There are white walls and black tiles, lush flowers and gurgling streams. Walking into Jiangtao Village, Yangxunqiao Sub-district, you will be refreshed and pleased when seeing such a spacious, clean and uncluttered place. You can choose a courtyard at will and move a bamboo chair to have a rest here. What a cozy and beautiful life!

On the evening of last Wednesday, the autumn rain fell down, but the Jiangnan Taoyuan Square in the center of the village was not deserted. Villagers waited early by the archaistic stage with umbrellas. On the stage, the graceful postures and amazing singing of the professional actors won the applauses of the audiences constantly.

"I didn't expect so many audiences on a rainy day." Wu Chunhong, 42 years old, is not only a native of Jiangtao Village, but also a cultural activist. As long as there are cultural activities in the village, she is always there.

"There are three archways, five galleries and 15 pavilions in our village, and we have our own village song." Hong Jiming, Party Secretary of Jiangtao Village, proudly introduced his hometown to the reporter. A few years ago, every family built small Western-style buildings, with the outside walls "embroidered" with various forms of peach blossom, and now peach blossom has become the symbol of the village. Later, the Jiangnan Taoyuan Square, covering an area of 15 mu, was completed in the center of the village, providing a great venue for villagers to conduct cultural and sports activities.

To enrich villagers' cultural life and increase their happiness to the greatest extent, an archaistic stage, a “health road”, 10 kiosks and a number of mini-squares integrating sports, fitness and entertainment have been built on the Jiangnan Taoyuan Square. Not only villagers of Jiangtao but also nearby villagers can come to the square to participate in recreational and sports activities. Once, four square dancing activities were conducted on the square at the same time in the evening. The square has become a cultural landmark of the village

Tinfoil factories were the economic backbone of Jiangtao Village before, but now most of them have been relocated. As the tinfoil process has become intangible cultural heritage handcraft, the village has set up a tinfoil process showroom to display the tinfoil manufacturing tools and handicrafts kept by the village over the years, so that people can touch the history of ancient handicraft civilization.

Excerpted from Keqiao Daily (September 21, 2020)