Before Spring’s Glow Fades, Head to Gusu for a Rendezvous with Misty Jiangnan Rain

Text & Photos by Ying Zhigang (Original copyright, unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited) Scoop up a handful of tender water, fill a sleeve with subtle fragrance, set off from a rainy alley. Hold up an oil-paper umbrella, step along warm, graceful lines of poetry into Gusu. Willow catkin breeze kisses the face without chill, apricot blossom rain dampens clothes but never soaks. In this season of mist and rain, the destination is Beiyu Village, by the shores of Ezhen Lake, in the northern part of Gusu, within Beiqiao Subdistrict of Xiangcheng. Beiyu, as the name suggests, is tied to fishing. Half a century ago, this was a wasteland of reeds along Ezhen Lake. Today’s residents of Beiyu are descendants of fishermen who once roamed the waters, living on boats. ‘Fresh rice for breakfast, living tree branches for cooking fire at night, stranded on sandbanks in strong winds, sheltering under bridges when rain falls’ – in those days, Beiyu people owned not a tile above or an inch of land below, making a living by fishing and shrimping. In March 1968, the fishermen who had drifted for generations finally came ashore to settle. They chose this reed-covered wasteland east of Ezhen Lake as their home. Starting from scratch, through fifty years of hard work, the once desolate marsh has transformed into a poetic Jiangnan village. A river linking Ezhen Lake and Caohu Lake meanders through Beiyu. Rustic houses are mirrored on the water, weeping willows trail their tips, and fish swim in company. A couple of plump ducks from the farm across the stream quack their way into the water, splashing and sending ripples circling outward. On rainy days, you’d hardly see women washing clothes by the bank, but an elderly man with white hair might while away the hours, holding an umbrella and fishing alone in the spring river. The pavilion shields from drizzle, yet seems to draw back a curtain of dreams, as the half-awake begonia blossoms weave an ageless tale. The figures of the past chant softly, then fall into deep thought. Wind lifts the rice paper on the stone table, ink drops spatter, but the one holding the brush has no heart for painting. The painting was meant to be seen with eyes and kept in the heart, yet without that special person, even a masterpiece becomes dull. On the Jinli Bridge, fine rain and mist linger. It’s a season that stirs memories of childhood sweethearts; every figure in the distance looks like the one you yearn for day and night. Alas, the beauty from your dreams never appears in this rainy season. A soft sigh from the brush holder, ink sinks deep into the paper, spreading into a blur. Whose longing is it that makes the April world weep? The lingering raindrops are spring’s lover. Footsteps of visitors cross the green grass, span the stone bridge, and look back at the village gracefully adorned by water: green willows, white cherry blossoms, red begonias. The flowing water nourishes fat koi; in slanting wind and drizzling rain, a green bamboo hat busies itself with daily tasks. Those who watch willows sway in the breeze and apricot blossoms blur in butterfly-like rain are lost in reverie of Jiangnan – a land of small bridges, flowing streams, and a fair lady playing a flute. Jiangnan has always been poetry; Beiyu today is a painting. Once you step into this poem and picture, you’ll find it hard to leave. In the flowing rhythm of Jiangnan, every heart is a tiny boat gently drifting on spring water, in this season of falling petals, quietly humming a soft verse of Tang or Song poetry. In a trance, I glimpse the shepherd boy from a thousand years ago pointing his finger, turning into the seven-character quatrain that poets still recite. Every precious word that falls becomes Jiangnan, becomes Beiyu. Beiyu Community is located 1 km southwest of Beiqiao Subdistrict, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It stretches from Nanzhang Road in the east to Haida Road in the south, borders Ezhen Lake to the west, and neighbors Lianhuazhuang Village to the north. To drive there, simply navigate to ‘Beiyu Community’.