2024 End of Year Trip to Anhui: Kongcheng Old Street, Tongcheng

Arrived at around 3pm. The tourist development company and visitor center at the entrance were closed. There were few tourists, and everything was free! The residents had already moved away. It is said that the development failed, and the new buildings were left unfinished. Most of the original stone streets and wooden shops were closed, with less than ten shops open. After talking to the locals, I learned that the Li Hongzhang Bank sign had been removed due to disagreements. The ancient street, which dates back 1,800 years to the time of Lü Meng of Eastern Wu, was once a prosperous waterway trading port. The streets and alleys are named after the ten "Jia" of the Baojia system of Wang Anshi. The old street has an ancient charm, with smooth stone streets, wooden doors, the magistrate's mansion, the residence of the imperial historian, Tongxiang Academy, cloth shops, grocery stores, pawnshops, oil mills, and pharmacies. It also has traces of the pre-reform era, with a cinema, photo studio, supply and marketing cooperative, tea house, and restaurant. The route was well-designed, with all the basic tourist facilities. Will Kongcheng Old Street, which is close to Tongcheng Ancient City, become prosperous again?