Jingzhou Ancient City Tour Guide Pictures of Jingzhou Ancient City in Hubei Province

In central and southern Hubei, in the hinterland of the Jianghan Plain and on the bank of the Yangtze River, there is an ancient city called Jingzhou. Speaking of "Jingzhou", there are few friends who don't know this name. Friends who have watched Teacher Luo Guanzhong's "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or watched the TV series "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Three Kingdoms" all know the popular stories of the Three Kingdoms, such as "Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou" and "Guan Yu accidentally lost Jingzhou".

Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge

Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge

Standing in Shashi Wanshou Tower Park, I took this photo of Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge.

This bridge under the sunset is really breathtaking. It represents a milestone in the history of bridge construction in China.

The Jingzhou Yangtze River Bridge consists of nine parts: the North Bank Approach Bridge, Jingzhou Causeway Bridge, North Bank Beach Bridge, North Branch Navigation Bridge, Sanbazhou Bridge, South Branch Navigation Bridge, South Bank Beach Bridge, Jingnan Gandhi Bridge, and South Bank Approach Bridge. It consists of a total length of 4397.6 meters, a bridge deck width of 24.5 meters, two-way four lanes, and a daily traffic capacity of more than 20,000 vehicles. Its complex structure incorporates various forms of long-span bridges at home and abroad, and is known as the "Chinese Bridge Architecture Museum". The North Branch Navigation Bridge is a PC cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 500m, ranking second in the world and first in Asia. Sanbazhou Continuous Girder Bridge has a main span of 150m and a continuous length of 1100m. It is currently the longest continuous girder bridge in China.

Jingzhou Jingzhou, also known as "Jiangling City", was built in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and is one of the birthplaces of Chu culture. Jingzhou is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. The ancient city of Jingzhou has always been a battleground for military strategists. It is located at a transportation fortress connecting the east, west, north and south. Her importance can be seen from "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Cao Wei's eyes were greedy for it, Sun Wu's heart was itching for it, and Liu Bei coveted it, a piece of greasy "fat meat".

Data show that the ancient city of Jingzhou has a total area of ??4.6 square kilometers and is divided into three floors. The outside is a water city, the middle is a brick city, and the inside is an earth city. Jingzhou City has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. The current Jingzhou Ancient City was last built in the third year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1646), and has been built and preserved according to the original site. To be precise, today's ancient city of Jingzhou is "Qing Jingzhou".

Mottled traces on Jingzhou city wall. I have been studying in Jingzhou for four years, and Jingzhou is my second hometown. Coming back here feels like "coming home". Although the streets have been rebuilt and the houses renovated over the past 30 years, they are no longer the same as they were back then, but there is still an indescribable sense of intimacy among the streets of the ancient city.

I spent a whole day wandering around the ancient city. After visiting the "Former Residence of Zhang Juzheng" and "Guandi Temple", we walked to the south gate. I have been looking for traces of the past in the new appearance of the ancient city, and I seem to have found a little feeling when I arrived at the South Gate. The aunt selling sugar cane at the door and the smoke-filled snack bar while cooking all have familiar shadows on me.

The time-honored snack bar is very lively and prosperous when you walk into Wengcheng at the south gate. I don’t know if Beijing’s flyovers were like this back then. Street vendors, shoe repairmen, fortune tellers, motorcycles, cars, and pedestrians shuttled on the stone road in Wengcheng.

Nowadays, barber shops in big cities like Wengcheng have been transformed into "beauty salons" with fashionable names and luxurious decorations. They all use hair clippers and hair dryers. Street haircuts like this are rare. A bench or a simple lounge chair, a simple barber tool. If I hadn't just had my hair cut, I would be enjoying the barber's exquisite skills in the warm sunshine.

Ancient and traditional hairstyle. On a sunny day, the sunset can be beautiful. I have been sitting under the "dragon pillar" in the square outside the east gate, waiting for the sun to set. Accompanying me is a cute brown puppy. When I took a picture of him, the "handsome guy" immediately turned his head away, with an air of arrogance bigger than that of a movie star today.

The sun sets slowly from the east gate, hiding behind the battlements. Thick purple-red clouds form an arc, surrounded by golden light in the middle of transparent blue.

Outside the small "Dragon Pillar" gate of the square, there are tourists everywhere. Many foreign tourists and local residents enjoyed their entertainment

The shining symbol of the ancient city of Jingzhou, the stainless steel sculpture "Golden Phoenix Flying", was covered with a layer of golden brilliance under the gorgeous sunset. The majestic golden phoenix, just as the designer imagined, soars above the bright sun against the backdrop of colorful clouds.

It is said that Liu Bei married his wife, Mrs. Sun, conquered Jingzhou and killed Guan Yu. This tower with too many mysterious stories is dignified and serene, simple and elegant, majestic and filled with an indescribable solemnity and mystery.

Beautiful Jingzhou City

[Wanshou Pagoda]

Wanshou Pagoda

Stand almost anywhere in Jingzhou and look towards the Jingjiang Embankment Everywhere you go, you can see a majestic pagoda - the "Wanshou Pagoda", standing on the high embankment. When I was studying in Jingzhou, this was a place where my classmates and I often went. It wasn't a park back then, there were no fences, and there was no admission. I have sat on the ground not far from the tower many times and made watercolor sketches, but those watercolor sketches have long since disappeared.

Whenever I come here in the future, I will come to the Yangtze River Embankment and look up at the "Wanshou Tower". This time, it will be the same. This pagoda has a long history. According to legend, when the seventh King of Liao in the Ming Dynasty granted Jingzhou, it was built on the orders of his first mother, Taizu, to pray for the longevity of Emperor Jiajing. It also had the implication of locking down rivers, suppressing floods and ensuring peace.

The "Wanshou Tower" was built in the 27th year of Jiajing (1548) and took about four years to complete. The tower is more than 40 meters high, with seven floors on eight sides and a masonry structure.

But if you count the number of pagodas in the first photo, you'll wonder why there are only six. It turns out that the river bed of the Yangtze River is getting higher year by year, and the embankment is also getting higher, so the tower body slowly drops below the embankment surface, with a depth of up to 7 meters, more than one layer from the ground. I sincerely pray that the pagoda will not continue to become shorter and become an "underground pagoda".

There is a stone tablet on the pagoda door at the bottom of the inner Buddha statue, with the four characters "Wanshou Pagoda" in regular script. At the door of the pagoda, there is a statue of Buddha wearing cassocks. The faint light from the top of the cave looks like a halo of Buddha's light above the Buddha's head in the lens. There is a statue of Hercules embedded in each corner of the tower. They squatted with their legs slightly, supported their knees with their hands, and tried their best to support the towering pagoda day and night.

Statue of Heracles

Each floor of the tower is decorated with 87 white marble carved Buddha statues. The inner and outer walls of the tower are inlaid with 2347 relief Buddha bricks, decorative bricks and character bricks. . The brick Buddha statues are either sitting or standing, each with its own charm. According to legend, these Buddha statues were enshrined by Emperor Jiajing, so they have local characteristics.

The tower is hollow and has built-in stone steps that spiral up to each floor. There are four doors on each floor. You can lean on the door or overlook the river and the city wall. very beautiful. It's just that I've never been there. When I go to school, it’s not that the park tower door doesn’t open. Now that the tower door is open, I can’t bear to spend money.

Looking up at the top of the Wanshou Pagoda, there is a stone tablet on the side that reads: "Guanyin Rock Head". "Rock" is also a rock or Koishiyama that protrudes from the river. Known as the "No. 1 Rock Mountain in the Yangtze River", Guanyin Rock stretches into the river for more than 200 meters, supporting the river surface, protecting the river embankment, and resolving the danger of Jingjiang River.

Guanyin [Guandi Temple]

Guandi Temple Plaque

When it comes to "Guan Yu", almost no one in China, whether in urban or rural areas, knows everything. Everyone's minds immediately pictured the red-faced general of Shu riding a red rabbit horse and holding a Qinglong Yanyue Sword. They would think of "warming wine to kill Hua Xiong", "going to the meeting alone", "driving the seven armies", "scraping bones to cure poison", etc. Legendary historical stories.

Though the vicissitudes of life have changed dramatically, the worship of Emperor Guan has not diminished. "There are Confucian temples in counties and martial arts temples in villages" is not an exaggeration at all. Nowadays, there are statues of Guan Yu at the entrances of many restaurants and companies. They offer fruits and light incense candles. They have become the "God of Wealth" and "God of National Protection" in people's hearts. According to statistics, there are more than 30,000 Guandi temples across the country

I have always believed that the Guandi Temple at the south gate of Jingzhou is the most authentic, because Guan Yu worked in the ancient city of Jingzhou to governor Jingxiang County for more than ten years. The Emperor's Temple itself was the base for Guan Yu's "Guan Fu" when he was guarding Jingzhou, and it was also the place where Guan Yu's descendants inherited Jiangling. According to records in the "Jingzhou Prefecture Chronicle", Guanfu's buildings are majestic and magnificent, with a total area of ??about 50 acres.

The Guandi Temple was built in the 29th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the 53rd year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. It was later destroyed in the Japanese invasion of China. The current Guandi Temple was rebuilt by the local government in 1987 on the site of the ancient Guandi Temple. It is composed of Yimen, Main Hall, Sanyi Hall and other temple buildings.

Scenery of Guandi Temple

At the main entrance of the temple, the incense candles that people have just lit are burning, and smoke is curling up. Above the main entrance hangs a huge plaque "Megatron China" given by Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty. In the middle of the main hall is a large statue of Guan Yu who reads the Spring and Autumn Annals at night. It has a golden appearance, thick armor, long beard, and majestic presence. The design and construction techniques of this sculpture are outstanding. Unfortunately, staff were not allowed to take photos of Guan.

Going through the main hall and standing at the back door, there are two towering ginkgo trees in the middle of the front yard. The temple was destroyed many times, but these two ancient trees survived. Under the steps of Sanyi Hall is the stone statue of Guan Yu Hengdao. It is said that this stone statue was carefully carved in the three major Guandi temples in China and was donated by overseas Chinese. For some unknown reason, Guan Yu's statue wears a big red silk flower on its chest.

The four characters "loyalty money ball" are written on the plaque above the main entrance of Sanyi Hall. A couplet hanging on the beams and columns on both sides made a profound evaluation of Guan Yu's life: "Born in Jiezhou, joined the army in Zhuozhou, guarded Jingzhou, and his fame spread throughout his life"; "Loyal to Shu, surrendered to Wei, and with the Lord If Wu breaks off the relationship, it will be difficult for Jinou to win three points." There are statues of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei sitting in the hall, wearing yellow cloaks on their shoulders, with their hands on their knees, and their eyes looking directly upward, recreating the scene of three sworn brothers discussing the plan of "restoring the Han Dynasty".

After visiting all the halls, I stopped for a long time in front of the statue of Guan Gong. Looking up, the blue sky and white clouds, the grand hall with cornices and tall and vigorous ancient trees all seem to be silently telling people the legendary story of the ancient hero Guan Yu.

Towering Tree Zhang’s Former Residence

Zhang’s Former Residence

My classmate came to the guest house early in the morning to find me and asked me what my plans were. If you want to take some photos in the ancient city of Jingzhou, I would say to Sanqing, then just go shopping in the ancient city. You can put me anywhere in the east gate. So Sanqing sent me to the entrance of the new east gate city wall. I got out of the car and looked up. Standing in front of me is a majestic "Jiangling Monument Garden" stone monument. Looking inside, there is an antique courtyard in the distance, with "Zhang's Former Residence" written in gold letters on the door. After visiting "Zhang's Former Residence" for a long time, I really realized the feeling of "not finding a place to get it without spending any effort". If you make a couplet, I would definitely add a horizontal couplet, "I am very lucky."

Zhang has two official residences, one is located in Hufangqiao, Xuanwu District (by the way, Xuanwu District is gone and has just been merged into Xicheng District).

As the saying goes, "the tea cools when you leave", not to mention that Zhang was later labeled a "historical counter-revolutionary" by the "student emperor". "Property" and "confiscation" are certain. His official residence changed hands several times, and was finally transferred to Zeng Guofan and became the "Huguang Guild Hall". It is said that after the success of the Revolution of 1911, Mr. Sun Yat-sen visited the Huguang Guild Hall many times and hosted the founding meeting of the Kuomintang here. It was finally converted into the "Peking Opera Museum", which can be regarded as "making the best use of everything".

Entering the first courtyard of the gate, there is "Tai Yue Hall" on the front and "Tai Shi Ju" on the left. In the sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang left Beijing to return to his hometown to bury his father. "Taishi Mansion" is Zhang's lantern Taiyue Hall in the courtyard. In a sense, it is more like Zhang Taiyue Memorial Hall. There is a couplet on both sides of the door, "One person is the emperor's master, and his shoulders can bear the affairs of the world." There is a plaque above the door, "One image through the ages." In the hall, Li Zhi, a great scholar of the Ming Dynasty, commented on Zhang in four characters: "an outstanding prime minister." The four walls are filled with the life stories of the Jingzhou prodigy. He entered politics for the first time, took a three-year vacation, rose step by step, won first and second place, and was determined to reform.

There are several gardens in Zhang's former residence, including the "West Garden" in front of it. The garden is lush and green, with shady trees, small bridges, flowing water, pavilions, and a waterwheel that is rarely seen nowadays. Although it is not as big as the Imperial Garden in the Forbidden City, it is really quiet and comfortable.

Going through the north gate of the West Garden, here is the "Zhang Wenzhong Temple". When Zhang was alive, he built "Shide Qingyuan Temple" to worship his ancestors. Later, it was changed to "Gongsi" by Zhang's great-grandson. There is a couplet engraved on the door, "Thousands of years have passed, and it is difficult to be alone on the first day of the new year." It is said that these are the words of Emperor Kangxi's evaluation and affirmation of Zhang many years later.

In the ancestral hall, there is a statue of Zhang. At this moment, several tourists came, lit incense and kowtowed. The decoration of the staff is more like that of Taoist priests in a Taoist temple. Every time a pilgrim knocks his head, he knocks on the jar with the word "Buddha" written on it and says a blessing. The smell is like the smell of a Buddhist temple.

There are several "gardens" in the former residence. This is the white turtle dreamed by Grandpa Zhang, but it is recorded in "Turtle Pond": "My great-grandfather was pregnant with Ge Gongcheng. On the birthday of a grand master, he dreamed that he fell into a water tank on the moon, and his hair It will shine, turn into a white turtle, and float on the water. Once upon a time, there was a teacher named Tai. There should be a good moon. "One step away, the story is completely different. Which one is right and which one is wrong?" But Zhang does seem to have a nickname called "Bai Gui".

Speaking of tour guides, you can really ask a tour guide to visit the former residence. This is something I learned later. When visiting Taiyue Temple, there was a female tour guide explaining it. I thought it was free, so I followed her closely and asked a lot of questions. At first she treated me as her guest and answered enthusiastically and seriously. Her guests walked slowly, and when they arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall, she and I were the only ones left. I continued to ask questions. She felt something was wrong and asked, "Where are your friends?" I told the truth before I could react, "I came alone, I have no friends!" Suddenly, a dark cloud formed on her face, and she left.

Conclusion: Jingzhou, an ancient city with thousands of years of history, has witnessed too much history and carries too many mysterious stories. No wonder even Zhang Jiuling's old teacher lamented in "Climbing the Jingzhou City Tower": "How big the sky is and how narrow the river is. The tower is a hundred feet high and intersects at the west corner. In your spare time, you can take a look at the deserted suburbs near the old capital. Wilderness. I want to be a hero when I see the ancient mountains and rivers here, and today we are in the county and urban areas. Although the northern Xinjiang is in Zhengzhou, it is far away from Soochow. Shaanxi. There is nothing to worry about in the world of Yixi and Guanlianghuo. Peace is no different. From Kinmen, I come to join the bamboo envoy. . Silly as a tomb, not as stupid as Ning Wu. Today I am going to Nanpu, and I want to bring a wild goose and a pair of wild geese."

[Travel Guide]< /p>

Tickets: 20 yuan, ancient city wall; Jingzhou Museum is free. Open from 9:00-17:30, closed at 15:30, closed every Monday.

Transportation: There are direct trains to Jingzhou, or you can transfer in Yichang or Wuhan and take a plane or train. Yichang Long-distance Bus Station has more than 10 buses to Jingzhou every day from 6:40-18:50; Wuhan Hanyang Passenger Station and Fujiapo Coach Station have more than 10 buses to Jingzhou every day, which is very convenient. After arriving in Jingzhou, take bus No. 18 and 16 to the East Gate and New North Gate, and take Bus No. 15 to the East Gate and New South Gate. Take bus No. 14, 19, 21, 33, or 101 to Jingzhou Museum.

Accommodate

Food and drinks: Food is common, fish is important. No fish can cook a meal, and no fish can perform rituals. Fish cake balls are a traditional famous dish. The characteristic is that you eat fish but not fish. The fish has a meaty taste and the fish has a fishy smell. "Dragon and Phoenix Pairing" is a traditional famous dish in Jingzhou in ancient times. It is cooked with giant eels and chicken heads and has a history of more than a thousand years. According to legend, Zhuge Liang invented it to congratulate Liu Bei on his return from Wudong to welcome Mrs. Sun. It is still the custom to serve this dish at wedding banquets in Jingzhou.