Quanzhou|The smoke and fire of life in the lanes and alleys

|The smoke and fire of life in the lanes and alleys. I visited Quanzhou at the beginning of March. To me, Quanzhou is not about the ornate hairpins, but about the sour beef and taro paste, as well as the architectural art and the ordinary households that are conspicuous on the streets and hidden in the alleys. I felt extremely comfortable in Quanzhou, where the temperature, humidity, and air quality were just right, making it a place where even breathing feels exceptionally pleasant. In the morning, starting the day with a cup of hot, thick peanut milk paired with a fried dough stick is the beginning of a comfortable day. Strolling through the streets, with West Street as the axis extending to the surrounding lanes and alleys, one finds simplicity, art, tranquility, prosperity, or decay all within one city; it's like drinking a cup of plain tea, with a simple taste, a lingering aftertaste, and the scattered tea leaves at the bottom. Along the way, I enjoyed taro cakes, drank Four-Fruit Soup, and bought sour snacks. Among the many taro cakes I bought casually, I liked Aunt Qin's the best. The biscuit wrapped around the outside was not too sweet, and the taste was just right. The Four-Fruit Soup I had was the cheapest at 2 yuan a bowl, and you could add four kinds of toppings. In a small alley opposite a primary school, there was an old lady's shop that also sold fried snacks. I would buy sour fruits whenever I saw them, like green mangoes, guavas, plums, oil oranges, and rock sugar peaches, which were sweet and sour to relieve greasiness. It was the first time I learned that white-heart guavas are tastier than red-heart ones; I finally experienced that mixed plums taste absolutely amazing; oil oranges have a strange taste, sour and astringent, even a bit bitter when you first bite into them, but after chewing for a while, a sweet aftertaste fills your mouth, which is quite addictive, though it might be hard to accept for those who are not used to it. Beef restaurants are everywhere on the streets of Quanzhou. I chose one with good reviews and found that the beef, beef steak soup, tripe noodles were all delicious. The beef was warm, soft, and solid, the soup was stewed with Chinese herbs, and although it looked reddish, it tasted light and meaty. Even the salty rice in the beef restaurant was fragrant and oily. Under the Chinese parasol tree, one can contemplate music and books... Day after day by the river fishing for carp; the leisurely pace of Quanzhou has been like this since ancient times.