李竟成與其子

Young people checking in at Gyeonggi-ro online picture

This reporter is Pan Yuqin

Our correspondent Wang Jieyuan

On a spring morning, the aroma of food fills the Gyeonggi Road. The morning tea shop is steaming, and citizens and tourists sit around the window, tasting authentic Jiangnan breakfast. Gyeonggi Street has now become an "Internet celebrity street" and a popular spot for young people to check in - there are long queues in front of the sugar water shops, young people taking pictures in coffee shops, and people are constantly stopping in front of the "Gyeonggi" painted wall. The Republican-style building façade is wonderfully integrated with modern commercial elements, and the old street, which has been silent for many years, has been rejuvenated overnight.

"Gyeonggi Road was built by a Xinhai revolutionary warrior, his name is Li Jingcheng, and he was originally from Dalu Town, Dantu County, Zhenjiang." Recently, Zhang Peng, a lover of literature and history in our city, opened a historical book that he had collected for many years - "Xinhai Zhenjiang General Record", revealing the century-old historical accumulation of Gyeonggi Road.

The original intention of the revolutionary aspirants

After the Xinhai Revolution, Zhenjiang, which was in the midst of the wave of change of the times, was in a dilapidated urban construction and withered commerce. "At that time, the Zhenjiang Railway Station was west of Gyeonggi Ridge, and there was only a narrow street connecting it with the urban area, which was extremely inconvenient for travel." It is written in the "Record of the General of Xinhai Zhenjiang". To this end, Li Jingcheng, a revolutionary aspirant in Xinhai, invited Lu Xiaobo, Yuan Yaolin, and others from the Zhenjiang Chamber of Commerce at that time to discuss fundraising, and took the lead in donating several months' salary to build a stone road from Gyeonggi Ridge to the railway station. In recognition of Li Jingcheng, after the road was completed, it was once called "Jingcheng Road" by the people. It was renamed "Gyeonggi-ro" after the road was widened in 1931.

In the old photos, the houses on both sides of the road after completion are two-story shops with brick and wood structures, and the windows and railings with carved cornices still show the prosperity of the past. "To build a road during that period, it can be said that Li Jingcheng's thinking was relatively avant-garde." Zhang Peng sighed while flipping through the historical records.

Zhang Peng also has the same idea, Wang Ligang, vice president of the Runzhou District History and Culture Research Association. He said that at that time in Zhenjiang, the gradual development of national industries, such as the match factories and flour mills in the Xinhe area outside the city, all needed to be connected with the city, and road construction was the inevitable trend and inevitable result of historical progress, "This road was opened in a timely and necessary manner, and Li Jingcheng was in line with the historical trend, thoughtful and forward-looking, and laid the foundation for the later development of Zhenjiang." ”

The nourishment and inheritance of revolutionary friendship

It is worth mentioning that Li Jingcheng and Zhao Boxian, another Xinhai revolutionary aspirant, have been classmates since childhood, and they are also anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary comrades-in-arms. In 5 years, the coffin of Zhao Boxian, who died in Hong Kong, returned to Zhenjiang, and Li actually became his wake-alive for 0 days, and wrote a touching elegy: "Young classmates, long alliances, fellow comrades, adversity and adversity are the same through Guangdong; Benevolence can be achieved, righteousness can be desirable, singing can be cried, sincerity can be straight and starry. ”

Today, Gyeonggi-ro is part of the historical and cultural district of Baeson-ro, and traces of revolutionary history are still clearly visible along the road. Boxian Park built by Yuntai Mountain is the patriotic education base of Zhenjiang City, the green pine in the park is majestic, and the statue of Zhao Boxian, a revolutionary fighter in Xinhai, stands majestically. Standing on the top of Yuntai Mountain, overlooking the foot of the mountain, the bustling "Internet Celebrity Street" is full of fireworks in the world. "Chengcheng Road" and Boxian Park are closely connected and integrated with each other, allowing the love of classmates and revolutionary friendship to pass through time and space, convey strong feelings of family and country, and inspire the patriotism of generation after generation. A university student who often comes to Gyeonggi-ro to take photos said, "I used to think that the history was very far away, but now when I walk on this street, I feel like I can touch the pulse of the city a hundred years ago." ”

The prospect of the continuation of the historical context

At the foot of Mt. Yuan, 35 kilometers from Gyeonggi-ro, willow trees are showing new greenery and peach blossoms are blooming. As a cultural relics protection unit in Dantu County, Li Jingcheng's tomb is located in the middle of the mountainside, facing the southeast, the surrounding scenery is pleasant, the trees are luxuriant, the light and shadow on the tombstone are mottled, and the inscription of "the tomb of Li Jingcheng, a revolutionary soldier in Xinhai" is solemn and solemn. "Li Jingcheng's son is called Li Ming, we all called him the fifth grandfather when we were young, and there were people who came to worship and sweep before, but after the demolition of Dalu Town, his descendants rarely came to worship and sweep." Guan Shunfu, a villager under the mountain, introduced.

Not far from the foot of the mountain, Li Jingcheng Memorial Park is being planned. Li Jingcheng's memory has been left in his hometown, and on the Gyeonggi Road, which he once poured his heart and soul into building, should there also be a physical memorial service? Wang Ligang believes that "this history is worth showing. It is recommended to erect a monument near Chaoyang Tower to introduce the construction process of Gyeonggi Road, which has been preserved for a long time, so that more people can have an in-depth understanding of history and better explore the historical and cultural value of urban blocks. ”

Qingming remembrance is to recall the past and ancestors, but also to think about the present and the future. From "Jingcheng Road" to "Internet Celebrity Street", when the aroma of morning tea wafts again, when the mellow coffee fills the streets, the story of Gyeonggi Road continues to be written—this is not only about the rebirth of a street, but also a city's tribute to history and expectations for the future.