君到姑苏见，人家尽枕河。古宫闲地少，水巷小桥多。夜市卖菱藕，春船载绮罗。遥知未眠月，乡思在渔歌。-- 杜荀鹤
Jiangnan (江南) is a geography name referring to areas south of the Yangtze river. Yet Jiangnan in Chinese literature symbols poetic and pictorial splendor, which is often linked to light rain, gentle breeze, water-lily, small bridges, and beautiful ladies. The word arouses tenderness and a sense of home. Once again, I came back to JiangNan to seek transient tranquility. Like previous water-town trips in Xitang and Zhenyuan, I made the trip with my dear parents. Driving two hours west of Shanghai, we came to Nanxun, another water-town with an old history in the Jiangnan area.
Under the red trumpet creeper tree, there we lived! It's a place called LiuYin Lu, literally means "a cottage holding green shade". Grey walls and white windows, each wing-room bears antique furnitures and their lingering stories...
杨柳如丝，乌木屋灰白门窗. 偶尔有人撑船经过，遗一线涟漪。波影碎如金。
Life in Jiangnan is simple and light. Local people like to make glutinous rice wine, transparent, sweet and mellow. We had three dishes and a soup, 绣花锦，清炒螺丝，苋菜豆腐丸子，咸肉冬瓜汤。
Punter resting on the boat in the sunset
I like strolling in the early morning. Walking on the flagstones, I saw those closed old windows and cannot help imagining the past. It was so quiet that you could almost hear time flowing.
We sit at the river bank, drinking chrysanthemum tea and watching people passing by bridges. Each bridge in the ancient Chinese culture signals one round of transmigration. In one's own transmigration, one has its story, in which there exists a particular person that one can never forget about.
一座桥预示着一次轮回。每一个轮回里的人都有自己的故事，有不能忘怀的男子和姑娘。
一自钟声响清夜，几人同梦不同尘。(清·陆鼎)
Photographed by Jennie Bai.
Copyright ©Jennie Bai. All Rights Reserved.
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