One meter of sunshine

Since ancient times, human beings have never stopped chasing and worshiping the sun. In ancient times, many peoples even regarded the sun as the god who dominates all things in the world and worshiped it. Time steps into 200. On the first day of the year, the God of the Sun threw a lucky colored ball to Wenling Shitang, making this small fishing port town located in the southeastern corner of my country become famous with the first ray of sunshine in the new millennium.

On this day, Shitang smiled

Sunshine is everywhere, but this meter of sunshine in Shitang is different.

At 6:46 on January 1, 2000, all the eyes of China were watching Shitang - when the gorgeous morning glow on the East China Sea gradually faded, when 100 hard-working and simple fishermen used 100 conches to When the loud horn is blown, a ray of holy golden sunshine passes through the Millennium Dawn Monument, spreads all over the stone pond, and illuminates the land of China. This is not only the first ray of sunshine in Shitang, but also the first ray of sunshine in mainland China for the century. In order to commemorate this event, the Beijing Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered an asteroid with the international permanent number "14147" on September 28, 1998 and named it "Wenling Dawn Star", becoming the first county-level city. Named asteroid.

I am afraid that even the people of Shitang themselves could not predict that the land where their ancestors lived would become famous all over the world with this magical ray of sunshine. On this day, the sound of gongs and drums in Shitang has been ringing since early in the morning. In the evening, more than a thousand red lanterns were lit up together, and a flood of people came from all directions. The local fishermen celebrated this special day in the most simple way. They put on stage pavilion, hundreds of fishing lanterns, dragon dance team... The fishermen put on all the folk performances that are usually only performed during the New Year and festivals, and presented them to the people. to guests from all over the country.

On this day, Shitang smiled. She entered a new era with the first ray of sunshine in the new century. The dawn of the new millennium not only brought 120 million yuan in tourism revenue to Wenling City, making Shitang famous all over the world, but also formed the unique sunshine culture of Wenling today.

East longitude 121 degrees 36’, north latitude 28 degrees 15’

In fact, just looking at the map, Shitang is not eye-catching. It is just a peninsula from mainland China extending into the East China Sea. Locals call it "the end of the world in Eurasia." On the map, it is a raised belt called Ruoshan, forming a wedge into the East China Sea.

This is a fishing port in the East China Sea that is blown by the sea breeze day and night. It carries the salty smell of the ocean all year round. The people here live by the sea and make a living by the sea. It is like a paradise hidden in the world, far away from the struggles of right and wrong in the outside world. In the 1980s, Shitang ushered in its glory period. During this period, some painters who came to Shitang Feng discovered this geomantic treasure, so one after another artists came, making this quiet little fishing village a commotion and giving it the "Oriental Notre Dame de Paris" ” the reputation. However, after the 1990s, with the modern development of Shitang, the number of artists who came to collect works began to decrease, and Shitang gradually fell into silence.

However, the special geographical location determines that Shitang has the luck that other places do not have. The east longitude is 121 degrees 36' and the north latitude is 28 degrees 15'. The special longitude and latitude points make Shitang a new tourist destination in mainland China. The place where the first sunlight shines in a thousand years. This is the final result obtained by our country's scientific research team, which used several independent calculation methods to test hundreds of places in our country from Hainan Island in the south to Heilongjiang in the north. This calculation was confirmed by the Greenwich Observatory in the United Kingdom and the U.S. Naval Observatory, both authoritative institutions in the international astronomical community.

With a longitude of 121°36’ east and a latitude of 28°15’ north, Shitang is destined to never be forgotten.

Shuguang Garden, witness the first ray of sunshine

Shuguang Garden is located on the top of Qianzhang Cliff in Leigong Mountain, Shitang. It was specially built by the local government to welcome the first ray of sunshine in the new millennium. It is also the best place to watch the dawn and sunrise in Shitang.

Standing on the top of the cliff and looking around, you can see the sea and sky in the distance, dotted with fishing sails, and the nearby stone houses with their backs on the mountain and the sea facing them. In the center of Shuguang Garden, the Millennium Dawn Monument stands facing the wind. The monument is 20 meters high and is made of local granite stones. The Shuguang Monument is composed of two sail-shaped monuments facing each other. It not only symbolizes opening the door to the new millennium to welcome the first ray of sunshine, but also means setting sail. From a distance, it looks like hands clasped together to pray for "fish every year." Connecting the monuments is a stainless steel "fishing net". When the first ray of sunlight penetrates the clouds and shines down, it just passes through the fishing net and reflects a little bit of dazzling light. On the side of the stele facing the sea, there are four characters "Millennium Dawn" inscribed by Zhou Guangzhao, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Going about one or two hundred meters north from Shuguang Monument, you will find a delicate building with a silver-white ball on the top. This is the Shitang Planetarium, the first county-level planetarium in China. The planetarium has a total investment of 4.5 million yuan, with a construction area of ??about 1,800 square meters. The main body consists of the astronomical hall, the astronomical hall, the astronomical exhibition hall, and the astronomical theater.

When you walk into the gate of the planetarium, you can see a sundial model. In the middle of the hall is a replica of Zhang Heng's seismograph, as well as a model of a celestial body and a photoelectric asteroid. The showroom in the west displays replicas of cultural relics related to astronomy, such as replicas of the Qianzhang copper leakage from the Western Han Dynasty.

According to information, the Qianzhang copper leak was accidentally discovered in the sand dunes of Hangjin Banner, Yike Zhao League, Inner Mongolia in 1976, and is now collected in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Museum. The inner bottom of the clepsydra is inscribed with the Chinese character "Qianzhang" in positive characters, and the four characters "Qianzhang copper leakage" are engraved in negative characters on the front of the body. This is a masterpiece among ancient Chinese timekeeping tools.

In addition, there are replicas of sun pattern pottery unearthed from the Yangshao Cultural Site in the Neolithic Age, replicas of bamboo genealogy unearthed from Han tombs, replicas of astronomical oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty, and Han tombs in Yizheng, Jiangsu in 1965. The replicas of pocket-sized bronze watches are enough to arouse people's interest in astronomy and understand the brilliant achievements of ancient Chinese astronomical technology.

Shitang Planetarium has many projects that visitors can participate in. For example, the solar system planet simulation weighing system can simulate the weight of entering and exiting each planet. In addition, pictures or miniature models of Jianyi, Dengfeng Observatory, Beijing Ancient Observatory, etc. are arranged in the exhibition halls on the second and third floors, allowing people to intuitively understand astronomical knowledge. On the fourth floor is a fully automatic professional astronomical telescope imported from the United States with a GLS global satellite automatic positioning system. According to reports, this astronomical telescope can conduct fully automatic positioning and tracking observations of more than 140,000 celestial objects. It can accurately observe craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn, planets, stars, nebulae and other celestial bodies at night.

Leigong Mountain, where Shuguang Garden is located, was also an important military base during World War II. The Allied forces set up outposts here to guard against Japanese invaders, but they were not removed until the end of World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, the People's Liberation Army set up a "navigation station" here. There was a female militia post on the mountain equipped with radar, high-power telescopes and other equipment. The inspectors were all fishermen girls. Today, these military facilities have lost their mystery and are open to tourists.

Yuanlong'ao, a small fishing village awakened by the sunshine

Yuanlong'ao Village is located in Shan'aoli behind Shuguang Garden, only a few minutes' walk away. The special geographical location allows this small fishing village to see the sun earlier than other villages.

Viewed from the top of the mountain, Yuanlong'ao Village is built on the mountain. The smooth stone roads are winding and connect the small stone houses together. Rapeseed flowers are planted in front of and behind the house. The eye-catching sea of ??yellow flowers blooms wantonly in the sun and sways in the sea breeze. Today, there are only a dozen families in Yuanlong'ao Village. Most of the people have moved to the town down the mountain for the convenience of life. Those who stick to the village are mostly old people or children. It is said that the people in the village have a common ancestor - Zhang Yuanlong. When he migrated here from Fujian, he found that the fish, fish and shrimp were good and the climate was pleasant, so he settled down in Shan'ao. In accordance with local customs, stone houses were built with the mountains and the sea at their backs and local materials. After several generations of reproduction, the village gradually grew to its current size. In order to commemorate their ancestors, the locals named the village Yuanlong'ao.

I don’t know if this statement has been verified, but in the eyes of the local villagers, it is the name of the village that brings them good luck. "The year 2000 is the first year of the new millennium, and it also happens to be the Year of the Dragon. On January 1st of this year, the local area ushered in the first ray of sunshine in mainland China. The Yuan and the dragon are both corroborated here." When telling us about this beautiful coincidence, the faces of the local villagers were full of smiles. Obviously, after experiencing the dawn of the century, they have a new understanding of the place they have lived in for hundreds of years.

Walking in the village, you can see the vast sea when you look up, with the sound of waves and the salty sea breeze blowing in your face. Occasionally, you can see old people in twos and threes leisurely doing household chores together. There are also some who don't like to join in the fun, squinting their eyes and sitting in front of their houses to bask in the sun. They seem to be used to strangers like us, and sometimes they will mutter impatiently: "We are all old bones, what is there to take pictures of?" In the spring afternoon, the warm sunshine shines on This quiet little fishing village. For us, it was a great day, but for them, it was perhaps the most ordinary day.

Sail in the direction of the sunrise

Since ancient times, our ancestors have devoutly believed that "the sky is God and the sun is revered", and the sun is the "king of gods" , the standard of worshiping the sun is undoubtedly the highest. Shitang people have a special feeling for the sun.

Chen Xianglai and Chen Xiangyong are photography enthusiasts in Shitang, and they especially like to take pictures of the sun. They told us that Shitang people’s reverence for the sun has been a tradition since ancient times, and it is not just because of the “first ray of sunshine”. For fishermen who rely on the sea to make a living, the weather can determine their day's harvest, year's harvest and even their life's destiny. If there is a typhoon, not only the fishing boat will be broken, but sometimes their lives will be in danger. Therefore, in the past, the first thing fishermen did when they got up every day was to look up at the sky. If the sun was rising, it meant that it might be another good weather day for going to sea.

In this way, day after day, year after year, Shitang’s fishing port slowly wakes up under the morning light, then gradually becomes noisy, then returns to silence, and then becomes noisy again. The fishermen rush out to sea as the sun rises and lower their sails before sunset. In that era when technology was not very developed, fishermen wandering on the vast sea could only distinguish the direction of the sea and the time of day by relying on the position of the sun and stars. The sun is their most intimate partner on the sea.

The sun in Chen Xianglai and Chen Xiangyong’s photography is ever-changing.

Sometimes it looks like a fireball shooting out, hanging at the end of the sea; sometimes it looks like a golden disk, sprinkling little bits of gold towards the sea; sometimes it looks like a shy girl hiding in the thick clouds, only lighting up the horizon. clouds.

Today's Shuguang Garden is the best place to take photos of dawn and sunrise. It has now become a must-go place for local couples to take wedding photos. Chen Xiangyong can’t remember how many couples he took up there to take pictures of the sunrise. This ray of dawn opens a new day for Shitang people, so lovers are willing to fix it on the first page of their new life.