Shaoxing's "Grandpa Gourd" hangs the gourds back up: "If there are too many people, we'll interact less — just take a quick look from afar"

Six days ago, the "Gourd Grandpa" from Shaoxing, who personally cut the gourds, hung those seven gourds back on the balcony.

A phrase “if there are too many people, reduce interactions” captures this elderly person’s resignation to the noise and also hides a gentle understanding.

On September 11, 75-year-old Chen Jin’ao rehung seven gourds back onto the gourd rack on his balcony overlooking the water.The Paper confirmed this news in the afternoon with community workers from Shushengguli Community, Fushan Subdistrict, Yuecheng District, where the elderly person lives. The staff mentioned that the incident occurred at noon and was the individual act of the elderly person.Chen Jin’ao is an elderly person who lost his only child and lives in an old house by the water in the "Home of the Sage of Calligraphy" scenic area with his 68-year-old wife, Shen Hualing.In March this year, he planted several gourd seedlings on the balcony, and the most eye-catching among the gourds grown were the seven on the first floor; together with Chen Jin’ao, who often tends to the gourds on the balcony, the scene instantly reminded people of the animated series "Calabash Brothers," hence the nickname "Grandpa Calabash."After the related scene was shared online, it quickly went viral, drawing many tourists to Shaoxing, where young people gather daily on the riverbank shouting "Grandpa."

But the excitement gradually became a burden.With a constant stream of visitors, during peak times the elderly man had to appear on the balcony every 5 to 10 minutes, and he gradually grew tired.September 5th was a Saturday, with a sudden surge in visitors. By the end of the day, Shen Hualing’s chronic dizziness flared up; that evening, Chen Jin’ao took a long-handled scissors and cut the gourds off the vines.

In fact, he also mentioned in early September that the gourds would hang for another month or so and would be picked before the first frost—starting early was because the old house was near water, the streets were narrow, and he was worried about visitor safety with so many people gathered. The energy spent daily on interactions truly exhausted him.

On the day he rehung the gourds, Chen Jin’ao explained to local media: "In recent days, people have continued to come from far away, including some from Beijing, Guangdong, and other places. When they learned the gourds had been cut off, they all felt disappointed. 'We feel a bit sorry for them.'"I thought about it and decided to hang them up first; if there are any issues, I can take them down later."He said that cutting them off a few days ago was unavoidable — there were too many people and there were concerns about safety issues; he was actually reluctant to do it. Now putting them back up, if there are many people, there will be less interaction," he said. "Everyone can just take a quick look from afar and take a photo."

Currently, the riverbank opposite the elderly man’s balcony has been fitted with metal fencing to separate visitors from the riverbank.On his balcony, Chen Jin’ao also placed a wooden board facing the opposite bank, written in red chalk: "Be careful, safety first, thank you all.""A simple piece of advice serves not only as guidance for visitors, but also as a gentle reminder marking the boundaries of this sudden wave of attention.