Half a day in Yongkang Old Street, one night by the Yongkang River

Visiting Yongkang for the first time, I stayed at the Yongkang Maixi Maiyue Hotel. The room’s entire floor-to-ceiling window offers a view embracing the Yongkang River. Across the river, the old street’s black-tiled roofs layer upon layer resemble the open pages of an old book. After breakfast, I took a walk. Crossing the bridge leads directly to Yongkang Old Street. Before nine o’clock, the main artery of Yongkang hasn’t fully awakened yet, giving a sense of small-town tranquility. The breakfast stalls steam white mist, and the aroma of fried dough sticks entices passersby. Actually, having breakfast on the old street is also a good choice. The old street isn’t long but is full of details of time: the spinning chair of an old-fashioned barber shop, hardware workshops hidden behind ordinary storefronts—amid the clinking sounds, the backbone of this “Hardware City” continues. Returning to the hotel at dusk, it’s a wonderful feeling. The sunset gilds the old street’s tiled ridges with gold edges, the river surface ripples with fragments of gold, sparkling like crystals. This feeling is the comfort of a modern hotel and the settled everyday life on the opposite bank, separated only by a river. New and old, quiet and lively, achieve a wonderful balance here. At night, I gazed at the river for a long time, lost in thought. I believe the hotel’s greatest luxury is not the design of the room, but that amidst convenience, it still allows you to touch the city’s most authentic pulse and warmth.