Archive Shi Tang Cun

Our Last Visit to Shi Tang Cun
originally posted June 30, 2011

Picture: Fish ball entrepreneurs on the streets of Shi Tang Cun, a village now part of Wuxi, China Picture: We're always fascinated by the way they make these into perfectly round balls without an actual mold. Wuxi, China

Picture: We love the textures and life on the streets in our little village. Wuxi, China

Picture: A huge pot of tasty snails, just one of the many street foods in Shi Tang Cun. China Picture: I find the crawfish too picky to be worth the trouble, but thousands disagree. Street food in Shi Tang Cun, Wuxi, China Picture: The shadows paint Chinese characters on the street. Shi Tang Cun, part of Wuxi, China
This is really Ruth's discovery. The shadows of the characters stopped her in her tracks.

The little village to the north of our campus is slated for the wrecking ball, no doubt to be replaced by soulless and characterless high rises and modern shops.

Picture: The main street of Shi Tang Cun, the little village near our campus, the next victim of urban renewal. Wuxi, China
Everything at the end of this block has already been reduced to rubble.

We went for our last meal at the Duck Restaurant. That's not its real name, but that's one of its specialties. We ate in the room where we had our wedding party last September. Our wedding decorations lasted until this visit, but now the room is stark and bare. It's sad to think that by the time we come back from our summer at home, our favourite restaurant and the street it sits on will be gone.

Picture: Panda, Devan, Ruth and Jin Bo at our table in "the Duck" restaurang in Shi Tang Cun
旧的不去，新的不来 - Old not go, new not come.

As Expected, "Our" Village is Gone

Picture: All that's left of restaurant row in Shi Tang Cun, Wuxi, China
When we left for the summer, this was a row of inexpensive restaurants. Now it's all that's left of the
village, and on its way out. -Ruth Anderson photos

The charmingly textured village of Shi Tang Cun, a touch of old China and our usual spot for a street barbeque close to our campus is now all but completely gone, along with the farmer's market and all the shops, stores and restaurants. Flattened. 旧的不去，新的不来。(jiù de bù qù, xīn de bù lái) Old not go, new not come, as the Chinese put it. In a country with so much antiquity, clinging to the past would be suffocating. But still we shall miss "our" village. A large and modern apartment complex is not much compensation.

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