Where to travel in July and August?

In July and August, on a hot summer day, you must find a cool place to travel. Two days ago, I went to southern Shaanxi again. I spent a pleasant two-day and one-night holiday in the Millennium ancient city near the Han River. I think it's good. Let's share it with you. You can visit, eat and play with water here, which is a very suitable tourist route for the whole family.

The destination of our trip is Shiquan Ancient City. Shiquan, located in Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, is a "typical" small town in southern Shaanxi. The county is located on the Han River, in the hinterland of Qinba Mountain area, with mountains and water and beautiful scenery.

There are many scenic spots around Shiquan County, such as Zhongba Grand Canyon, Xiang Yan Cave and Guiguling Forest Park. But this time, with the attitude of leisure travel, we decided to visit the ancient city.

Shiquan Ancient City is located in Shiquan County, and it is open to tourists free of charge. It is said to be an "ancient city", but the preserved volume is not large. Shiquan ancient city is located on the Han River. It used to be the bustling Hanshui Wharf, which was prosperous for some time because of the water transportation of the Hanjiang River. There used to be many shops and inns in the old city, but later, with the decline of water transport in the Han River, the old city gradually became barren.

There used to be four gates in this ancient city, but now there are only two gates left, the east and the west. The scope of the city has also been greatly reduced, but today, with the rapid development of urbanization, the existence of Shiquan ancient city is lucky enough.

In the ancient city, there are many cultural relics and historic sites, such as Youyou Palace, Jiangxi Guild Hall, Guandi Temple, Ancient Fairy Cliff and Ancient Stage. It is worth mentioning that these scenic spots are all open for free. Compared with the scenic spots, strolling on the polished bluestone road in the old street, drilling into the narrow and deep alleys to explore, and tasting the snacks and food with the characteristics of Shiquan make us more relaxed and comfortable.

Guqi steamed buns, Kang Kang steamed buns and Chili peppers on the old street are all local characteristics, but if you come to Shiquan, the most delicious food you can't miss is stone fish. In fact, this is one of the important reasons why a group of us choose to come to Shiquan to play. Shiquan is near the Han River. The history of eating fish can be traced back thousands of years. Making fish can be regarded as the specialty of Shiquan people. There are stone fish shops all around the ancient city of Shiquan, big and small, which one is good.

It is worth mentioning that when we finished eating stone fish at noon, we happened to meet the activities of the Shiquan Water-splashing Festival. So I play with the crowd. The tradition of splashing water to pray for blessings is said to come from commemorating Dayu and praying for peace at the same time. Therefore, the blessing session at the beginning is still very interesting, especially the huge "dancing grass dragon", which is full of highlights.

Of course, the climax of the activity is the last water splashing. In the square in front of the Wang Yu Temple in the ancient city, all the big friends and children are playing loudly one after another. I dare not enter the venue with my camera, but I saw that the atmosphere at the scene was also infected. It is very cool to splash water heartily in hot summer. If you bring your children to play, I believe they will be very happy.

After changing clothes and eating dinner, it's getting dark. We came out from the east gate of the ancient city and walked along the plank road beside the Han River to feel the beauty of the night in this small landscape town. Near the west gate of the ancient city, visitors can walk to the Hanshui River. In the evening, many local people sat on the rocks by the river to enjoy the cool, and we also sat quietly for a long time, feeling the beautiful scenery and feeling very comfortable.

After walking by the river, we walked into the ancient city from the west gate and wanted to see the night view of the ancient city. If the ancient city during the day gives people a feeling of simplicity and massiness, then at night, under the illumination of lights, it presents more charming beauty. To our surprise, there are more people in the ancient city at night than during the day. A friend said that probably many Shiquan people went home from work. After all, this ancient city is not a complete scenic spot, but an ancient city that still lives with the "living" aborigines.