Recorded July 8,2010 at 11:09 A.M.
Secilia had gone to school here her whole life and shares her memories about the environment and how it has become an unforgettable part of her life.
Wen Miao Lu today is still a thoroughfare for young student as there are many schools along just this one street. Adolescent paraphernalia and school bookstores line the street enticing kids to spend their lunch money on the latest comic or anime video.
Amidst all of this life however is the serene Wen Miao temple where students, tourists, and locals alike can take a break from the sometimes overwhelming reality that lay just beyond its walls.
We are pleased to document and present this walk to you.
Photos by Shen Yi.
Here is an excerpt from the translation:
[09:47] Now we are going back to Wen Miao Road along Xue Gong Jie Street.
Road names in this area are beautiful, for example: ‘Meng Hua Jie’ [梦花街] . Other than this, ‘Xue Qian Jie’ [学前街] , names like these are like from love stories written by ‘Qiong Yao’ [琼瑶] , a famous Chinese love storywriter. There are other road names, which I can’t quite remember, but they are all beautiful. If you are not familiar with this area, you could easily get lost.
[11:10] After such a long walk, it is a pity we haven’t seen a photo booth yet. I spoke to some of my friends a couple of days ago to try to get them to come back here and take some photos again.
[11:40] We are now walking past ‘Kong Yi Ji’ Restaurant [孔乙己酒家] . Nearby, there is a high school, ‘Jing Ye Middle School’. I remember that before the college entrance exam, all hotels near this school were all booked with students and their parents. Many students studied inside their rooms before the exam. My classmates took the exam here in ‘Jing Ye Middle School’ as well. I didn’t take the exam since I was enrolled directly by a University. I just kept them company and walked with them to the examination hall. But I still have a lot of memories just wandering here.
From when I was in primary school all the way to high school, I attended activities and had classes in the activity center.
I have a lot of memories of this place even though I didn’t live on this road. Like this shop we are passing by, it is called ‘Xiao Cao Wu’ [小草屋] . It used to be near where I lived and then moved here. You can see a lot of straw fans hanging on the door there. Girls love to buy beautiful stationary from here. On Fridays and weekends, we loved visiting this place. I still remember a joke my friend told me, she said that, ‘Wen Miao was like our “private garden”’.
[13:18] Each time I come here, I see younger girls, probably in middle or high school visiting these shops. I have the feeling that this road has a deep connection with kids and youngsters. We grew up wandering on this road.
[13:51] Here is #128. Relatively speaking, we are close to the end here. Going on, we will see a residential area. Sometimes I still come here to catch a glimpse of the old Shanghainese lifestyle.
[14:24] Here we can see many clothes hanging out of the window, which is rarely seen on other roads. This road is called ‘Ban Jing Yuan Long’ [半径园弄] , which is also beautiful.
[14:54] At the end of the road, there used to be a ‘Xiao Long Bao’ restaurant, ‘Jia Jia Tang Bao’ [佳加汤包], which produced arguably the best ‘Xiao Long Bao’ in Shanghai. My friends and I would eat there from time to time, but it is a pity that the café moved somewhere else.
[15:30] I love this shop as well since they offer toys, idles, and gadgets. Sometimes I come here with my best friends, buy a few of these to hang on our cell phones, pen bags, backpacks, etc. I used to think that this was what friendship was.
(Street vendor: Bananas!…Bananas!…)
Wen Miao Lu
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