|The neon sign of "Tianfu Cola" at the intersection of Zhengwei and Lianglu, a famous brand in old Chongqing. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a famous Shancheng Shopping Mall at the intersection of Lianglu in Yuzhong District. It was a frequent shopping place for citizens of th

| Famous brands in old Chongqing

Zheng Wei

" Tianfu Coke " neon sign at the Lianglu intersection

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a famous Shancheng shopping mall at the Lianglu intersection in Yuzhong District, which was a common shopping place for citizens of that era. But the point I want to make is not this famous shopping mall, but the "Tianfu Cola" neon sign on the roof of this shopping mall.

There is no one in Chongqing who has not drank Tianfu Coke as a child. It made a strong comeback in 2016, with the brand "It's still the same formula as before, not just a familiar taste". As a local brand with nearly 40 years of history, Tianfu Cola not only attracts customers with its formula and taste, but also makes many neon advertisements to promote it. In the 1990s, Tianfu Coke built a neon sign on the roof of Shancheng Shopping Mall at the intersection of Lianglu Road in Yuzhong District. Whenever night falls, the neon sign will turn on, and the four words "Tianfu Cola" will shine brightly.

At that time, I lived in Caiyuanba. Every time I went to Lianglukou at night, I would see those big shiny characters in the distance while walking on the road. It was when I saw the neon sign that I drank Tianfu Coke for the first time. After drinking it for the first time, of course you will want to drink it a second time. It tastes really good, with a light Chinese medicinal flavor that clears away heat and quenches thirst. Because it tastes so good, we always have a few bottles every time we have a party or have guests over.

Tianfu Cola neon light advertisement will shine every night, so it is different from Tuopai Qujiu in Lianglukou Library, Luzhou Laojiao in the emergency center, Jialing Motorcycle in the wide-screen cinema, and Taipei Hot Pot in the Electric Power Building Neon signs such as the city were called the "five highlights" of Lianglu Intersection and became an integral part of Chongqing's night scene at that time.

However, these "five highlights" no longer shined. First, the "Tuopai Qujiu" advertisement was demolished, then "Jialing Motorcycle", then "Luzhou Laojiao", and then "Taipei Hot Pot City". Finally, there is Tianfu Coke.

I don’t know why the neon sign was demolished later. Many people said it was because Tianfu Cola collapsed after being acquired by Pepsi Cola . After the billboards were removed, the Shancheng Mall building remained. But later, due to the construction of Line 1 and Line 3, the Shancheng Shopping Mall was demolished together with the decades-old Lianglukou Old Street. Lianglukou Old Street includes Lianglukou Primary School (later moved to Eling), Mengyuan Family Area, old neighborhoods and old alleys, etc.

With the comeback of Tianfu Coke in 2016, if it can be promoted through light box advertising as before, perhaps Tianfu Coke can truly recreate its former glory. (The red circle in the picture below is the Tianfu Coke neon advertisement in the past)

Writing Companion Hongyan Ink

Before I was in the third grade of elementary school, I used pencils whether I was doing homework or practicing writing. In the third grade, the head teacher will approve which students can use pens and which students can continue to use pencils based on their usual academic performance. I was lucky because I was immediately approved to use pens for homework. My dad was very happy when he heard that I could use a pen. He went to the stationery store that night and bought a pen and a bottle of Red Rock ink. There are 4 types of red rock ink: blue black, carbon, pure blue and red ink.

Needless to say, red ink is used by teachers when correcting homework. The bottle my dad bought was blue-black ink. After buying it, he taught me how to write pen calligraphy. He also bought 2 Pang Zhonghua fountain pen copybooks and several "calligraphy books" for me to learn from. I had trouble writing with ink for the first time. It soaked the paper so hard that every single word would leave a big black mark on the paper. Not only that, if the ink is accidentally stained on clothes or body, it will be difficult to wash it off for a while. So I changed a piece of paper to write on, and this time I didn’t soak the paper after writing.Day after day, year after year, my pen handwriting has improved.

After I ran out of the bottle of blue and black ink, I bought another bottle of carbon ink to write on. Although carbon ink does not soak into the paper when writing, the written words look surprisingly black and are not easy to wash off if it gets on your hands or clothes. After thinking about it, I decided to change it to another style, so after I ran out of carbon ink, I changed it to a bottle of pure blue. To my surprise, the writing effect of pure blue ink is better than that of blue black and carbon ink. Not only does the writing without soaking the paper look neat and beautiful. This time I made up my mind to buy pure blue red rock ink from now on.

I just mentioned that the teachers used red ink when correcting homework, so I have never written with red ink from beginning to end. From the third grade to the graduation of elementary school, I almost always used pure blue ink, and I never changed it to other styles. The reason why I trust Hongyan ink first is because it is a local brand and sells well all over the country. Secondly, the quality is good, and it has a larger refill capacity than the current gel pen . Finally, its price is affordable, lower than other brands of ink such as Hero Ink.

After 2000, as gel pens and their refills entered the stationery market and entered thousands of households, I gradually accepted gel pens and rarely used fountain pens to write. Even if I have to use a pen, I just practice calligraphy on a daily basis, and gradually I rarely use ink. When I was in college, I stopped writing with ink at all and used gel pens or roller-ball pens for everything I wrote.

Once I heard that Hongyan ink had been withdrawn from the market, I was surprised. With some doubts, I went to various stationery stores in the city to find out. Except for Hero Ink and other brands that are still selling well, local Hongyan ink has been removed from the shelves and is no longer sold. Times are changing, and the former writing companions of Chongqing people have also disappeared in the tide of change, which is very sad.

Yamashiro Chalk

By the way, did you ever use Yamashiro Chalk for writing when you were a child? Sorry, what I asked is nonsense, haha. This brand is probably familiar to many Chongqing people. In today’s terms, it is a writing “artifact” for Chongqing people.

Shancheng Chalk has been selling well in Shancheng as early as 40 years ago, with a total of 2 models. One is "Yamashiro White Chalk" and the other is "Yamashiro Colored Chalk". The packaging cover of Yamashiro White Chalk is white and green, while the packaging cover of Yamashiro Color Chalk is red and yellow. There are 48 pieces in a box of the 2 types of chalks. The Shancheng colored chalks come in 4 colors, namely red, yellow, blue and green.

When I was a child, there were no floor tiles installed in my house, just a cement floor. The concrete floor was enough for me to practice writing with chalk on. Once, my dad went to the Hongzhuan stationery store on Zhongshan 3rd Road (now the Hongzhuan store) and bought 2 boxes of Shancheng chalk and taught me to practice writing on the ground. As I write and write, one piece of chalk is used up, and then a second piece of chalk is used.

My dad saw me writing on the ground and bending down very tired, so he got a big blackboard and asked me to write on the blackboard. When it was full, wipe it off with a rag before writing. It’s true for my dad, Shancheng Chalk is a treasure in his eyes. Every time I finished writing, I would lock the chalk in the cabinet, so I tried my best to get the key, but failed many times. I thought: Isn’t it just chalk? Do you think of it as a treasure? Still locked in the cupboard. Later, I actually learned to write in chalk, and I thought I could write neatly. Seeing how confident I was, my dad inspected my chalk writing face to face and said that if the writing was good, the chalk would not be locked in the cabinet in the future. So I wrote it in front of my dad. This time I lived up to his old man’s teachings. He was very satisfied after reading it.

Later, floor tiles were installed in my house, and I usually wrote in chalk on the big blackboard my dad brought back. When I was in the third grade of elementary school, I started writing pen calligraphy, so I abandoned chalk calligraphy and seldom wrote.Even if I had to write, I would write with chalk in the classroom at school.

Shancheng milk powder

0 years ago, before the Tianyou series became popular in Chongqing, the most popular drink among Chongqing people was Shancheng milk powder, which was a brand of Tianyou. At that time, if you asked others what they were drinking, everyone would tell you it was Shancheng milk powder. Shancheng milk powder is suitable for all ages, not just for infants and young children.

Yes, I drank Shancheng milk powder when I was a baby, and it tasted pretty good. Every morning when I get up and before going to school, my parents prepare milk powder for me to drink. I was very picky at that time. I was clamoring to put sugar in a glass of milk so that it would taste sweet. My parents said that I was very picky and that milk with added sugar would not taste good. Later, I stopped adding sugar.

After Tianyou milk entered the market, my family started ordering milk, and I drank less Shancheng milk powder. Gradually, after milk brands such as Mengniu , Juneyao, Wangzai and other milk brands entered the market, the market prospects of Shancheng milk powder were not good, and they almost exited the market several times. Later, I heard that Shancheng milk powder was making a big comeback and launched infant milk powder. After its comeback, Shancheng Milk Powder has not regained its former glory, which is disappointing.