Zhangheyuan Ecological Scenic Area Tourism Guide

The source of the Zhanghe River is located in the western region of Hubei. It is connected to the virgin forest and has very unique geographical and landform resources. The ecosystem and natural resources here are very rich. It is a natural oxygen bar and scenic spot, and is an ideal place for tourists to travel and vacation. An excellent holy place, let me share with you the travel guide to the Zhangheyuan Ecological Scenic Area.

Memories of the Source of the Zhanghe River?

In midsummer in July, we visited a place called the "Utopia" - the source of the Zhanghe River. However, this Zhang River is the Zhang River in Nanzhang, Hubei Province, located in the land of Jingchu, not the Zhang River where Cao Cao built his capital in Yecheng and the Wei capital in Yexiasantai. I have long heard that the source of Zhanghe River is beautiful and has a subtropical scenery. Ten miles along the river there are still original paper-making workshops, ancient stone canal waterwheels and century-old buildings built in the Qing Dynasty. These are all fascinating to us.

Accompanied by our friend Liu Yourong, director of Nanzhang County Finance Bureau, we started our trip to the source of Zhanghe River. The car sped through green peaks and green mountains. After about an hour, the car got off the cement road at a place called Longwangchong, and then drove more than 10 kilometers on country roads. It was already noon when it arrived at Heyan Village.

Director Wang of the village committee arranged for us to have lunch, and then led us there as a guide. The road ahead was closed to traffic, so we got out of the car and walked.

Director Wang told us that the source of the Zhang River is two springs, one big fish spring and one small fish spring. There is a natural village at the source. Because the residents are all surnamed Chen and have been making paper for generations, it is also called Chenjia Paper Factory. To get to Chenjia Paper Factory, you have to climb down a cliff path that goes up and down for more than ten miles.

After turning around several hills and passing through several dense forests, there is a path on the cliff in front, which is the only way to enter the paper mill and the source of the Zhang River. The paths are about a foot wide and are carved along the stone wall. Stone wall on the left, cliff on the right.

Looking down, the hundreds of feet deep cliff makes people dizzy. Fortunately, the dense bamboo forest on the side of the cliff provided a shield, so pedestrians would not slide down the cliff and fall to pieces. The bamboo forest on the edge of the cliff is dense and deep, so pedestrians cannot see the edge of the cliff and feel safe.

When we carefully climbed down the stone path for more than a mile, we looked down through the bamboo forest on the edge of the cliff and saw a few green houses with tiled roofs like black dots inlaid in the lush greenery. In the river valley, Director Wang said that was the Chen Family Paper Factory.

Director Wang stood on the edge of the cliff and shouted down several times with his hands like a trumpet. When there was an echo from the other side of the valley, Director Wang said loudly: "Tell Mr. Chen that we have guests tonight!" And should.

We continued to climb down along the path between the cliffs, panting and resting all the way, and finally reached the bottom of the valley, already soaked with sweat. Fortunately none of our fellow travelers had heart disease, otherwise their hearts would have been frightened and nervous.

When we arrived at the bottom of the valley, a river about two feet wide blocked our eyes. Looking up to the sky, there are thousands of cliffs on both sides of the bank, and there is only a thin line of sky left. Between the cliffs, clumps of lush bamboo trees sprouted out and reached into the clouds. There is only a sliver of blue sky, and white clouds are like white cotton balls, gently floating over the top of the mountain.

The river flows out from the towering mountains. The water is clear and spotless. A stone dam lay across the river, and the rippling river water overflowed the stone dam and made a splashing sound. The sound of rushing water caused echoes in the canyon.

There are really white clouds curling up on the top of the mountain, and gurgling water at the bottom of the valley. We stepped on the stone dam and waded through the clear stream. The clear and rippled river water washed our feet and the green valley, and seemed to wash away all the dust of the world.

After crossing the river, an ancient house with black tiles and white walls appeared in front of us. In front of the door is an ancient stone canal covered with moss, with gurgling water in it. Next to the house is a vegetable garden full of melons and vines, fruits and vegetables, and clusters of plantains and palms. Behind the house is a dense bamboo forest full of bamboo trees.

Not far away are the huge wooden waterwheels, stone mills, stone mortars and stone troughs, which make people feel like they are walking into a simple and beautiful primitive ancient village. This is the Chenjia Paper Factory.

Director Wang took us into an antique three-story house with two buildings facing east and west. Through the side porch and patio, the owner - a 70-year-old man with a clean face, Chen Laoyin. We sat down in the middle of the back building.

We chatted with Mr. Chen, who said that their ancestors moved from Xianning during the Ming Dynasty and have lived here for nine generations. They all live along the river and have been making paper for generations.

There were originally 11 families, but now there are 8 left, all living at the source of the Zhang River. This house was built in the late Qing Dynasty. There are two elderly brothers, and the younger brother lives in the front building. We took a closer look at this old house. Although the purlins, rafters and columns were smoky in color, the vermilion paint from that time was still visible.

Old-fashioned wooden doors, carved window panes, cornices and brackets, and colorful decorations. The bluestone steps are all chiselled with bluestone strips, and the patios are paved with bluestone and generous blue bricks.

The corridors and floors are made of tile ash and tung oil poured with water. It has lasted for hundreds of years and is still as solid as stone, with beautiful patterns. The entire building shows its grandeur at that time, as well as the wealth of the Chen family.

Seeing the guests coming, Mr. Chen called over a young man, gave a few instructions, and then the young man went out. It was already dark at this time, and night had enveloped the mountains and valleys in front of and behind the house. After a while, someone seemed to be talking on the mountain on the other side. When I asked, it was the young man who had rushed to the top of the mountain on the opposite side.

We were surprised at how fast it was, just like apes, we had to travel for half a day, and the next generation was here in a blink of an eye. After about an hour, the descendant returned. The bamboo basket contained wine and various dishes. We knew that the young man had just gone to a hotel outside the mountain.

We were horrified. It was so dark. What should we do if we fell down the mountain? The young man smiled and said: "It's okay, I'm used to it."

The dinner was very sumptuous. In addition to the vegetables grown in the garden and bacon on the beam, there was also food from the river. An unknown small fish, without scales and extremely delicious. Mr. Chen talked with us while eating. After 1949, the descendants of the Chen family still went to the source of the Zhang River, which is ten miles along the river, and still engaged in bamboo harvesting and papermaking, not agricultural production.

In fact, there are high mountains and steep cliffs on both sides of the source of the Zhang River. Apart from the green bamboos that cover the mountains and cliffs and the clear blue and rapid water of the Zhang River in the valley, there is indeed no land for farming.

The descendants of the Chen family climbed the cliffs of more than 10 miles up and down when they went out into the mountains. The production of straw paper was carried out in baskets on their backs. Oil, salt, rice and vinegar were all replaced by paper, and the production of straw paper was still the same. Original waterwheel workshop.

With the development of society, competition in the paper industry has become fierce. Modern paper from other places, called foreign paper by Chen Lao, has good quality and good price, and it is difficult for local paper to survive. Due to the high mountains and dangerous roads, the paper mill has not yet received electricity. There are no lights or telephones, and there is no cell phone signal here.

There is no TV, outside news depends on a radio, and lighting is still kerosene lamps and candles. Mr. Chen said that the kerosene lamp was good, but the glass cover was not easy to buy.

Due to the inconvenience of going out, the old man has not left the mountain for many years. In recent years, he has been elected as a member of the county CPPCC. Every time he goes out to the mountain for a meeting, someone has to recite it. My wife has not been out of the mountain for decades.

Mr. Chen has two daughters, one is married outside the mountain and the other is looking for a son-in-law at home. We were surprised: in the 21st century, there is still such a paradise-like place. Although Taoyuan is good, there is one problem: it is difficult to get medical treatment. Because the road is dangerous and the family is sick, it is inconvenient for doctors to come here. Chen's granddaughter became deaf and mute when she was a child due to a fever that was not treated in time. We also lament that everything has its negative effects. After all, this is a modern society, and the Chen family should always be aware of the outside world.

Today, Mr. Chen’s two granddaughters are already studying outside the mountain, one studying in normal school and the other studying medicine. It is not the people in the "Peach Blossom Spring" who "do not know the Han Dynasty, regardless of the Wei and Jin Dynasties". I asked Mr. Chen, where did the bricks and tiles used to build this house come from? If they were carried on people's backs, how many people would be needed to carry them, and for how long?

Mr. Chen said, the bricks and tiles used to build this house back then came from. The tiles and lime were all made by hiring people to build kilns under the river, taking soil and firing them on the spot, and cutting down the wood on the spot. Mr. Chen also said that his father was accidentally killed during the land reform. His uncle studied in Beijing in his early years. After graduation, he joined the army and became the leader of a regiment. He later resigned and returned to his hometown to make paper.

My great-grandfather was once appointed as a county magistrate by the Qing government, but he refused to resign and returned home to make paper. This is recorded in the family tree. Due to the remote location, bandits, officers and soldiers have not come here since ancient times, and the family tree is well preserved. However, during the "Four Cleansing Up" period, the family was confiscated and the family tree was burned as part of the "Four Olds" and thus lost. While we feel regretful, we are also thankful that thanks to the remoteness of this place and the inaccessibility of it, this ancient residence, which was a magnificent Qing Dynasty building, has been preserved to this day. Otherwise, due to the evil tide of the "Cultural Revolution", this place will definitely be gone.

Staying overnight on the third floor of Chen's house, the stairs and floors are the essence. Although it is old and has mottled paint, it is still solid and solid.

Upstairs and downstairs, although it is midsummer, it is as cool as autumn and there are no mosquitoes or flies. It may be that the water is clear and turbulent, and mosquitoes and flies cannot survive.

In the early morning, a thumping sound woke me up. At this time, the west window reflected green. Looking out the window, you can see the prosperous bamboo trees, green plantains, and palms like cattail fans.

It reminds people of Tao Yuanming's poem: "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the Nanshan Mountains." The silence without the noise of cars and horses reminds people of Zhu Xi's poem: "The universe is vast in silence, and the sun and moon grow long in leisure."

The thumping sound was that the paper mill was producing. I followed the sound, but I saw that the stone gate of the stone canal had been opened. The clear river water was impelling the huge wooden wheel of the waterwheel to rotate, and the huge wooden wheel rotated again. The heavy wooden pestle was driven in the stone mortar to beat the bamboo.

Moso bamboo is the main raw material for the production of straw paper. The green bamboo is first soaked in lime and then pounded into pulp in a stone mortar. The man who operated it was Mr. Chen's son-in-law. The man said that the Shiqu Shiba was also built by the ancestors of the Chen family, and the specific age has been verified.

The stone joints used to build the canals and dams were made from glutinous rice that was boiled and then pounded and poured into grout. It is still as hard as iron. The man finished beating the moso bamboo and sifted the paper. I asked the man if the moso bamboo was cut by himself. The man said that the moso bamboo was cut by farmers from the surrounding area and brought to him, and he paid a penny a pound for it.

Moso bamboo will grow again every year after being cut down, and it will grow even better. But no, the most lush thing in the Zhangheyuan Valley is the continuous green bamboo that covers the mountains and plains, and is full of ditches and ravines.

We also marveled at how the ancestors of the Chen family found such a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters and an inexhaustible supply of moso bamboo.

After breakfast, head up the river, aiming for Big Fish Spring and Small Fish Spring. Each of us had an extra bamboo stick in our hands, one to explore the way and the other to use as a crutch to prevent slipping. Director Wang has another big hatchet in his hand - for cutting through thorns and obstacles.

After walking for about a mile, we turned around a mountain and saw another Qing Dynasty building with black tiles and whitewashed walls and carved eaves and colorful decorations by the river in front of us. Next to it is a green stone canal covered with moss and flowing with clear water. As well as the huge waterwheel wooden wheel, stone troughs and mortars, as well as stone tables and benches, needless to say, this is another old paper factory, so I couldn't help but go there again.

The further you go, the mountains on both sides of the river become closer and closer, rising straight into the clouds. The river valley is like a huge and narrow gap in the planks, and a blue current rushes out from the gap in the planks. The bamboos and trees on the cliffs on both sides are old and green and look like dye.

A variety of upright fir trees grow among the green bamboo cliffs, including precious yew, white fir, and nanmu and other rare tree species.

Below the cliff on the shore are clumps of tall palms and plantains, as well as lush gladioli. By the river, there are hanging orchid flowers and colorful fallen flowers. What a beautiful tropical scenery in southern China.

In addition to the rapid river water, both sides of the river are covered with dense vines and shrubs, and there is no way to find it. Sometimes we cut through thorns to clear the way, and sometimes we take off our feet and wade through the water.

Although it is midsummer, the river water is freezing cold. Just a few steps into the water, my feet were already painful and red. After finally crossing several rivers and bypassing several ponds, we finally came to a large stone cave after overcoming obstacles.

Water flowed out of the cave, and Director Wang said this was the Big Fish Spring. Also called Dayudong, this is the source of the Zhang River. After going up several stone sills and walking into the cave, you will see that the dome-shaped cave looks like an artificially excavated auditorium that can accommodate more than a hundred people.

It is about several feet high and is completely natural. The depths of the cave are dark and profound, and water gushes out from the unfathomable hole, making a roaring sound. Although the river water outside was biting to the bone, once you entered the cave, you felt that the water in the cave was even more icy, making you tremble and make you unsteady.

Pause and exit immediately. When we got out of the cave, we felt that the water outside was as warm as ever. The temperature difference inside and outside the cave is the same.

After visiting Big Fish Spring, Xiaoyu Spring, another source of the Zhang River, is still five miles away. The big fish spring two or three miles away is already exhausting, and the small fish spring five miles away is even more daunting.

After visiting Big Fish Spring, we saw century-old Qing Dynasty buildings, ancient stone canal waterwheels, and primitive paper-making workshops. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the source of the Zhang River and savored the beauty of the "paradise". Great satisfaction.

As for Xiaoyuquan, I will come back to look for it another day and then turn around. After returning to the paper factory, we rested for a while, said goodbye to Mr. Chen and the Chen family paper factory, and then headed back along the way.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we looked back into the river valley and saw smoke rising from the courtyard of the Chenjia Paper Factory.

The knife-cut green ridges, the meandering rivers like emerald ribbons, the Qing Dynasty mansions with black tiles and pink walls, and the curling smoke of Pingpingtingting are like a beautiful ink painting.