Beihai Old Street generally refers to Zhongshan Road and Zhuhai Road. The old street was formed around 1927, but its origin dates back to the middle of19th century. Since then, a number of western-style buildings have been built in Beihai. After more than half a century of cultural integration, the arcade old street we see today has finally formed. These arcades are not simple copies of western architecture. From the deep cultural roots, they are the blood of the splendid civilization of the Chinese nation and the beautiful crystallization of the collision between eastern and western cultures.
The buildings in the old street are mostly two or three stories, which are mainly influenced by the western roller-type buildings such as consulates built in Beihai by Ye Ying and France and Germany at the end of 19. At most, the windows on the walls on both sides of the street are of rolled arch structure, and there are carved patterns on the outer edge of the rolled arch and the top of the window column, with smooth lines and exquisite workmanship. Different styles of decoration and relief on the wall facing the street form two groups of air sculpture corridors in the north and south. The arcade part of these buildings facing the street is not only an extension of the road to both sides, but also an extension of the road to the outside. People walking under the arcade can not only shelter from the wind and rain, but also avoid the hot sun. The square columns of the arcade are heavy and thick, quite in the style of ancient Roman architecture. The most wonderful part of the arcade building is the flower wall, and the rectangular composition of its lower part comes from the plaque of China building, which is not available in western architecture. The plaque should be a calligraphy attic or something, and it has evolved into a plum blossom relief here. The left and right sides of the plaque are also engraved with couplets, which are full of charm. Its original source is totem worship in Chinese tribes during the Yanhuang period. Yanhuang tribe worships dragons and phoenixes respectively, and puts the mascots of dragons or phoenixes on the top of the building. This mascot, like a main thread, runs through thousands of years of civilization in China. When it appeared on the Beihai arcade, it became more colorful.
There are many Tianmu in the upper part of the arcade, and the essence of this Tianmu lies in ethereal and garden. In China culture, the concept of emptiness has a very profound cultural connotation. The so-called infinity begets Tai Chi, Tai Chi begets two instruments, two instruments begets four images, and four images begets gossip. An empty space has spawned splendid oriental culture. This circle contains profound cultural and philosophical thoughts such as harmony between heaven and earth, unity of heaven and man, great unity, great unity and great harmony. The arcades along the southern coast were originally divided into Fujian School and Guangdong School. Due to the influence of local traditional wood carving techniques, the facade of Minpai arcade is covered with relief patterns. With Guangzhou as the center, Guangzhou-style arcade has a long history, mainly in Lingnan style, with Manchu style and European style. Beihai used to belong to Guangdong because of its cadastral jurisdiction, so Beihai arcade is a branch of Guangzhou arcade. However, compared with Fujian and Guangdong arcades, Beihai arcade is not complicated in carving, but more concise, with delicate lines, outstanding climax and overall harmony. The maturity of its artistic treatment is wonderful.
Western architecture in Beihai corresponds to two historical events, Tianjin Treaty of 1858 and Yantai Treaty of 1876, which is a semi-colonial historical period of more than half a century, so Beihai Old Street is a historical witness.
Before 1927, Zhuhai Road was once the most prosperous business district in Beihai, with many shops. The shop in the middle mainly deals in silks and satins of Suzhou and Hangzhou, while the shop in the east mainly deals in seafood such as squid, worm, dried shrimp and dried fish, and the west section is close to Waisha Port. All the shops deal in fishermen's articles, such as cables, fishing nets, hooks, fishing lights, canvas and boat nails. With the passage of time, Beihai Old Street gradually lost its former prosperity. Except for a few sporadic shops dealing in fishing gear, almost all other shops have become residential buildings, and street buildings are aging. However, because Zhuhai Road is still well preserved, it is praised by historians and architects as the yearbook of modern architecture.
The famous writer Yi Shu (the son of Lao She) thinks that Zhuhai Road is exactly the same as Singapore Guobao Old Street, which has great development value and should be protected. Mr Baird, a British architectural expert, believes that the historical and cultural value of Zhuhai Road is significant not only to Beihai, but also to South China, China and even the whole world.
Walking on the old street, you will feel a completely different cultural atmosphere. The streets there, the buildings there, the people there, and the dried salted fish at the door of every household can't help but make you forget that you are in the city. There is no traffic here. Old people shake big cattail leaf fans to enjoy the cool by the door, or sit around chatting or playing mahjong. Their eyes are calm and serene, as if everything in the old street is the same as when I was a child, and nothing has changed.