Haiwozi Ancient Town

It is already May weather, and the sky starts to turn white before 6 o'clock. At 6:30, I sat on the window sill of the hotel and opened the book I brought with me. I saw the preface, "Writing Affectionately in a Heartless World." Looking up out of the window, I saw greenery that was so thick that I couldn't get rid of it. Several crisp dog barks were heard, and a cuckoo was calling "cuckoo, cuckoo" in the distance, and other unknown birds were "chirping" and whispering. The birds are singing more quietly in the morning, and the world is very quiet.

This morning, my heart is peaceful.

I really like mornings like this. I wake up in a strange place. There are no mundane things to worry about, no work that I have to deal with, and I don’t even have to do housework to cook breakfast. I just quietly read or write. .

At half past nine, we packed up our things, had breakfast, and headed to Haiwozi Ancient Town.

Haiwozi Ancient Town was built in the 55th year of Qianlong's reign (1790 AD). It is about 70 kilometers away from Chengdu and is located on the edge of the Mianjiang River in the Pengzhou section at the foot of Longmen Mountain. It was the gateway from Chengdu to Bailu via Pengzhou The only way to pass through the town and Longmen Mountain. Its main street, Qushang Old Street, is 1,500 meters long.

When we walked from one archway to another in Haiwozi, Mei Ting sighed: "This street is so long." 1,500 meters is long.

There are two theories about the origin of Haiwozi.

One of them, "Huayang Guozhi" records: "The king of Shu, Yufu, hunted in Jianshan Mountain and built his capital in Qushang." The symbol of the emperor is the dragon, and the king's place is where the dragon lives, and the dragon lurks It is located in the sea, so later generations called the place "Haiwozi".

Second, in ancient times there was a stone cave on the side of the mountain, from which cold spring water flowed out all year round. The villagers called it "Haiyan", also known as "Haiwozi".

I prefer the first statement, because of Li Tianbai's poem, "With silkworms and yufu, how confused was the founding of the country." This statement related to ancient legends will cast a shadow on the ancient town. A mysterious color.

We strolled on the streets paved with cobblestones. Old wooden houses paired with bright red lanterns are a standard feature of all ancient towns and look good. The various flowers placed on the ground decorate the street markets and also reflect people's love for a better life.

Shops on both sides are opening one after another, and all kinds of cakes and pastries are mouth-watering. Street stalls sell Haiwozi’s specialties, vinegar and wine. Handmade chili powder, someone is guarding the stall while pounding chili peppers in a stone mortar. Hand work always makes me stop and linger.

Probably because it was Monday, there were very few tourists in the ancient town. Maybe it happened to be a market day, but there were more villagers from nearby selling vegetables. Such an ancient town of Haiwozi is very different from the strong commercial atmosphere and the same busy and noisy appearance of other ancient towns, which makes people feel inexplicably happy.

Climb up the steps behind the ancient town to the back mountain and overlook Haiwozi Ancient Town. The houses are row upon row, and the buildings with gray tiles and white walls are simple and peaceful. There is a tall statue of the King of Shu on the hillside. He holds a halberd in his left hand and holds it flat with his right hand. His eyes are deep and distant, watching and protecting his thousands of people.