One of the ancient towns you must visit in this life——Zhenyuan Ancient Town

Let me make a few digressions first. Guizhou is a magical place that amazes me every time I go there.

The first time I went there was by chance. I was just going to Luoping with my classmates, but the locals recommended us to go rafting in a nearby place called Maling River. We thought it was so strange at the time, so a group of people went there immediately . Maling River is located in Xingyi, Guizhou, at the junction of Yunnan and Guizhou. It is the place where Han Hong sang "Daybreak". Of course we went earlier, the Maling River has not yet been fully developed, there are very few people, the water surface has an extremely large drop, the current is rapid, and the route is rugged. In order to ensure safety, there must be two local people on the raft to control the route one after the other. We are all riding on the raft, and we must hold on to the rope and not let go during the whole process, otherwise we will easily be knocked into the water (from now on I Seeing that kind of drifting on a hovercraft will make you laugh and cry). The river is very long and took three hours to float. The scenery along the way was stunning. Yes, it’s such a little-known place with stunning scenery.

What we are going to talk about today is Zhenyuan Ancient Town, located in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou. It is also not well-known but extremely amazing. Guizhou’s beautiful mountains and rivers are underestimated.

In fact, I have known about Zhenyuan Ancient Town for a long time. After reading the information, I felt that it has profound humanities. When reading the travel notes, many people said it was boring, so I kept struggling. Later, because I wanted to visit Huangguoshu Waterfall, I decided to stop by and have a look.

The train arrived at Zhenyuan Station at noon. Because it was July and it was close to Hunan, the temperature was very high. The weather forecast was 38°. I felt it was at least 36°. Fortunately, there was a pre-booked hotel opposite the station. , put away the things and packed them up before going out to look for food.

Zhenyuan County is not a big town. The hotel I stayed at is at the foot of the mountain. You can get to the ancient town by bus in four or five stops. The bus station is opposite the hotel. The buses in Zhenyuan are very small, look wooden, and have antique windows, which are very distinctive. Zhenyuan has given me a great impression since the bus started.

The ancient town is located in the lofty mountains of the Wuling Mountains. In the middle, there is a Wuyang River winding through the city, shaped like a Bagua. Since ancient times, it has been the only way to enter Guizhou from the Central Plains. It is known as "the key to Dianchu and the gateway to eastern Guizhou" and is an important transportation route into the southwest border. The ancient town has a history of more than 2,000 years, with numerous historical sites, beautiful mountains and clear waters, and ancient dwellings with blue bricks and black tiles along both sides of the Wuyang River. I got off the car at the Zhenzheng Bridge at the entrance of the town and walked slowly along the stone road, as if walking in a painting.

It was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, and I was very hungry. I saw a lot of Miao's sour soup shops on the roadside, so I randomly walked into one. After ordering food, I walked to the river and sat down. The cool breeze blew and I watched the blue sky and white clouds and the green mountains on the other side reflected in the water. A awning boat swayed by on the water, and the ripples spread out in circles. It was really... So beautiful.

Here I would strongly recommend the Miaojia Red Sour Soup. It is bright red in color, moderately hot and sour. It has fish in sour soup and pig's feet in sour soup. You can cook it with vegetables while eating. The taste is amazing. . The tastes in Yunnan and Guizhou tend to be sour and spicy. I have eaten a lot of Kaili Sour Soup since I was a child, but Zhenyuan Red Sour Soup simply refreshed my outlook. I originally liked Tom Yum Goong soup the most. Every time I ate it, I would wonder how such a delicious soup could exist. However, Zhenyuan Sour Soup was no less good. I was shocked when I took the first bite. As a result, I searched for Guizhou on Taobao as soon as I got home. Sour soup later replaced Tom Yum Gong.

Zhenyuan Ancient City is dotted with various historic sites, including Qinglong Cave, Zhongyuan Temple, Wanshou Palace, Zhusheng Bridge, Xianglu Rock, Tianhou Palace, Fuwei Ancient City Huan, Wuwang Cave, and Four Palaces (Oriental Palace). Temple of War), Heping Village, Zhou Dawen’s former residence, etc. Many alleys are long, narrow and deep, and you will suddenly find yourself in a different world as you walk. Many century-old houses are open to welcome guests, so you can visit and rest. Another bowl of iced sour plum soup, not to mention how comfortable it is. Because it was too hot, I walked through various shady alleys after eating, looking around and seeing traces of history everywhere.

The most beautiful thing about Zhenyuan Ancient Town is the night view. At night, all the red lanterns under the eaves light up. The entire ancient town is brightly lit and the streets look like daylight. The light and shadow are reflected on the river, making it colorful. There is a painting boat passing by slowly in the river. It is really beautiful to sit in it and swim in Wuyang River at night.

The shore is full of tables and chairs in the open air. Tourists can drink and eat while watching the night view, but they don’t know that they have also become a scenery in the eyes of the people on the bridge. The starry sky is bright, the night is like water, and the fireworks are noisy. Many folk singers shuttle around with guitars on their backs. When a customer requests a song, they will stop to play and sing. What a beautiful moonlit night on the Spring River, which makes people forget to leave.

Early the next morning I went to Qinglong Cave, which is an ancient building complex integrating Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. It was built against the cliff on the mountain on the other side of the river and is commonly known as the Half-Hanging Temple. The walk up is quite steep, and the space inside is very large. The architecture and the rock cave are combined very cleverly. It is said that Zhang Sanfeng spent three years in retreat here. Standing by the window and looking down, you can see the Wuyang River winding through the ancient town like Tai Chi and Bagua. In the early morning, the mist on the river is misty, making you feel like you are in a fairyland.

At noon, I switched to another restaurant and continued to eat red sour soup, but it was not as delicious as the one yesterday, which made me a little depressed.

I continued walking around the town in the afternoon, mainly going to two places. One was Heping Village, which was a former Japanese prisoner camp set up by the Kuomintang. It was quite large. I looked at the introduction and various information inside. Configuration, it is estimated that the life of the Japanese prisoners was not bad.

Another place is the former residence of Zhou Dawen. I will not introduce Zhou Dawen. This place was also the former site of the branch of the Zhenyuan underground party organization.

I have been to quite a few ancient towns. Except for the first time I went to Lijiang when I was a child, this place surprised me the most. In fact, some of the houses along the streets in the ancient town were newly built later, but they do not affect the style of the ancient town at all. Because there is a profound humanities here that have been deposited by history, and the entire ancient town is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with beautiful scenery. Commercial development is mature, but not too noisy. The town's consumption is not high, its folk customs are simple, and there are many delicious foods. It is an ancient and modern town. It's like a lost pearl hidden in the mountains. It really feels like a peach blossom garden.

I was on the evening train and was about to leave this unexpectedly beautiful ancient town. Before I left, I knew I would definitely come back. It's just that the memories are so beautiful that they give rise to the melancholy of being close to home.