Dong quan men

Rating 4/5

Parallel to the busy Wenchang Road is a quiet ancient back alley that contains a host of sites well worth visiting. This is the Dong quan men alley. The alley's main gate dates all the way back to the Qing Dynasty. Despite many small restaurants and craft shops lining the alley, it still does not have the sense of commercialization. Much of China's old cultures and traditions are preserved in this alley. It is a great place for shopping as the alley is filled with many shops that sell souvenirs or the local Chinese snacks such as the sugar blowing candy.,  I enjoyed Dong Quan Men as a whole as I was able to look at the local traditional products sold in Yang Zhou. There were few shops, mainly along the streets were houses, some which still resides elderly, others, turned into government protected areas to conserve the historical site. The buildings were surrounded by a thick wall made of bricks and moss was growing on it already. The floor was not paved and neat like Singapore's. Instead, there were small bumps on the ground. The most traumatizing part of my experience was at this place. During my visit to Dong Quan men, I actually witnessed a small puppy which only came up to my ankles's length peeing in the middle of the ground in public. It was right in the middle on the main road and moreover, the dog had a dog tag around his neck. The owner of the dog was probably an old man or and old woman as the dog was an untrained one. In the past, animals were able to run freely around the area where they live. To be able to pee anywhere they had wanted. But now it was a different century, animals should be trained to be civilized. Moreover, as it was a tourism district, such acts should be changed to avoid tourists thinking negatively of China.

The gateway in front of dong quan men. it resembles the gate way of dong guan jie, except it does not have plants growing beneath a glass. 

A stall selling the famous 三把刀- 剃头刀、切菜刀和修脚刀.These knife brought fame to the Yangzhou as it takes much effort and time to excel in those skills

The carving on the roof of the houses in Dong Quan men. Those carvings are in the shape of a dragon as dragons are well-liked by the people in the past and until now, dragon represent china.