Old households and old teahouse in the old streets
The two old streets named Kuanxiangzi Street and Zhaixiangzi Street has become an important tourist destination for a lot of travelers from home and abroad. Apart from several characteristic hostels, a variety of households and old teahouses are another things worthy of visiting.
If you are a traveler roaming about the old streets, you may be engrossed by the leisure life style of the residents there. There is a row of single-story houses along the Kuanxiangzi Street, Where the aged people are usually seen lying on a bamboo-woven chairs, being accompanied with cats. In summer they enjoy the cool under the Chinese parasol while in winter they read book outside their houses, bathing the winter sunshine. Since Kuanxiangzi Street and Zhaixiangzi Street are worn out by years without repair, most of buildings there are dilapidated. Moreover, the proliferation of the residents made the former quadrangle become the courtyards occupied by many households. These courtyards built in the Qing Dynast (1644-1911) were the abodes of superior Baqi commanders originally, which are occupied by the most ordinary people in Chengdu. No.19 of Kuanxiangzi Street is a typical building combined western and oriental architectural style. In the center of its courtyard there is small terrace around which was a circle of Chinese style single-story houses lived by servants in the past. And the main body in the courtyard is three-story building with a peak roof like the church while its window frames were carved in Chinese style. Although very old and shabby, there are over ten households living harmoniously in it Mrs. Wang, a resident of this courtyard, has lived here for nearly 20 years and gets along well with all her neighbors. She said because of the reconstruction, all of them will move to their new houses but they all hate to part with each other.
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