I was a shikumen girl

Photo provided to Shanghai Star

On the day the beautiful airhostess got married, a long black Lincoln car stopped at the entrance of the alley and attracted crowds. Luxury cars were uncommon and buses were mostly electric ones, which people called "buses with ponytails".

I loved to sit on the balcony and squat down to watch the ants. I placed small pieces of fruit on the ground and would watch as a giant ant led the rest of the ants to pick up food and the small ones would form a troop and carry the food two by two to their holes.

I also saw snow for the first time from the balcony when I was about 6 years old. My grandfather collected the falling snow in a plastic basin and we made a tiny snowman.

My grandparents moved after two years. The alley was being renovated and my brother and I naughtily left two footprints on the wet cement floor in front of the house to keep it in our memories forever.

I have re-visited the lane several times and everything that is glorious in my mind appears old and dilapidated. But I choose to remember the nice stories, the friendly neighbors wearing pajamas and the bright fireworks in the alley celebrating the Chinese New Year.

I loved to sit on the balcony and squat down to watch the ants. I placed small pieces of fruit on the ground and would watch as a giant ant led the rest of the ants to pick up food and the small ones would form a troop and carry the food two by two to their holes.

Moutai captures China's true spirit	Beautiful ... or ugly? In China, it's in the eye of the beholder