User:Hucarrot
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User:Runzhi 21:08, 2 November 2007 (UTC) A Street I had ever lived in
About 6 years ago I started my professional study on architecture, and all the understandings about "street" were gradually limited to an architectural view or a lot of architectural glossaries. Though I know a lot of famous streets and their characteristics, I still can’t say that I am familiar with them, because I had no real life, no long enough time or rich experiences in them. Fortunately, before I move into a big residential area, where there are only 6-storey buildings in row separately and no streets are really formed there, I had lived in Dongrenbu Street for six years, from 1992-1998, when I was still very young. The Street is very narrow and small, just like the city where it lies in. Its main direction is east-west, so that the houses could get as much sunlight as possible, and the length is about 200 meters, while width is only 2.5-3.0 meters, and the houses on both sides are 1-3 storeys, that means 4-9 meter high. Most of the houses are built in a limited square cite about 10M*10M, surrounding a yard of their own, and every two neighboring houses are quite firmly squeezed together to obtain a maximum area. As a result, they formed very continual elevations of both sides, similar but never repeat, and every landlord has a centerd yard to obtain sunlight help ventilation. All the households are locally grown up inhabitants, and very familiar with each other, so are the elder people and the children. They arrange their gates towards the street (no other practical choices I think), so the streets became a really “valley” of habitants’ activities in daily life.
Another important thing is that, this street is not a main one in that area, but has two smaller streets leading to it vertically, at both ends of the street. At that time, the main vehicle people use is bicycle or trike (with three wheels ), so it is very hard for a car to get in this area (and there are so few cars in daily life). Meanwhile, it is very safe for children to play in and any other activities are encouraged.
All these situations make it possible to be a very quiet and private. That is why I have abundant memories about the street during my childhood. Though has no virescence, no beautiful elevations, even no obvious color in it, but the steady-going neighborhood, the familiarity to every places of the street even an easy-neglected corner.
I would never forget the needfire which would be fired at the Chinese New Years Eve in the front of every gates; I would never forget the fellow playmates who lived in the same street, studied in the same school and played with me in the same street; I would never forget the special flavor flowing in the air when every housewife began to cook, which gave me a signal that I should go back home; I would never forget all the memorable events taken place there. So, what make a street becomes itself? It is absolutely not only the buildings, roads or any other physical things, what is more crucial is the relationship among peole living in there and the ways how they integrate the street as a inseparable part of their life.
I have such a street in Memory,and its name is Dongrenbu Street.
