The "precipitous road" on the cliff, the legendary landscape on the Taihang Mountains
In Hui County, Henan Province, deep in the Taihang Mountains, there is a quaint and elegant small mountain village called Guoliang Village. The village is located on a cliff with beautiful scenery. It is part of the Wanxian Mountain Scenic Area.
From the county seat, you can drive to Guoliang Village in one hour. And everyone who arrives at Guoliang Village will be shocked by a landscape hanging on the cliff, which is Guoliang Cave.
Guoliang Cave is not a cave, but a road. It is the only road leading to Guoliang Village.
This road hangs on a 90-degree vertical cliff and winds through the hard red rocks. It is one of the best roads in the world. One of the most dangerous roads.
Why build a road on a cliff?
The reason is very simple, it is convenient to communicate with the outside world.
As mentioned before, Guoliang Village is located on a cliff. The continuous Taihang Mountains, like a natural barrier, isolate the village in the mountains.
In the past, people used an ancient road to enter and exit the mountains. The ancient road was built on a hundred-foot cliff behind the village. It could only allow one person to pass. Walking on it was like facing an abyss. , because it is extremely steep, it is called the "ladder to heaven" by the locals.
In the case of the "ladder to heaven", let alone driving, you have to be careful even when carrying goods and leaving. Once you encounter rain or snow, be even more careful. Accidents can happen if you are not careful.
At that time, it was difficult for people to go out to do business, to see a doctor, and for their children to go to school.
In the 1970s, in order to change this situation, Guo Liangren proposed a bold idea to dig a tunnel on the cliff leading to the outside of the mountain. highway.
In that era of extreme scarcity of supplies, what should we do when faced with steep cliffs and hard rocks without modern construction tools?
Use your hands! With just a pair of hands, Guo Liangren vowed to open up this "precipitous road".
At that time, Guoliang Village had a labor force of less than 90 people. The strong young people in the village spontaneously formed the "Thirteen Heroes" commando team and acted as the vanguard of digging mountains and clearing roads.
On the day of "February Two Dragons Raise Their Heads" in 1972, a mountain cannon exploded. Relying on the most primitive technology and tools, men swung Picking up the hammer, the days of carving out mountains and clearing roads began.
The hammer broke one after another, and the blood blisters on the hands broke and popped again until they were worn into thick calluses.
Building roads is not just about strength, it also requires materials. Tools wear out quickly, and explosives are also needed in large quantities.
To this end, the villagers sold their property, goats, and trees planted at home to raise funds to buy materials.
In the third year, new difficulties came again. There was not much money left in the village, and the food had been exhausted. There was no other way. The villagers had no choice but to stop for a while and go to neighboring counties to do odd jobs, and the money they earned was used to build roads.
In this way, it took five years to build a 1,250-meter-long, 6-meter-wide, 4-meter-high building with 35 skylights. The cliff promenade "Guo Liang Cave" was finally opened, and Guo Liang people were connected to the outside world and ended their isolated life.
Later, some statistics showed that 24,000 cubic meters of gravel were cleaned up in one day to open up "Guoliang Cave", and 12 tons of steel were used to make steel drills and other tools alone. Hammer more than 2,000.
This is known as one of the "ten most dangerous roads in the world" and one of the "eighteen most peculiar roads in the world" , "Guo Liang Cave", "the ninth wonder of the world", tells the world the story of the bravery, tenacity and perseverance of Guo Liang people.
"As the sky moves forward, a gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement." Guo Liangren used his own practice to create a miracle in the world, interpreting the spirit of continuous self-improvement in contemporary society.
Nowadays, in Guoliang Village, whether it is on the stone roadside, on the steep cliff, or in the winding Guoliang Cave, there are always You'll find life drawing students, painters, photography enthusiasts, and travelers from all over the world.
The gathering of these figures is the result of the people of Guoliang Village’s continuous self-improvement and hard work. With their indomitable and pioneering spirit, they wrote legends on the towering Taihang Mountains.
Editor | Wang Linyan