Hefang Street in Hangzhou used to be one of the city’s most famous attractions — almost every visitor would come here. But during this visit, I felt that the place had lost much of its former vibrancy. It seemed very different from the Hefang Street I once knew. The entire street has become heavily commercialized, lined with shops selling all kinds of goods that feel out of place, turning what was once a historical and cultural street into more of a generic shopping district.
Aside from the few remaining traditional stores like Hu Qing Yu Tang and Fang Hui Chun Tang, as well as a handful of old restaurants, almost everything else has changed drastically. The surroundings are still familiar, and the area connecting toward the Drum Tower is quite nicely developed, but while the infrastructure looks good, the soul — the “software,” so to speak — feels missing.
I’ve been to Hefang Street dozens, maybe even hundreds of times, which is why the sense of decline feels particularly strong to me. Of course, this is just my personal impression — maybe there are still plenty of visitors on other days, and I just happened to go when it was quiet. Perhaps the area is going through a transformation, though whether it will succeed remains uncertain. Personally, I feel that the transformation has failed. In trying too hard to become a tourist-oriented “old street,” it has lost the historical and cultural essence that once defined it.
It no longer has that indescribable atmosphere…
0 留言