the hairy crab. The hairy crab table was like a long table banquet. Everyone gathered together and started eating on a long table covered with blue printed tablecloth. The main character of the Thousand Crab Banquet is hairy crabs, but the accompanying food is also very good. The dishes are beautifully placed. Whether it is steamed dumplings or steamed cakes, they look small and exquisite, and the dishes are light. Whether it is green vegetables or crayfish, there is no peppers embellishment, which is also the eating habit of people in Jiangnan.

Finally, I ate the hairy crabs, the protagonist of this long-table banquet. They were very large and occupied the entire steamer. The taste of Dazha is also very authentic, with a golden shell and tender and fat meat. It is worthy of being the hairy crab of Yangcheng Lake. Later, I also tasted Shajiabang reed rhizome tea. The tea water can also be used to wash away the flavor attached to hairy crabs. Such an activity that has interactive performances and can also eat authentic hairy crabs is extremely lucky to catch it, and the tip of your tongue is satisfied.

I loved Jiangnan when I was a boy, and finally came to Shajiabang in Changshu, Suzhou. I simply stayed here. The B & B in Luhua Bay, Jiangnan has a single-family B & B room for more than 5000 yuan a night. Of course, I have to experience it.
I didn't expect such a charming B & B in Luhua Bay in a scenic spot. I asked me to refresh my awareness of B & Bs in Luhua Bay. Such B & Bs are more like resorts. They not only have a beautiful environment, but also provide a good experience of the beautiful life of people in the south of the Yangtze River.

Walking into the B & B, this poetic beauty deeply attracted me. The outside of the B & B is surrounded by green. Compared with the nostalgic environment in Hengjing Old Street, the decoration style here makes people more integrated. Standing in a corner is a photo.

Walking into the B & B, you feel a strong antiquity, and the warm lights shine very sensitively. The design of several details is very beautiful, which has increased my liking for this B & B a lot. Some wooden furniture adds a retro feel to the place.

The suite I live in is 8113, and the name of the room is Nayuan, which has a little poetic. The suite I lived in was not only warm but also clean, and the vegetation grew luxuriantly outside the window of the sink. I recorded the beautiful environment at this time.

While participating in the interactive activity, my friend next to me got a burly hairy crab. Unconsciously, I finally arrived at my favorite part to eat the hairy crab. The hairy crab table was like a long table banquet. Everyone gathered together and started eating on a long table covered with blue printed tablecloth. The main character of the Thousand Crab Banquet is hairy crabs, but the accompanying food is also very good. The dishes are beautifully placed. Whether it is steamed dumplings or steamed cakes, they look small and exquisite, and the dishes are light. Whether it is green vegetables or crayfish, there is no peppers embellishment, which is also the eating habit of people in Jiangnan.

Taste Jiangnan cuisine

For dinner, we came to the Luyi Resort Hotel restaurant at the entrance of Shajiabang Scenic Area and wanted to try the very authentic Jiangnan Water Town cuisine. The authentic Jiangnan food is the standard of a table and costs a total of 800 yuan. Let's take a look.

Jiangnan is rich in aquatic products. Most people in Jiangnan eat seafood as their staple food, and the taste is relatively light, so most of the meat we eat is seafood. For example, the abalone with a small amount is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, salty and sweet on the inside, and has a good taste, but it is a little small. Secondly, there is steamed white shredded fish. The fish meat is delicious, but there are more fish bones. The steamed crab with hairy beans here is a combination of hairy beans and steamed crab that divides Xie in two, completely absorbing the delicacy of the crab.

Mature body shapes are more powerful to eat, and the embellishment of broccoli becomes decoration. The chicken we eat now is made from a pot passed down by local people. It is also the memory and taste of the people in the town. Naturally, we think that there are unforgettable memories of certain food. Spring water beef is a relatively novel way to eat it. This way, the small hot pot with not only vegetables but also beef attracts people's attention and tastes good.

The combination of meat and vegetables is the most perfect. Spicy chicken head rice tastes very good. It is fried with chicken head rice, various coarse grains and bacon. It is also a seasonal food in Jiangnan. One of the vegetarian dishes that can taste the aroma of meat is preserved mushrooms in abalone sauce. It not only satisfies the feeling of eating meat, but also is a good dish for people who lose weight. White fungus stewed snow lotus with chicken head rice is the only dessert here. It is sweet but not greasy, and it is also very beautiful.
Jiangnan cuisine really has a different flavor. Although it is still different from the eating habits in the north, it is okay to eat and seems to be more nutritious.

Be sure to sit on the cranking boat

Shajiabang Town has small bridges and flowing water, many pastoral cottages, and intertwined rivers and lakes. Such a concentrated little Jiangnan is inseparable from water. You can feel the beautiful scenery of Shajiabang by boat. It can also be said that it is here. The best way to feel water, a boat trip to Shajiabang gave me a different feeling. The visual feast on the water was more enjoyable.

I have experienced that yachts and rowing boats are not as enjoyable as sitting in a crankboat and enjoying the surrounding scenery. I have the honor to experience sitting on a hand-cranked boat and enjoying the beautiful scenery around Shajiabang. There are many tourists who choose a hand-cranked boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery around me. I like such covered boats very much. The wooden boats are full of retro feel. There is also a blue printed vest in the boat. Wearing the vest makes me a Jiangnan person again, and I am interested in starting my water journey.

Scenic views on water are very different from those on land. Scenic views on water are a lot of fun. Sitting on the cranking boat does not consume physical strength. Listening to the boatman telling the historical story here is very exciting. Several people sit together. You can talk to each other about your feelings about the beautiful scenery here. The adjacent cranking boats are a distance away and will not meet each other. Unconsciously, I stepped on a relatively narrow lake road section, and the reed swamps next to it were full of vitality, becoming a unique and beautiful scenery here.

After passing through the reed swamp maze by boat, the boatman told us the legendary story of the reed swamp, which aroused my patriotism. Not to mention the clear lake water in Shajiabang, the number of reed swamp groups is huge, and even the shade of the pavilion is also full of historical atmosphere. The small bridge here serves as the connection point between the two places, and the design shape is also very beautiful. On such a narrow lake, the vegetation next to it is quietly approaching me, making it very comfortable to be in the embrace of nature.

We came up along the narrow lake road and arrived at the place where we lived behind the New Fourth Army. This place retained its original appearance. We saw that the living environment here was very difficult, and the thin clothes they wore at that time were still preserved. There were also some very simple furniture. We cannot imagine that the New Fourth Army could survive under such difficult conditions at that time. It made us respect the anti-Japanese soldiers and brought us into that scene. Stop for a while and continue our lake sightseeing tour.

I also personally experienced rowing in a hand-cranked boat, and it felt quite good. I also took a photo with the boatman next to me. Along the way, he told us the story of this place in a cordial tone. If you want to see the scenery and ride a handboat, you should also observe the opening hours of the handboat in the scenic area. Jiangnan is really a place inseparable from water. It is better to see the scenery on the water. The experience of hand-cranking boats is also very good. I also felt the difficulty it was for the New Fourth Army. Such a town full of stories, every corner wants me to understand its story.

Walk into Hengjing Old Street and reminisce about nostalgia Jiangnan

Jiangnan, ancient towns, and old streets have always had an inexplicable feeling, which is also what many people on the road expect and remember deeply during their travels. In addition to the beautiful scenery in Jiangnan, the most memorable and yearning thing is the ancient streets and alleys. In the alleys, the delicious food left by time is still preserved. Even though time changes and time flies, those memories on the tip of the tongue will never change. Even though the times develop rapidly, this pure land still maintains its original intention and carries the dream of Jiangnan. This is an ancient street in Shajiabang in the small town of Jiangnan. There are always historical memories in ancient streets, and the old streets of Shajiabang are always exciting.

There is an old Hengjing Street deep in the reeds of Shajiabang. Walking in this small street is like walking on a historical street from the 1940s and 1950s. The houses here are old, and every corner is full of history. Some plants with tenacious vitality also climbed onto the roof, and the local people ignored it and let it grow tenaciously. It really had a unique flavor. In today's old streets, the old style is slowly transforming, and each brick is slowly losing its original shape. Looking back on the busy city, it was full of people. This place always reminds people that the old streets cannot be forgotten.

The sky is not beautiful, and it rained when we were playing here, but it did not affect our enthusiasm for viewing the beautiful scenery here. We still moved forward with the umbrella. Whether it is a small bridge or a bridge here, it has its own names, so that the surrounding people can be better connected. Because it rained, walking on the old streets adds a lot of charm and is a misty and rainy Jiangnan.

There are also various small shops on the old street. The small shops will be covered in various disguises to let you feel the bustling scene of the old street. The place is full of Jiangnan specialties, as well as ironsmiths, cloth dyeing workshops, etc. These small shops fully demonstrate the once prosperity of this old street. The posters hanging on the wall are very contemporary. The blacksmith shop completely shows the scenes from the 1940s and 1950s. The decoration of the shop is also full of retro feel, bringing us to the past where we couldn't go back.

The old street has taken on a completely new look after the rain. The plants here look more vibrant. You can also see a cloth dyeing workshop on the street. People in Jiangnan have a sincere preference for blue. The printed and dyed fabrics here are all blue. I think Hengjing Old Street was once a bustling scene. In my memory, the old street has also become a film and television base. Many film and television dramas were filmed here, such as "The King of Chinese Liquor"
"Jasmine" and others are filmed here. For the old street itself, it not only represents a period of history that could not be returned, but also shows the prosperity of the time. The old street cannot be lonely and forgotten. Even if the times change, it will still remain unchanged and serve as an old representative of the new era.