HEFEI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- As a sunbeam
pierces through the cracks in the wooden roof and shines on a rusty
chair with flower carvings, Shi Hancheng uses an old-fashioned shaver to
work on the chin, cheek, ears and eyebrows of a customer. Called
Xiumian or face-shaving in English, the craft is one in which Shi
excels. He is a barber in Datong Barbershop, located in the Datong
Ancient Town in the city of Tongling, east China's Anhui Province. The
barbershop was built during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). A brick
from a wall and various old items in the shop are witness to more than
100 years of glory and decline it has experienced. The shop has been under spotlight as the country recently observed the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. Shi,
72, is one of the two senior barbers at Datong Barbershop. He came to
the shop with his father to apprentice as a teenager, at a time the
salon was one of the poshest places in town. "In
its prime, there were 12 chairs and 12 barbers in the shop, in addition
to people who boiled water and carried water," Shi recalls. "There were
40 to 50 staff then." All the
chairs and mirrors were imported from Germany and Britain, and the
barbers learned to do the most fashionable haircuts, making them
renowned in the neighborhood. At
that time, the Datong Ancient Town was an important area along the
Yangtze, China's longest river. It was known as one of the four major
commercial hubs in Anhui Province, which also included Anqing, Wuhu and
Bengbu. The advanced water transportation brought in countless people
and bustling business, giving the town the moniker "Little Shanghai." "Day
and night, there were people waiting in line to get a haircut," Shi
says. "We received about 500 customers a day, and often worked until 9
p.m." In the late 20th century,
however, as road transport developed, water transportation along the
Yangtze declined. The ancient town gradually became desolate, and the
long lines of customers in front of the barbershop became a thing of the
past. "Some of the barbers went
away, and some died," Shi says. "The only ones left in the shop are me
and Chen, who is already in his 80s." Only two of the 12 chairs remain. "Most
of the people coming in these days are the elderly living in the
neighborhood," Shi says. "They got their haircuts here when they were
black-haired young people, and now even though they have grown old, they
still come over." Shi says that when the shop is sometimes closed, the old customers drop by to ask if everything is OK. Hu
Jiafu, 57, is a regular at Datong Barbershop. Hu says coming to the
salon has become a habit, and "other barbershops simply don't have that
craft." People like Hu have encouraged the two senior barbers to continue their business and stick with their brand. "We
have been here for decades, and we don't feel comfortable if we don't
come over to the shop," Shi says, adding that they also go door to door
to do haircuts for ageing people and those who can't walk around because
of their physical condition. REVIVING DATONG'S ORIGINAL GLORY In
recent years, authorities have decided to develop tourism based on the
history and culture of the ancient town, bringing change and hope to the
shop that has lasted a century. In 2015, the local government renovated old houses in the town, and installed modern facilities in them in 2017. The
Datong Barbershop also went through a transformation. Workers
modernized the electric circuits, installed shampoo basins and faucets
that invoked nostalgia, in addition to fitting electric fans and pendant
lamps. The storage room on the second floor became the rest area. The changes were part of efforts to draw more customers. For Shi, the upgrade brought many modern elements to the shop, and he says the new features are both practical and necessary. "After the upgrade, young people sometimes come over to get a haircut," Shi says. Shi
argues that while it is important to stick to craftsmanship, changes
are inevitable in the modern era because they bring long-term
development. "You can't abandon the
old craft, but you also need to bring in new things," he says.
"Otherwise you will be knocked out sooner or later." Shi hopes more young people will help pass on the craft. "We
are getting old, but we want the shop to survive," he says. "I hope
that the younger generation will inherit our craft so that it does not
die out." Enditem
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