Colors are the key words that help us understand why Shajiabang, a small water town with a population of 40,000 has attracted 1.1 million tourists in 2008.
A tourist walks toward the Revolutionary Museum of Shajiabang on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Red
Red is the color of blood. A red tour in Shajiabang will tell you stories about locals who sacrificed both blood and lives to defend their homeland during World War II when Japanese troops invaded China.
Shajiabang, a historical town in eastern China's Jiangsu Province has become well-known throughout the country since its namesake modern Peking opera debuted in the 1960s.
The opera is based on real events that happened during the war time when locals bravely fought against the Japanese aggressors alongside the Chinese army amid Shajiabang's maze-like reed marshes.
Playwrights created all the opera's main roles based on the legendary experiences of several people such as a grandmother who helped wounded Chinese soldiers escape from a Japanese manhunt.
A historical museum in the front section of the Shajiabang scenic area will tell you all that real stories behind the modern Peking opera.
But according to Yuan, a tour guide who works in Shajiabang, people will find more than that. For the middle-aged and senior citizens who are familiar with the opera, the museum can conjure up more memories. For youngsters, the museum will teach them something new and encourage them to be brave.
Chinese over the age of 50 who visit the museum can recall their childhoods when entertainment was so limited that eight operas, including "Shajiabang", were widespread in China. Even children in kindergarten can perform selections from those operas today. Some still remember the "Battle of Wits" or "Zhidou", the most famous part of the opera "Shajiabang".
As for young people, they can get better understanding of the period when the Chinese sacrificed all their belongings, including their blood and lives, to defend their motherland.
In addition, a training camp has been set up in the Shajiabang scenic area, where students can go for outbound training after being inspired by the stories of brave local heroes told in the museum.
The photo, taken on July 15, 2009, shows a green reed marsh in Shajiabang, a water town in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Green
Green is the color of water plants such as reeds. A green tour in Shajiabang means traveling amid reed marshes on boat and enjoying both fresh air and a sense of peace.
Taking a ride of wooden boat amid the maze-like reed marshes, listening to birds singing and insects crooning, pole fishing by the lake, or picking lotus seedpods with your hands??all these activities will make people forget their busy and boring routines in cities and revive themselves soon.
"Reeds can help better purify water," said Gu Yongzhong, the vice general-manager of the Shajiabang scenic area. "And reed marshes are a kind of nature's gift to us. We will devote much effort to environmental protection and ecological balance so as to attract more tourists to come to Shajiabang to relax."
To that end, the scenic area, covering more than 4,000 mu (or about 267 hectares) will include another 1,000 mu of wetlands, in which water plants such as lotus and reeds will be planted, and reptiles such as tortoises and crocodiles will be raised, Gu said.
Because Shajiabang is located in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, residents of the big cities of the Yangtze River Delta, the most developed region in China, can easily access the enlarged wetland park there. Thanks to a comprehensive highway network, a one- or two-hour drive returns people to nature's embrace.
The photo, taken on July 15, 2009, shows various wines on display in Weng's wine shop, a well-known store in Shajiabang, a water town in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Golden
Golden is the color of autumn and harvest. In the golden season of autumn, mature crabs attract tens of thousands of tourists from both home and abroad to Shajiabang, a water town by Yangcheng Lake, which is famous for freshwater crabs.
"During the peak season, mainly in October and November, when people flock to Shajiabang for "dazhaxie" (hairy crabs), we are usually very busy and tired," said Huang Xingbao, a woman who rows boat for tourists in Shajiabang. "Sometimes we are too busy to have our dinner."
Besides eating the crabs, many visitors will take some crabs back home to share with family and friends.
"On weekends (during the peak season), we can sell over 200 kilograms crabs every day," Pan Lijun, a local restaurant owner in Shajiabang told CRI reporters.
To ensure the quality of the crabs, the local government has done much work, including inviting experts to give free lectures to crab raisers. Now most crab raisers there have replaced artificial feedstuff with natural food such as river snails and corn.
Pan Lijun said proudly that crabs produced in Shajiabang are now a "green food."
Another flavor tourists cannot miss in Shajiabang is also a golden one??guihua (or sweet-scented osmanthus) wine. People can find the light drink with a sweet scent in Weng's wine shop (Weng-Jia-Zao-fang), a shop that uses only ancient techniques to make wine out of grain.
The shop owner is a nice man who lets tourists sample all the wines in his shop and will not get angry if they do not buy any bottles after sampling.
The photo, taken on July 15, 2009, shows wine jugs in Weng's wine shop, a well-known store in Shajiabang, a water town in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
The photo, taken on July 15, 2009, shows the signboard of Weng's wine shop, a well-known store in Shajiabang, a water town in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
