Xunyang Tai Chi City Travel Guide

Xunyang Taiji City is a famous historical city with a very long history. Everything here has an extraordinary mark. Many people who like Shaanxi culture hope to come here to experience the charm and charm of ancient culture. The essence, let me share with you the travel guide to Xunyang Tai Chi City.

Originally, I used titles that were full of literary flavor and concise, such as "Snow embraces the Qinling Mountains" and "Xunshui circles Tai Chi", but I deliberately used eye-catching titles just to increase the number of readers. , I actually work hard.

So have you clicked in to see it? Have you clicked in to see it?

I have only been to the Qinling Mountains in the summer. In my impression, the Qinling Mountains always have blue sky, white clouds, and green trees. , the water is gurgling, and the breeze is blowing. I originally wanted to take advantage of this heavy snowfall to see the snow-covered Qinling Mountains, but unfortunately the snow in southern Shaanxi was not very heavy.

It was snowing heavily in Xi'an on the day I went there, but in southern Shaanxi there were only overcast clouds and scattered snowflakes. The Qinling Mountains, with their large expanses of dead trees and rocks exposed, are not beautiful, not to mention the successive tunnels that constantly disturb my interest in enjoying the scenery.

The bridges and tunnels that come into view from time to time make people lament the hardships and difficulties of our country's highway and railway construction.

The roads in front of me are clean, straight, and flat. When I think of the bumpy and dusty roads I once experienced on the mountainous road in Laos, I can't help but feel proud of my country.

Tunnel

Bridge

The train slowly arrived at Xunyang, it was already afternoon. As soon as we got out of the station, we heard constant shouting. It was the van driver soliciting business.

Whether it is Xunyang North Station or Xunyang Station, it is a long way from the county seat, and buses are inconvenient, so vans, taxis and private cars carrying passengers can be seen everywhere. Although it may not be formal, the prices are basically reasonable, and there are few cases of rip-offs or exorbitant prices.

Relying on the navigation, I actually walked to the county seat by myself. Anyway, I was not in a hurry, so I should exercise.

Although I had the help of navigation, I took some wrong turns because I was not familiar with the new county. Fortunately, the county town is not big, so you can hardly go wrong if you walk along the river, so although it took a lot of effort, I finally saw the familiar tunnel with Chinese Tai Chi City written on it, which is the old county town of Xunyang.

Perhaps you don’t know much about Xunyang yet, so let me use words and pictures to take you to understand this small city deep in the mountains.

Keyword 1-Tai Chi City

Located in Beng on the Han River and on the bank of the Xun River, Xunyang County is also known as Tai Chi City.

Xunhe River flows out from Chang'an District, Xi'an, all the way south, and when it reaches Xunyang, it suddenly turns several bends, forming an "S" shape, passing through the city, and finally merges into the Han River.

The meandering Xun River divides Xunyang County into two halves, like the cathode and anode of Tai Chi. Together with the surrounding peaks, it outlines a lifelike and lifelike Tai Chi diagram, a uncanny construction site. A magical and spectacular Bagua Tai Chi City was created.

As early as the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, a poet described the magic and magnificence of Tai Chi City like this: the city is full of lights and stars, and a Xun River surrounds Tai Chi. It can be seen that Taiji City in Xunyang County has a long-standing reputation.

Tai Chi City in Winter

After finding a place to stay, I asked my boss about the route to Songjialing. Songjialing is a commanding height in Xunyang. There is a Tai Chi City Observation Deck. Only there can you have a panoramic view of the wonders of Tai Chi.

At the entrance of Hualiqi, there is a small road leading to the observation deck. The road is not easy to walk and there are no obvious signs. It is a road often taken by locals.

I asked as I walked, and thanks to the guidance of an old lady, I finally reached the correct path to the observation deck.

When I came here 6 years ago, the observation deck was already under construction, and it is still being expanded today.

As I approached the viewing platform, I saw a large Buddha that had not yet been repaired on the cliff, and its lower body had begun to take shape. Maybe it was because it was winter, or maybe I went up the mountain too late. The construction tools were placed aside, but no one was seen working on it.

The unfinished construction of the Big Buddha

Because I didn’t want to take a detour, I climbed up from the Big Buddha. Although it took a lot of effort, I finally climbed up. Finally, I got out from a place covered by a screen and reached the viewing platform of Tai Chi City.

At this time, the moon has risen in the east, and there are only a few people on the observation deck. Looking down the mountain, the Tai Chi landscape is unobstructed and spectacular, making people marvel at the miraculous craftsmanship of nature. As night falls, the lights in the city light up one after another. At first, there were only a few lights, but gradually more and more, dotted with stars, coupled with the street lights built along the river, truly recreated the "City of Lights Stars Case" of wonders.

Winter Night in Songjialing

The case of the city full of lights and stars

The Xunhe Bridge was also taken many years ago

From the county seat Looking from the Qinglong Ridge behind Lingya Temple, the Yinyu Island in Taiji City looks like a gourd, and where the Xun River and the Han River meet, it is as thin as a golden thread, forming another amazing landscape called the "Golden Thread Hanging Gourd" ".

The part outlined by the red line looks like a gourd when viewed from the opposite mountain

Keyword 2 - Millennium Ancient City

Climb up the steps from Hualiqi Then go up, or go all the way through the tunnel of Taiji City, and then enter Xunyang Old Town.

The old town of Xunyang is built on the mountains and along the river. The special geographical environment has formed a special architectural layout. Walking around the city, there are steps and gentle slopes everywhere. The roads are winding and winding, making it difficult to distinguish between east and west, and the houses are scattered and of varying heights.

Houses scattered high and low

The old city is surrounded by mountains and rivers

Most of the city is new-style buildings, but there are still a few Qing-style wooden houses. It has a weather-beaten, quaint and old look, but still retains an ancient atmosphere.

Ancient City

I don’t know if all cities need to build walls and gates, and Xunyang is no exception. However, only the west gate and a small section of the city wall remain. Under the ruins of the wall, an old man sat on a chair, enjoying the rare sunshine in winter.

The only remaining old city gate

Standing on the thin line of the gourd, there is the winding Xun River on one side and the broad Han River on the other, and the old city is just here. The buildings are built at high and low levels on the land, which makes people admire the hard work and wisdom of their ancestors.

Xunyang is located in a deep mountain with a river running through the city. Although it has beautiful natural scenery, the environment is inevitably remote and harsh, and the transportation is extremely inconvenient. Unexpectedly, our ancestors were not afraid of hardships and dangers. They came here during the Neolithic Age thousands of years ago to take root and settle here, and then multiplied and multiplied.

The Confucian Temple Museum in the old city of Xunyang preserves the imprint of human activities in Xunyang for thousands of years.

Stone shovel from the Neolithic Age

This stone shovel has a smooth outline and a surface as smooth as jade, which fully demonstrates that the Xunyang people in the Neolithic Age already had advanced The technology of making tools.

In the courtyard of the Confucian Temple, there is a thousand-year-old cypress that is still vigorous today. Under the ancient cypress, there is also a stone tablet. According to the "Xunyang County Chronicle": The cypress is on the right side of the Dachengmen steps of the Confucian Temple. It is surrounded by Dalian and its dark color is towering. There is an ancient stele underneath with withered writing. If you knock it with a stone, the sound will be as clear as copper.

The Baiyin Bronze Stele is said to be one of the "Eight Scenes of Xunyang".

The stele is now surrounded by railings and cannot be confirmed by knocking. Only the legend of the ancient cypress stele is left for people to imagine.

Ancient Cypress Bronze Stele

In the Confucian Temple, there are also two precious national treasure-level cultural relics: the ivory abacus and the Duguxin coal fine multi-faceted ball seal.

I think people still have the most basic aesthetic qualities. When I visited the Confucian Temple for the first time, I felt that the ivory Suangchou and Duguxin seals must not be ordinary cultural relics. Sure enough, after checking online, I found that they were national rare treasures.

Ivory arithmetic

This ivory arithmetic is the most complete one discovered so far, which fully illustrates the brilliant achievements of ancient my country in mathematics. Now this set of ivory arithmetic has been selected into middle school history books.

On the front of Dugu Xin's seal, you can clearly see the words "Da Sima Seal" and "Chen Xin Notice"

Dugu Xin, a famous general in the Northern Wei Dynasty, was handsome in appearance and powerful in both the government and the public. He had seven daughters, three of whom were married to the fathers of Emperor Ming of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian, and Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Dugu Xin is also known as "China's first father-in-law."

The seal of this Dugu letter has a unique shape and originality. There are 14 squares with text printed on them, and the contents are different, which shows Duguxin's high position and weight. This multi-faceted seal eliminates the inconvenience of carrying multiple seals and is a rare and precious cultural relic in the history of seals.

Keyword 3 - thoroughfares of three provinces

As the saying goes: The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the sky. Qinling Mountains and Bashan Mountains lie across central China, blocking the way to Sichuan and Hubei. Compared with the difficult and dangerous land transportation, convenient water transportation has gradually won people's favor.

Xunyang, located at the intersection of the Xun River and the Han River, has become an important hub for communication between the north and the south. The Shuhe Ancient Town, located 53 kilometers east of Taiji Mountain City in Xunyang County, is proof of the prosperity and development of shipping on the Han River.

Han River Shipping

The Shu River was the seat of the ancient Shu Kingdom. It was established as a county during the Han Dynasty, revived in the Ming Dynasty, and prospered in the middle and late Qing Dynasty. It continues to write the legend of the golden waterway of the Han River. Because of its geographical advantages, it is an important transit and distribution center for the logistics of Hubei, Shaanxi and Sichuan. The smooth flow of logistics has brought about cultural integration. Businessmen from all over the country have come in droves to build guild halls, which have become a gathering place for township parties from all over the country. A place to party and listen to local accents (from Baidu Encyclopedia).

Due to time constraints, I did not visit Shuhe Ancient Town. But the Han River Shipping Museum in Xunyang Old Town allowed me to understand the development history of Han River shipping.

A long time ago, the Han River became an important channel for traveling from north to south.

In the beginning, people’s means of transportation were rafts and canoes. Gradually, more advanced and beautiful ships were built, and people's travel became more convenient.

However, it is extremely dangerous to ship goods to ship. In the Han River Basin, many places are surrounded by cliffs and unpredictable water depths, or are covered with reefs and rapids. It can be said that it is surrounded by dangers. Pictures of cultural relics on display in the museum show the hardships faced by the boatmen.

The tracker stone covered with rope marks

The captain’s license and the crew members must also have certificates

The boatmen’s tools are rough and bulky

The Shu River prospered because of the Han River, and Xunyang was prosperous because of the Shu River. In modern times, due to the rapid development of railways and highways, river transportation is no longer the first choice for people to transport goods, so the ancient town of Shu River gradually declined.

It is said that there used to be a pair of shuttle boats running between Xunyang County and Shuhe Ancient Town every day, but recently they suddenly stopped running for unknown reasons.

I once took a car on the riverside road to enjoy the scenery of the Han River. I saw green hills, lush trees, green water and sparkling water on both sides of the bank. The scenery along the way was endless. If Xunyang County can develop a Han River cruise tourism project, it may bring new vitality to the Han River shipping.

Hanjiang Scenery

Keyword 4 - Making a Wish

This keyword has nothing to do with Xunyang, but only relates to a knot in my heart.

When I first graduated, I went to Xunyang to play. I passed by the Tai Chi Temple in the city. I couldn’t resist the persuasion of the incense seller, so I bought a handful of incense, and then made a wish to the gods in the temple. .

I made a lot of wishes at that time, but basically I don’t even remember them. The only thing that left a deep impression on me was that my junior brother and his girlfriend were having a serious conflict at that time, so I prayed to God to bless him and his girlfriend to reconcile, and the lovers would eventually get married.

My junior brother got married 3 years ago and the child is 2 years old.

I heard that if a wish comes true, I have to fulfill it, but I have been too lazy to go, so I kept putting it off. Fulfilling a wish is one of the reasons for going to Xunyang this time.

When I came to Tai Chi Temple again this time, I saw it leaning on the cliff. It still has the same style, but the former incense seller has disappeared. Just put the money for the incense candle in the coin box, and the incense candle next to it can be taken out by yourself.

Tai Chi Temple

The water marks on the wall coincidentally formed the pattern of monks meditating and turtles worshiping

I saw people burning incense in Qingliang Temple before. Such a way of collecting incense, I wonder if all temples now have changed to this.

It’s better than being surrounded by a bunch of incense sellers as soon as you get off the car like Famen Temple, or like Shaolin Temple where you circle a number and buy a high-priced incense stick inexplicably. Good.

After burning the incense and fulfilling the wish, the wish is fulfilled, and the trip to Xunyang is over.

Finally

Although I praise Xunyang so much, you must not imagine it as a paradise. The harsh natural environment and backward economic development make its urban construction quite bad.

When I went this time, the new city under construction was dusty everywhere, and many places were filled with mud and rocks, making movement extremely inconvenient.

In the old city, messy wires can be seen everywhere, and the noisy streets are no different from other places.

The cramped streets and dilapidated houses make people feel not only the simplicity and vicissitudes of life, but also backwardness and poverty. Incomplete tourist information and inconvenient transportation greatly increase the difficulty of independent travel.

The dilapidated ancient city

But if you don’t have such high expectations, you may feel that there are more surprises. If you don’t have enough time and budget, it would be a good choice to visit this small town for a few days.

In spring and summer, Xunyang County is still very beautiful with its red flowers, green willows and mountains and rivers. I only hope that the Xunyang County Government can discover her beauty and show it to people.

Some tips that may be useful:

1. Eat

Crisp rice: Ever since I had rice crust in Feng Town, Zhashui, I love it I have to feast on this kind of delicacy every time I encounter it. There are not many places selling crispy rice in Xunyang. I found one at the farmer's market. It tastes good. The crispy rice is crispy and oily. It feels better than the one in Xi'an.

Braised Eggplant and Crispy Rice with Rice

Kangkang Mo:

Kangkang Mo is also my favorite in Ankang and I have to eat it every time I go there. In summer, eating a bowl of steamed noodles and some kangkang buns is like eating a bowl of cold skin and meat buns in Xi'an. However, the kangkang buns in Xunyang are slightly different from those in Ankang City. Not as thin and crispy as the ones in the city, they taste like dim sum, but still crispy enough to fall apart.

Kangkang steamed buns are sold everywhere, in supermarkets and vegetable markets, and they are not expensive. A bag costs 10 yuan, and there are seven or eight in a bag.

Huaizao vinegar:

Xunyang wild Huaizao vinegar seems to be a specialty strongly promoted by the government. It is said to have the function of protecting the liver and lowering lipids. I searched for it in the supermarket for a long time but couldn't find anything for sale. Finally, I found a specialty store in front of the Tai Chi City Tunnel. A box of 4 bottles of 350ml each in a gift box costs 80 yuan (according to the boss, it sells for 85 yuan in supermarkets), and there is also a 5-catties pot that costs 60 yuan a pot, which you can buy and drink for yourself.

2. Accommodation

There are hotels and hostels everywhere near the Xunhe Bridge in the old city. You can find a place to stay after you arrive. There are expensive ones and cheap ones, but the cheap ones generally have poor sanitary conditions, so be mentally prepared.

3. OK

Usually when I go to a small county like this, I will look for tourist information on the government website. However, almost nothing can be found on the website of Xunyang County Government. Even the introduction of many scenic spots is not detailed, let alone other useful information, especially the traffic information that people are most concerned about!

Xunyang County Government website There are two railway stations in Yang County, Xunyang North Railway Station and Xunyang Railway Station.

The North Railway Station is far away from the county seat and can be reached by bus. But the buses close early, so you can also go there by carpooling with others for 10 yuan per person. The bus stop to North Railway Station is right by the river. There is no stop sign, just the place where the bus bays are painted on the ground.

Xunyang Station is not close to the county seat, but it can be reached in less than an hour on foot. If you are walking, remember to cross the covered bridge when passing by it, otherwise you will have to take a long detour in Xincheng to reach Xunhe Bridge to cross the river.

There are vans and taxis outside the station that go to the county town. They cost about five or six yuan per person. Those who don’t want to walk can take them.

There are two places to enter the Taiji City Observation Deck. Facing the Xun River, go to the right and go up the steps at the Huali Qi sign. It is a small path and a shortcut.

But the road is not easy to find, because there are no signs and there are many forks in the road, so you need to ask for directions from time to time; take bus No. 2 to the left and get off at the Government Station, and enter at the Taiji intersection. This is a repaired road around the mountain that leads to the observation deck. The road is easy to walk. The disadvantage is that it is too far. It is more convenient to drive up.

The Tai Chi Temple is on the cliff by the river and can be seen from a distance at the Xunhe Bridge. You can reach it by walking straight on a path on the left side of the Taiji City Tunnel.

The Shipping Museum and the Confucian Temple are both in the old city. Although the roads inside have names, they are winding up and down and even if you ask others, they won’t be able to explain them clearly. Fortunately, there is only one main road, and you can always find it if you wander around the city.