A Night Market Stroll in Yandu Ancient City, Yi County (Part 1)

Around five in the afternoon, vendors start setting up their stalls one after another.

The night market runs along Yanwang Avenue, the main street of Yandu Ancient City, stretching from the Que Tower past the Zhongxiao Opera Stage all the way to the waterside in front of Babai Pavilion. East of the Zhongxiao Opera Stage, most of the stalls are mobile, run mainly by residents from nearby along with a few permanent shop owners. They sell seasonal clothes, daily necessities, toys, accessories and some snacks. West of the stage is Yandu Ancient City Food Street, where vendors come from all over the country, bringing their hometown delicacies with them.

My family lives right near the ancient city, so when I have free time I can’t help wandering over. Today is Saturday, my son’s day off, so after dinner I dragged him along with me to the night market.

By now the lights of the ancient city had come on. From a distance, the colourful glimmers shining in the dark felt a little dreamlike, a little mysterious, as if greeting passers-by or warmly inviting them in.

We first arrived at Yanfeng Square. Brilliant lights outlined the Que Tower, and in the night breeze the tower stood like a giant, watching over the people enjoying themselves in its embrace: those driving little bumper cars, those tossing glow-in-the-dark toys into the air, those raising phones to take selfies, those chatting while munching snacks, those listening to music on earphones, those wandering aimlessly… All these happy souls passed their joy on to us.

After passing the Que Tower, we entered the night market proper. At that moment, Yanwang Avenue resembled a giant “川” character: the south and north sides lined with parallel shops, a row of ground stalls down the middle, and pedestrian walkways between the two.

Compared to the shops on both sides, the ground stalls are far more flexible and offer an incredible variety – clothes, shoes and hats, plastic goods, fruit, daily necessities, jewellery, snacks, toys, potted plants and flowers, little animals…

With my son finally having a rare bit of free time, everything seemed fun to him. He looked left and right as we walked. And so we strolled from east to west with the unending stream of people, until my son stopped in front of a small stall surrounded by a crowd.

It turned out to be a sugar-painting stand. In front of it, several kids were holding adults’ hands. Some were eagerly waiting for their sugar paintings, while others were already greedily licking theirs, faces glowing with happiness and sweetness.

Inside the stand, the maker was skilfully pouring brownish liquid sugar onto an iron plate. Within moments, crystal-clear, lifelike butterflies, katydids, fawns, goldfish and monkeys would “fly” into the children’s hands.

Watching those kids so enchanted by sugar paintings, it was like seeing my son when he was small. Right then, his gaze fell on a little boy intently licking his own. I thought, perhaps my son is also recalling his own happy childhood.