Morning tour of the Jiangnan Great Wall (Taizhou Prefecture City Wall)
I exercised early on Saturday to climb the Jiangnan Great Wall. At 6:30, I picked up a bus bicycle on Xiaqiao Road and set off. The soapberry branches on Xiaqiao Road are lush and green, with green fruits popping out from among the lanceolate leaves. I walk through this street every day and wonder, have I not seen the soapberry tree in bloom? The camphor trees on both sides of the Jiangbin Road greenway are already covered with green fruits. The tall tree trunks are intertwined in the sky, creating a cool tree-lined path for people walking and cycling. I was deeply impressed by the fragrant aroma of the camphor trees when they were in bloom.
I returned the car at the parking lot of Longxing Temple, and I climbed up the ancient city wall from the entrance of Xingshan Gate before 7 o'clock. The outer wall of the city wall is covered with sedge, and many unknown grasses emerge from the gaps in the city bricks and grow wildly, adding some vitality to the vicissitudes of the city wall. The brightly colored centipedes waded casually on the steps, in straight lines, S shapes, and 2 shapes. I touched it lightly with a leaf, and it immediately moved its furry legs and crawled slowly.
After walking on a flat slope and then climbing uphill steps, I arrived at the Plum Garden. The Plum Garden is the original site of the ancient Taizhou official garden. It now covers an area of six or seven acres. There are more than 200 plum trees planted on the mountain, including more than a dozen varieties such as Xuelihong, Gongfen, and Green Calyx. Now is the season when the plum trees grow leaves and they look green. When the plum blossoms are in full bloom, the place is colorful and fragrant. "Fragrant" is someone else's description. I have never smelled the aroma of plum blossoms. Maybe I have too many thoughts when I appreciate plum blossoms. My weak sense of smell cannot smell the subtle fragrance of plum blossoms. Next time the plum blossoms are in full bloom, you must come early in the morning when no one is around to smell the fragrance quietly.
In Meiyuan, I met a travel companion who had gone hiking outdoors with me. She climbed up the ancient city wall from the Range Rover Gate at 6 o'clock, running forward, her forehead covered with sweat, and she talked to me with a smile. greet. I really envy this woman in her fifties who still has such a well-proportioned and healthy figure and such a youthful and bright smile. I secretly lamented people's perseverance in exercising for a long time and self-discipline in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Walking along the vicissitudes of the ancient city wall, you will be accompanied by melodious classical music. There are ancient trees beside the city wall and the sound of birds is gradually rising. On the way, we passed several two-story hollow enemy towers and several artillery pieces. Sometimes I climbed up to the second-story hollow enemy platform to overlook the Lingjiang River and the ancient city. Sometimes I sat on the cannon to enjoy the cool breeze. Sometimes I stopped in front of the sign to learn about the history of the construction and repair of the Great Wall and the introduction of stories about the cultural monuments and celebrities in the ancient city. The Taizhou City Wall (Jiangnan Great Wall) was first built in the Jin Dynasty and completed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It has a history of more than 1,500 years. Wang Shixing, a geographer of the Ming Dynasty, wrote: "Among the eleven counties and cities in Zhejiang and Zhejiang provinces, only Wutai is the most dangerous. The southwest and west faces the river, and the northwest is steeped in craggy rocks, although there is no bird path." "Yiwu" image depicts the danger of Beigu Mountain. The ancient city wall of Taizhou Prefecture, with a circumference of 6 kilometers, borders East Lake in the east, Lingjiang River in the south, and hovers on the top of Beigu Mountain in the west and north, guarding Taizhou Prefecture like an iron barrel.
We walked to the Longgu Mountain Viewing Tower. The Viewing Tower was formerly called the Temple of Heaven. It was originally the place where Fang Guozhen rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and established his country in Linhai and proclaimed himself emperor. Later, it was said that Qi Zhaonan of the Qing Dynasty observed astronomical phenomena here, and it evolved into the "Wangtiantai". The rooftop is three stories high, and the surrounding stone railings are carved with exquisite patterns. The number of stone steps and railings on each floor are all multiples of nine and nine. The circular building is majestic, exquisite and delicate, and every detail in it implies the ancient Feng Shui concept. It is very interesting to stand in the center of the top floor and hear the echo when speaking or singing loudly. On a starry night, if you can sit here and look up at the stars, it will have a unique charm.
As I continued along the city wall from the rooftop, I saw one or two sanitation workers cleaning up fallen leaves. There are 5 female sika deer and one male sika deer in the sika deer breeding farm. The breeder is joking with the female sika deer. Several Great Wall inspectors are joking with the breeder: Be careful, if you continue to flirt like this, don't pretend that the male sika deer next to you doesn't exist. It seems like it's going to butt you with its horns. It is said that male sika deer are very ferocious and often challenge the keepers.
When we arrived at the Chenghuang Temple, we saw that the courtyard was very quiet with towering greenery. An ancient camphor tree that is more than 1,400 years old dates back to the Sui Dynasty. It was struck by lightning and most of it was chopped off. It is still full of green leaves and has strong and majestic roots. The vitality of some plants is so powerful.
After stopping and walking, I easily reached the Baiyun Tower, the highest point of the Jiangnan Great Wall, and was about to walk down a section of the steepest Baibu Mountain in the entire Great Wall. It is said that the Tang Dynasty general Wei Chigong was ordered to build the city wall, but it was destroyed several times due to the steep terrain.
One morning, a sika deer ran along the ridge and left footprints, so he ordered the construction along the footprints, and it turned out to be successful. Since then, Linhai has been known as "Lucheng". This is how Linhai's reputation as "Lucheng" came about.
After Baibujun came down, we arrived at the "Range Rover Gate", next to which is the Qi Jiguang Memorial Hall. Every time I come back here, I will pay homage to the statue of the national hero Qi Jiguang: He is wearing a battle armor, with his hands on his hips and the other hand holding a sword fastened to his waist. He looks like a hero and looks at it often.
After taking a break at the Range Rover Gate, I climbed down the 198-step "Haohan Slope" and descended from the ancient city wall at the exit of the Range Rover Gate. At around 9 o'clock, I bought a bicycle and rode home. I easily walked the entire length of the Jiangnan Great Wall in 2 hours, which was perfect.