Cao Weifeng Xuchangxing

I recently went to Henan for business and stopped by Xuchang.

In ancient times, "a scholar could know the affairs of the world without going out." How about today's information age? I checked some information before arriving in Xuchang. Although Xuchang has neither mountains nor large rivers, Xuchang is the former capital of Cao Wei. Cao Cao dominated Xuchang. It is a place where wise men recruit heroes, seek hegemony and fight in all directions. Therefore, there are many places of interest here, and historical celebrities are as bright as stars. It is a symbol of the culture of the Three Kingdoms. A resort. There are many relics here: Yuxiu Terrace where Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty used to worship Heaven, Cao Cao's Poetry Building, Chunqiu Tower where Guan Yu read at night, Deer Shooting Platform where Cao Cao, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and Liu Guan and Zhang hunted, and Baling Bridge where Guan Yu resigned from Cao Cao. There are more than 90 places including the tomb of Hua Tuo, the tomb of Concubine Dong, and the tomb of Empress Fu.

It is also known that Xuchang is the birthplace of the Xu surname. In ancient times, there was a tribe called "Liao", which means "Xu", and their activities were here. Legend has it that Yao wanted to give way to Zen, but Xu You was unwilling to resign. After hearing the news, he washed his ears and lived in seclusion on the shore of Yingshui.

This time I got off at the bus station next to the train station in the city center, which was very convenient. But this time the bus arrived at Xuchang and entered the North Railway Station. This is a suburb, far away from the city center. After getting on the bus, during the journey, I saw that most of the station names on the stop signs were occupied by advertisements. Although the station names in the station name chain below were in red letters, it was difficult to see them clearly while driving. The electronic station announcer said that we had arrived at the train station, so we got off the bus, but we were fooled again. This place was one stop away from the train station, and we were fooled by the electronic station announcer!

The tourism industry in Xuchang seems to be okay. I have a habit of buying local maps when I arrive at a tourist destination. They are usually sold at street newsstands in cities.

The next day we went to Baling Bridge, where Guan Yu resigned from Cao Cao. The park is well built and the entrance fee is RMB 30. The first thing that catches the eye is a set of reliefs of Guan Yu bidding farewell to Cao Cao. Yes, Guan Yu, Cao Cao, Liu Bei's two wives, Cao's soldiers and Shu soldiers are all well-depicted. There are green trees in the garden, and a river passes through the park. There is a tall arch bridge on it, which is the ancient Baling Bridge, which was actually built today. There is a tall statue of Guan Yu on the east side of the bridge. Guan Yu faces east and stands on the bridge with a sword, which is very majestic. But from the perspective of travel photography, it is really a failure. Due to the huge height difference, it is difficult for tourists to take pictures of the statue of Guan Yu, the Baling Bridge, and themselves.

Similarly, the person who took the photo of the scene where Cao Chong weighs the elephant cannot combine himself, the elephant, Cao Chong, and the "Cao Chong weighs the elephant" scenic spot monument together, because the elephant, Cao Chong, and the monument are distributed in a triangle. If the layout of the three is basically in a straight line, then they can all be captured in one photo.

To the west of the bridge is a well-preserved Guandi Temple. The temple is divided into several parts: the mountain gate, the Guan Yu Sacrifice Hall, the Bell Tower, the Taoyuan, the Guan Yu Life Gallery, and the original Baling Bridge. In the main hall, Guan Yu is in the main position, and Cao Cao stands on the left side. It is said that the only temples of Guan and Cao Cao are located here. There is a small San Gongping Bridge behind the palace, with a span of more than ten meters and a height of only two or three meters. It is ordinary. It is said that this is the Baling Bridge where Guan Yu resigned from Cao.

Rockeries, stone bridges, creeks, pavilions, winding paths, cruise ships, trees, flowers and plants, birdsong and cicadas form a quiet park. This kind of surrounding scenery is good for citizens to rest, so The general ticket is five yuan, but you can't enter the Guandi Temple. The most common bird in the park here is the gray magpie, and it is also abundant in Xuchang's "West Lake Park". It seems that the "city bird" in Xuchang is the gray magpie.

Because Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's monopoly of power, Dong accepted the belt edict and secretly ordered to kill Cao Cao. When the incident was revealed, Cao Cao sentenced everyone to death. Even Dong Cheng's daughter, Concubine Dong, who was five months pregnant with Liujia, was strangled to death and buried on the bank of a small river east of Xuchang City. There is a poem that goes: "I locked up Chan Juan in the deep palace, and Tiansheng was implicated for no reason. She is five months pregnant with a dragon seed, and it is in vain for the emperor to hide his face." A certain person from the same clan went there because of her reputation. When I arrived at a large tomb, I saw that it had been renovated. I saw trees shading the tomb, white stone railings around it, stone slabs on the ground, and two stone beasts embracing each other in the north and south. But Kunai’s tombstone, is this the tomb of Concubine Dong? When I asked tourists, they said yes or no, my brother even said that they were visiting the wrong tomb. After carefully inspecting the base of the stone beast that protects the tomb, I saw a phoenix pattern carved on it, confirming that it must be the tomb of Concubine Dong. I never perform the ritual of worship when entering a temple, but this time I stood in front of the tomb and bowed three times.

Northern cities probably have too much land, so the roads are wide and the squares are even wider. But when I walk on the overly wide streets here, I always feel empty. It’s not as popular as in southern cities. There are many trees and flowers in the newly built parks, roads, and squares. Unfortunately, most of the trees are small trees, which currently cannot provide shade or block the wind. There are also many camphor trees planted in the south that love the warmth. This kind of tree is in trouble when encountering cold waves. This kind of evergreen tree generally only grows south of the Yangtze River.

There are quite a few newly built parks, and it seems that the Xuchang City Government has also invested a lot of money here to create a good place for citizens to relax. Shuanglong Park is one. The park is named after the two dragons playing in the water. The garden has winding paths, pools, fountains, squares, small bridges, colored lanterns, and water-playing platforms... However, due to the new construction, the trees are not yet shady. It is worth mentioning that there are signs hanging under many trees to introduce the uses of the trees' families and genera, which is also very popular. This method is very good, and there are currently few cities that do this. However, there are several plant brands with wrong information. For example, the red-flowered wood sorrel of the Oxalis family is said to be milk vetch (green manure crop-grass) of the Leguminosae family, and the Acer acera (Chicken-foot maple) of the Acer family is said to be. The liquidambar tree (Passepartout) is regarded as a species of the witch hazel family, as a species of the holly family of the Ilex family, as a cedar tree... Children were roller skating in the square. There was a pool next to it and there were no guardrails. This was very dangerous.

The water in the pool is very green, an abnormal green color covered with blue algae. If some screws and river clams are stocked in the water, the water quality can be improved to a certain extent. This method was used in Hangzhou West Lake in the 1950s. There is a black and smelly river flowing next to the park. It would be nice if some bushes were planted densely on the river bank, so that the eyes would not see this unsightly water when walking on the park road.

I went to Xuchang West Lake Park the next day. You didn’t need to buy a ticket when you entered, but you did buy tickets for everything you could play inside. It was actually a leisure park plus a large entertainment venue, with boating, a trampoline, a maze, There is a zoo…. It’s nice to sit on the park grass, under the shade of trees, or by the lake. There are many birds in the park. Turtle doves are cooing in the trees, and beautiful gray magpies are flying around, eating mung bean-sized sapu fruits on the sapu tree, or eating red bayberry-like berries on the paper mulberry tree. . Opposite there was a group of birds parked on a willow tree with forked tails. They were black drongos. I ran over to take a photo, but unfortunately they flew away. I was sitting by the lotus pond and took a photo of the beautiful lotus. Then a black-faced tit flew up from the willow branch. I raised my camera and it beeped to warn me - it was out of battery. Somehow, for such a comprehensive park, there is no guide sign at the entrance and no signage at each intersection. According to the business purpose, where is the entertainment, where is the canteen, where is the WC, where is the import and export, it would be great to label them one by one. It seems that the park managers and operators are only limited to locals!

Although Xuchang has many scenic spots, there are very few that are truly touristy. From the Cao Wei Dynasty to the present, more than 1,700 years have passed, and the world-famous cultural relics of the ancient capital were almost completely destroyed before liberation. In the Ming Dynasty, Sun Ziliang, a native of Haining, Zhejiang Province, wrote a poem: "When I arrived in the state, I first asked about the Dexing Pavilion, and all it said was that it was deserted. I sighed at the ruins of the ancient road, and heard that there were stars in the abandoned wells." This shows the historical sites of Xuchang Tragically destroyed. So far, there are only two places that can be visited near Xuchang City: Chunqiu Tower and Baling Bridge, both of which are famous sites related to Guan Yu. . I've been to Chunqiu Pagoda before, so I didn't go this time. In the afternoon, I visited the Xuchang History Museum under Wenfeng Pagoda. There were also elaborately painted paintings of the Three Kingdoms in the corridors of the museum. Xuchang was originally the capital of Wei, but no matter the Guandi Temple, Chunqiu Tower, or museum, they all praised Liu Guanzhang of Shu, Wei's enemy, especially Guan Yu. This shows how influential a novel is. In fact, the most useless among the Three Kingdoms is Liu Bei. Cao Cao and Sun Quan are much stronger than him.

It’s time to leave Xuchang. Take a bus to the bus terminal of Xuchang Railway Station and buy a quick bus to Zhengzhou. Outside the bus station, many staff members were holding red banners on their shoulders. In fact, the outside was bright and the inside was messy and the level was average. Although there are gates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,..., they are fake.

The car left Xuchang, and I thought a lot in the car. I have been to many cities, but this trip to Xuchang made me particularly impressed. My friends in Xuchang said that I am an “old knower” because I know so much, and because I am always picky about things, I am also an “old picker” because Xuchang’s urban management still needs to be improved. Of course, I have only seen a small part of the progress, but this is the window for outsiders to observe. I hope we in Xuchang will make greater progress tomorrow.