Dim sum in small steamer baskets
Menu of the food in 冶春茶社
This was the place where we ate our first Yangzhou breakfast. We were shocked by the amount of food we had on the table. It was literally lunch, except there were more buns and dim sum. Later on, we found out that Yangzhou people have a heavier breakfast because they only eat two meals a day. Also, there was one interesting food which caught my attention. It was the huge soup bun. The soup bun was on a plate and a straw came with it. Because it was so huge, we had to use the straw to poke into the bun and drink the soup first before eating. There were many other buns and dishes that were delicious. Some of us could not finish all the food on our table. We had a really full breakfast for our first morning in Yangzhou. This experience was a good one because we rarely ate such a full breakfast and enjoyed the delicacies in Yangzhou.
Rating: 4/5
Slender West Lake 瘦西湖 (船游24桥 机动船)
Entrance of Slender West Lake
Picture of the lake with a pavilion
The Slender West Lake is a man-made lake. It is similar to Hangzhou's lake which is bigger and a natural lake. Yangzhou is known for the women's beauty. I recall the tour guide saying it is named 瘦西湖 is because the lake is narrow and is beautiful like one of China's four ancient beauties named 西施. We took the boat along the lake and stopped at 24桥 where we got off the boat and walked around. There were many stories about the things in Slender West Lake which made us learn life lessons from it. The Slender West Lake is a good place for relaxation. Breathing in the fresh morning air helps has a soothing effect to our lungs. Not only can you relax, but you can also learn more about Yangzhou's literature and culture. This is the best place for a morning stroll. Only negative point is that there were quite a lot of people there.
Rating: 3.5/5
Dong Quan Men 东圈门历史街
Entrance of Dong Quan Men
Street of Dong Quan Men
One of the shops selling Yangzhou's famous three knives
Vehicles, such as motorcycles, were seen roaming around the cultural street
An ancient well spotted at Dong Quan Men
Dong Quan Men is an ancient street hidden in a secluded area. This street dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasty. This place was once homes to wealthy salt merchants. Now, only some of the houses are occupied while others are sealed and can only be seen from the outside. There are some shops selling items such as Yangzhou's three knives. As we walked further in, there were lesser people. As we reached the end of the street, there was a very narrow alley. We had the experience of walking through this very narrow alley which was quite fun as it was probably a one-in-a-lifetime experience since not many narrow alleys are around now. We heard many stories from the tour guide about the houses, the people, interesting things, like a well. It was a nice walk along the cultural street as we got to see the old houses and the culture being preserved.
Rating: 3/5
China Block Printing Museum 中国雕版印刷博物馆 & Yangzhou Museum 扬州博物馆
Size of China Block Printing Museum
Entrance to Yangzhou block painting exhibit
Procedures for block printing
There are many exhibits in Yangzhou Museum but the tour guide only showed us the blocking printing exhibit because as we heard from him, block printing is a culture of China so there is a need to preserve the history of block printing. He introduced the history of block printing to us and we even had a chance to watch people carve out the wood on a block and print the words on paper. I was amazed by the amount of time they had to carve out the block. I found out that if they write one wrong word, they have to redo the whole thing which requires large amount of time and patience. After that, we got to roam around the museum and visit other exhibits. If you want to find out more about China's block printing culture, you can come to the blocking printing museum and even watch the workers do it.
Rating: 4.5/5
Dong Guan Jie 东关历史文化街
Entrance to Dong Guan Jie
Traditional shop in Dong Guan Jie
A modern café in Dong Guan Jie
Dong Guan Jie is a old cultural street. There are many shops that sell traditional handicrafts and small items that are exquisite and handmade. The items sold there are cheaper than stuffs sold outside. There are many diminishing occupation which can be found in Dong Guan Jie too, such as the sugar art. We were given time to shop at Dong Guan Jie and I bought quite a lot of things because the designs are unique and the price is cheap. The shopping experience in Dong Guan Jie was one of the best times in Yangzhou because we got to walk around with our friends and shop together. The things sold in Dong Guan Jie were special too because we could hardly find any of those cultural items outside. It is highly recommendable to come to Dong Guan Jie for shopping cheap and unique items and witness the diminishing trades.
Rating: 5/5
老字号谢馥春的千秋粉黛表演
Introduction of 馥园 where the performance was held at
Before the performance started
Design on the wall
The 千秋粉黛 performance is to showcase the beauty of the women in Yangzhou after applying 谢馥春 makeup so customers can buy their products. This is one of the ways 谢馥春 attracts customers. During the performance, the women were dressed in traditional costumes and performed. One of them asked two people from our class to volunteer to go up and try to speak Yangzhou dialect. Others sang dialect songs or played instruments like 琵琶 and 竖琴. I noticed that our class almost took up the whole place and only a few more people were watching. I learn that 谢馥春 was once very popular in China but it's business got taken over by other more modern companies because 谢馥春 sells traditional makeup which lesser people are using now. The performance was quite boring since we did not know how to appreciate the music.
Rating: 2.5/5
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