From the Bell and Drum Tower at the north end to the south to Yongding Gate, this spine that runs through the city of Beijing is filled with the warm atmosphere of human fireworks deep in the hutongs.
In the early morning in Bell Tower Bay Alley, Yayoi, an aphasic girl, was feeding carrots to rabbits;
In the afternoon in the three alleys of Long Lane, Hao Xiaobei played the piano intoxicatedly;
At dusk under Zhengyang Gate, Li Dongmei was in a daze with half a piece of chocolate in her mouth;
In the evening in Dongtangen Alley, Shi Lei secretly smoked, choking and coughing;
Late at night in the coir raincoat alley, Cai Nan buried his head in his book and sprinted for the final exam.
The threads of youth quietly entwine them in their prime.
The scroll of thirty years of reform outlines the ups and downs of the fate of two generations of five families.
In 2008, the Olympic flame lit up Beijing, Cai Nan put on his doctorate hat, and Li Dongmei packed up her bags and left for a foreign country.
In 2015, the central axis entered its third year of application as a World Heritage Site. Cai Nan, who was in charge of this work, took the yellowed group photo and walked through every familiar alley, only to find that his friends from those years were already scattered among the vast sea of people.
On this central axis that has witnessed the vicissitudes of seven hundred and fifty-eight years of history, their stories bear the mark of the city and shine brightly in the tide of the times.
