http://www.yayacui.com The Lane is not in Seclusion I first learned about the lane in Mr. Lu Xun's "Talks on the Business of Lanes", "Job's tears almond lotus seed porridge!" "Rose white sugar Lunjiao cake!" "Shrimp meat wonton noodles!" "Five-spice tea eggs!" These were the cries of street vendors inside and outside the lanes that he remembered from the 1920s, when he first arrived in Zhabei, Shanghai. He thought these slogans were both beautiful and artistic, making people "drool at the sound." I am an old Beijinger, and have always lived in the hutongs. The hutongs in Beijing are all oriented north-south or east-west, as straight as the character of northerners. Old Beijingers often say there are three thousand six hundred famous hutongs, and countless unnamed ones. When I was young, I often played in the hutongs, where there were also old Beijing rules. The first time I left the hutong and entered the lane was when I was in elementary school, accompanying my grandfather to Shanghai. It was the plum rain season in March, and the drizzle fell incessantly. Before long, a downpour came howling. In no time, it washed the winding alleyways empty of people, gathering the passersby under the eaves of the lanes. The rain poured down, lulling the streets to sleep, but awakening the sleepy lanes. The previously quiet lane suddenly came alive before my eyes. The mottled stone walls, mixed with the sound of the rain, danced together with the shadows of people in front of me. The lane, sometimes straight and sometimes curved, like American blockbusters, stretched from one end to the far distance, connecting one end of Shanghai to the other. All of Shanghai was surrounded by lanes, just like a mother's arms embracing her child. When I returned to Shanghai many years later, this time during a business trip break, I went to Nangxiang Town. I got off in a bustling commercial area, and after asking a passerby on the street, I found out that the ancient town was hidden in this bustling commercial area. Following the directions of the passerby, I arrived at Nangxiang Town. As I entered the ancient town, a fresh fragrance greeted me. It was after the rain, and the wood soaked in the rain emitted a unique smell, faintly blending into the air, refreshing the heart and lungs. My entire being immersed in this fragrance was absolutely wonderful. This article comes from the Youth Digest website http://www.yayacui.com