Beautiful and colorful Guizhou (4) - Longli Ancient City (1)
The transportation from Zhenyuan to Longli Ancient City is very inconvenient. You must first take a shuttle bus from Zhenyuan to Sansui. After leaving Zhenyuan City, there is a winding mountain road. The road is full of potholes. It rained lightly last night. The potholes along the way are full of water, and the places without water are full of mud. The road condition is quite bad. This makes me... I have a general understanding of the road conditions in Qiandongnan, Guizhou, and it took 2 hours to walk the 47 kilometers. When the bus arrived at Sansui, they were told that the bus to Tianzhu would leave immediately. After unloading our luggage, we rushed to the bus to Tianzhu. The road conditions from Sansui to Tianzhu were slightly better, and the speed was a little faster than before. We passed 2 more After many hours, we arrived in Tianzhu County at 12:30 noon.
There was no bus to Jinping at the station where I got off at Tianzhu County, so I took bus No. 1 to the Lianlian Bus Station. After buying the ticket, I went straight to the waiting room. Within 5 minutes of getting on the bus, the shuttle bus It opened. It took more than two hours to get from Tianzhu to Jinping. At 3:00 pm, we arrived at Jinping County.
The train from Jinping to Longli was not where we got off, so the three of us walked to the old station with another passenger carrying large bags. After buying the tickets, because the 3:30 bus was just full, we were transferred to the next bus. The 4:10 bus to Longli only left from the station. It was another bumpy journey from Jinping to Longli. At 5:50 pm, we finally arrived at Longli Ancient City.
From 6:00 in the morning to 5:50 in the evening, I walked around for a whole day, took 4 buses in one day, and finally got from Zhenyuan to Longli. It was really not easy!
When you arrive in Longli, quickly find your place to stay. It is said that there is an inn in the ancient city. When we entered the ancient city, we asked around. A passerby told us that there was an inn in the south gate of the ancient city, so we went straight to his house. When we arrived at the inn, we looked at the guest room. It was clean, but there was no room for three people. We asked for a standard room for three people to live in, but the old man and lady of the hotel refused to do so, saying that his family had regulations that prohibited three people from sleeping in it. A standard room.
After walking out of the inn where the two elderly people lived, we continued to inquire. Finally, the village women’s team leader recommended us the Longxi Inn. It has a double room, a private bathroom, no air conditioning, and an electric blanket. After a day’s work, we finally settled in. Came down.
It was completely dark the day after we settled in. Longli Ancient City was not as good as Zhenyuan Ancient City. The whole city was dark, but it was not brightly lit, and there were no restaurants or other places to eat. We wandered around the ancient city with only a few lights, not knowing how to spend our meal.
There are only three "main streets" in the entire ancient city of Longli. After walking around, I didn't find a single restaurant. There were only a few small shops, most of which were closed.
While walking down the street, I met a few little girls each holding a bowl of something to eat. I quickly went over to inquire and found out that there was a rice tofu seller on the street. Now it’s good, as long as you have rice tofu, I haven’t eaten it yet, so I will eat “rice tofu” tonight. So, I quickly went to find a rice tofu maker, and it turned out that rice tofu was made under the plastic sheds on the street.
We found a shed and asked the lady boss to make three bowls of rice tofu for us. Although Liu Xiaoqing has made rice tofu a household name in "Furong Town", this is my first time eating it.
While eating rice tofu, two beauties came in and asked for fried stinky tofu and jelly. This was the first time I had seen this way of eating. After the two beauties left, we also asked The boss lady got us a piece to try. This time when we come to Guizhou, snacks will become the "main feature" of our meals. They are delicious, cost-effective, and have local characteristics. Why not?
Have you ever seen fried jelly? The three of them bought one to taste first. If it tasted good, they would buy it. If it didn't taste right, they wouldn't eat it.
Each person had a bowl of rice tofu, a portion of fried jelly, a portion of fried tofu, and a portion of fried potatoes. When he was full, he continued walking around the street. The ancient town of Longli was deserted at night, with only a few children walking around a cotton candy stall.
The alley is even more quiet, with only the electric light at the door giving off a little light. Compared with the bright lights in Zhenyuan, this place is surprisingly quiet and the contrast is huge.
Looking up at the sky, a bright moon hangs high in the sky. Will it be sunny tomorrow? Looking forward to...
In fact, Longli Ancient City was not included in the previous plan, because Longli Ancient City was not mentioned in the few books I bought about Guizhou travel. When I was revising the road book, I read a Guizhou travel post by Mu Xiaozi on the 8264 forum. I was immediately attracted by the ancient city of Longli that he walked through. After checking the map, I learned that Longli is near Jinping, which is where we passed. , so this trip to Guizhou must be a special trip to Longli.
The reason why Longli Ancient City attracts me is because of its original ecology and preserved authenticity, and also because, like the Zhenyuan we just walked through, it is the product of Zhu Yuanzhang's military garrison 600 years ago. . How are they similar and how are they different? It is this kind of inquiry and curiosity that makes me full of expectations for my visit to Longli.
Actually, I was attracted to it by the photo of Mu Xiaozi in Longli during his trip to Guizhou. When I walked into the towering tower and the deep doorway with my backpack yesterday evening, I knew that what I traveled through today would definitely be a time and space tunnel.
We didn’t get a clear look at Longli during our night exploration last night. Today, after walking out of Longxi’s house, we will visit it in detail.
After leaving Longxi House and heading east, you will come to the inner ring road of the city wall, where today's tour begins.
What greeted me in Longli was the Ming Dynasty. The first thing we came to was the East City Gate (Qingyang Gate), which is a landmark building of the Ming Dynasty. Although this building in the early Ming Dynasty has experienced more than 600 years of wind, frost, rain and snow, it is still so fascinating.
The appearance of Longli, like Zhenyuan, was entirely due to military reasons. In the 18th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1385), in order to clear out the remnants of the Yuan army entrenched in the southwest, Zhu Yuanzhang sent his sixth son Zhu Zhen to lead an army up the Yuan River and into Yunnan and Guizhou. The army fought along the way and stationed troops in key areas after clearing them. As a result, Zhenyuan and Longli became the two major military camps guarding Hunan and Guizhou.
After Chu King Zhu Zhen led the army to suppress the uprising of local Miao and Dong farmers, he set up a local military organization here - Longli Guards Qianhu Station, which was affiliated to the Wukai Guards of Huguang Dusi. After that, he was the descendant of the soldiers who guarded the border. They stayed here and served as soldiers for generations. After more than 600 years of evolution, it formed an ancient town integrating military defense and villages, mainly composed of Han people in the Central Plains.
The existing ancient city strictly followed the combat needs of the time from design to construction. It is a military castle that is both a soldier and a farmer, able to fight and defend. Its defense system is very sophisticated in design. The ancient city of Longli is a product of the military system of the Ming Dynasty. It is a product of the central government's strengthening of its rule over remote areas and the penetration of Central Plains culture into the culture of ethnic minorities since the Ming Dynasty. It was an important border town in Guizhou Province during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The Ming Dynasty government adopted the political policy of "build walls high and store grain widely", which led to the third large-scale local city construction climax after the Han and Tang Dynasties. Built or built with earth walls and covered with bricks, their defensive capabilities and ability to withstand wind and rain erosion have been greatly improved compared to the previous rammed earth city walls. The current Longli Ancient City Wall was born under such historical conditions. It is a relic of the construction in the Ming Dynasty and the extension in the Qing Dynasty.
The city wall of Longli was built in the 18th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1385). It was repaired in the 2nd year of Yongle (1404). It was built with rammed earth. In the first year of Tianshun (1457), it was framed with pebbles. formed the existing style.
The city gates and city walls still exist. Today’s Longli Ancient City is no longer the famous ancient military garrison and battlefield. This imperial capital and this castle now fall into the tranquility of the mountains in southeastern Guizhou. , it is like an ancient Shengxiao song, interpreting the heart-stirring story of more than 600 years ago to future generations.
What has fallen in the embrace of this mountain for more than 600 years is a history. Everything in this ancient city is the chapters and chapters of this historical masterpiece, every word, every paragraph, and even every symbol. , all require us to taste them carefully in order to understand them.
By the early Ming Dynasty, the cause of great unification in Chinese history had matured, and the looseness and powerlessness of the chieftain system could no longer allow it to continue. After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he established a new system in southeastern Guizhou and southwestern Guizhou. This important step was left behind: setting up command offices, offices for thousands of households, and offices for hundreds of households on the border; implementing military garrison, where both troops and farmers were stationed; "gathering crops to feed oneself"; in case of war, "there will be no replacement of troops" "Labor", and there is no need to transport food. Each military camp is located in eastern Guizhou, which can not only be the source of extinguishing the resistance of the southern barbarians, but also become a fortress to maintain peace and ensure the unity of the country.
Because of this, the layout of Longli is somewhat different from other ancient cities. It is said that the layout of Longli is a miniature of Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty at that time, but the person in charge of building Longli gave up the common stone slabs in the area and inlaid pebbles on the ground, allowing his soldiers to jump at a fast pace all day long. The pebbles are hard and the vertebrae pierce the soles of the feet, making it possible for you to step calmly without any protrusions. The principle of being born in sorrow and dying in happiness is demonstrated by the details of architecture. It cannot but be said that he is a wise man.
There is another difference between the streets in Longli and other places. The intersecting streets are all in a T-shape. Local people say that because "十" and "loss" are homophonic, cross streets were abandoned and T-shaped streets were built. In fact, this was still a military need.
The ancient city of Longli is divided into four gates: southeast, northwest and northwest, all of which have towers. The streets in the city are paved with cobblestones and inlaid with patterns. The "Centipede Street" and "Ancient Coins" at the south gate are the most typical ones. .
The streets and lanes here are crisscrossed and the buildings are neat and harmonious. Longli City has east, south, west and north four-sided city sections. The city gates are set up in a virtual and real way, which makes people feel that "the light is clear and the dark is blocked, and the dark is clear and the light is blocked". The architectural style of Longli Ancient City realizes the unity of man and nature. Its advanced and reasonable planning and layout are beyond the reach of modern people.
Although the ancient city of Longli has suffered hundreds of years of wind, frost, erosion and fire disasters, the entire city still remains intact. It is one of the best-preserved ancient cities on the southern plateau of my country. It has survived the erosion of the long years and ruthless wind and rain, and its vicissitudes of life are a reflection of the entire ancient city. People in the city still continue to live in their original appearance. This is a "living" ancient city.
There are more than 20 streets in Longli Ancient City, with obvious east-west axes and central junctions. The city is centered on the former site of Qianhusuo Yamen, with three main streets running east, west and south, forming a T-shaped street structure as the main axis. , important government offices and other buildings face north and south, and are closely connected with the construction of the city defense system and have strong security (if the north gate does not open, there will be no backup). From the perspective of Feng Shui and military defense, the wrong connection of streets has the meaning of "consolidating Qi", "avoiding disasters and evil spirits" and conducive to defense. There is no "Ten" street in the city. As a military castle, it is a taboo in the city. Instead, "D" street is opened, which means "the city is prosperous and the city is eternal."
The three main streets in the city are divided into six lanes and nine courtyard residential areas. This is what is known locally as the "three streets, six lanes, and nine courtyards" pattern.
Most of the local residents in Longli come from Jiangnan provinces, mostly Anhui and Jiangxi. Their architectural forms and artistic techniques have obvious Huizhou architectural characteristics. The basic unit of a residential building is generally a two-story wooden building with a bay of 10 meters (three bays) and a depth of about 8 meters. The building structure adopts a bucket-shaped herringbone slope roof, covered with small green tiles, a peripheral brick wall or mudstone wall, a bluestone paved patio, and a fireproof cylinder made of bluestone, which is beautifully carved. The bottom is made of local bluestone as the foundation. , the top is made into a stacked shape, and the end is made into a horse head shape, commonly known as "horse head wall", it is beautifully decorated and full of vitality. The eaves are protruding 30 cm outwards, using the form of "double ridge eaves", with cyan draped eaves. Mounted on the gray-white brick wall, it looks fresh and lively. This is basically the same architectural style as Zhenyuan. The difference is that Zhenyuan is a water city and Longli is a dry city.