Chaozhou-Shantou Road Trip (48).

There is a famous alley in the old town of Ganzhou called Zao'er Alley. I learned that its original name was "Zao'er Alley" when I visited. In the early Qing Dynasty, many yamen officers lived in this alley. Their uniforms were black, and they were called "Zao'er" (black officers). The alley was called Zao'er Alley, which later became Zao'er Alley due to a homophonic change. The 200-meter-long alley has been renovated to showcase the Ming and Qing architecture of Ganzhou. The east entrance of the alley is close to Jianchun Gate, which is within walking distance. Wei Family Courtyard is a Hakka mansion from the Qing Dynasty. It was built over a century and completed in the early Republic of China, with a history of 200 years. It is now the Hakka Culture Museum of Southern Jiangxi. I mentioned before that Changting is the Hakka capital, Meizhou is the Hakka capital of the world, and Ganzhou is called the "Hakka cradle." Why is that? Historically, during the Yongjia Rebellion, the An Lushan Rebellion, the Jingkang Incident, and other wars and turmoil, the people of the Central Plains in the north migrated south several times, first settling in Jiangxi, especially in southern Jiangxi. Later, during the Yuan Dynasty's attack on the Southern Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty's attack on the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Hakka people in southern Jiangxi fled to Tingzhou in Fujian and then to Meizhou in Guangdong. Today, more than 90% of the population in Ganzhou are Hakka. Next to Wei Family Courtyard is the Fushou Ditch Museum, which was built to protect and display the ancient sewers of the ancient city of Ganzhou. In recent years, the Western wind has blown, and people have been talking about the sewers of London, Paris, and the German sewers of Qingdao, but they don't know that our ancestors built a sophisticated urban sewer system thousands of years ago, with flood control functions. If you don't believe it, come and see for yourself. Four hundred meters west of here is the Ganzhou Confucian Temple, which was under renovation when I visited. It will be open soon. Ganzhou Museum is located in the new city. The building and the surrounding commercial buildings are magnificent, and the exhibition is worth visiting. Ganzhou, Jiangxi