Dong Zhiyuan is located in eastern Gansu, in the center of the Loess Plateau. The original surface is flat and the original edges are broken. Because it has the thickest loess accumulation (more than 200 meters), the most complete original surface, and the largest area (910 square kilometers), and has a long history of farming, it is known as "the first loess plateau in the world."
As early as 200,000 years ago, there were human activities in Dong Zhiyuan. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Buyao and Gongliu "taught the people to farm", and this became the birthplace of the Zhou Dynasty and Chinese farming civilization. From then on, agriculture became Dong Zhiyuan's traditional industry, which has long been famous and is known as the "Granary of Longdong". With the development of modern science, Xifeng Oilfield, a large oil field with reserves of 400 million tons, and a large coal field with industrial value were discovered underground. In the past, Xifeng, which was only famous for farming, has become a "feng shui treasure land" in the eyes of the world, ushering in its golden period of development and development.
How was the huge thick loess in Dongzhiyuan formed? There have always been several theories in the scientific community, such as "wind-formed" and "water-formed". After sixty years of extensive field investigation and experimental analysis, Liu Dongsheng, a famous modern geologist in my country, proposed the "New Trend Theory", which made a major breakthrough and was widely recognized by the international geological community.
In the long geological time, the earth's crust has changed several times. About 190 million years ago, the Longdong area was still a large lake and its sediments. In the Quaternary Period of the Cenozoic, 2.5 million years ago, a basin (Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Basin) was formed here. After that, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rose, blocking the warm current of the Indian Ocean from moving northward, and the north became dry and cold. The strong northwest wind carried the sandy soil from the Mongolian Plateau southward, and drifted down to Jinning, Shaanxi-Gansu. After hundreds of thousands of years of sedimentation and changes, today's loess was formed. General topography of the plateau.
Loess is soft and loose, making it easy to cultivate; loess is warm and insulating, making it easy for the earth’s atmosphere to rise. This provides unique conditions for agricultural production. Although the agricultural economy is prone to bankruptcy, it is highly self-sufficient. As long as basic production conditions are met, farmers can quickly attach themselves to the land, carry out simple reproduction, and obtain reliable food and clothing. Because of this, despite the history of mixed Han and Qiang people here, frequent wars, and complicated corvee labor, the ancestors still persist in their agricultural traditions to this day, and have formed folk customs of perseverance, hardship, and hard work.
Dong Zhiyuan was called "Dayuan" (see "The Book of Songs") during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. At the same time, he was mostly called Peng Yuan (because of the legendary god Peng Zu during the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Peng Zu, surnamed Peng, Named Qian Keng, he once lived in Pengzu City - today's Pengyuan Village, Pengyuan Town). People in the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties also commonly called Anhuayuan (because Qingyang County where it was located at that time was called Anhua County). Tangzou asked the Qing court to establish Dongzhi sub-county, and people changed Anhua's original name to Dongzhiyuan, and the name remains today.
Dong Zhiyuan is a masterpiece of nature, a fertile soil inherited and created by our ancestors from generation to generation and handed over to our children and grandchildren. After the reform and opening up, the town was dismantled and the city was built, Dong Zhiyuan people ushered in a more glorious period of development. I hope we can protect and build it well so that it will live up to the last wishes of our ancestors and not leave too many regrets to future generations.
China's loess accumulation is regarded as one of the three "heavenly books" recording changes in the earth's environment. Dong Zhiyuan, nature's greatest masterpiece, is even more typical. It is the proof of nature and human evolution, the bridge and link between the past and the future, and the common wealth of all mankind. Based on the above considerations, like the Yunnan Three Parallel Rivers World Natural Heritage, we should promptly declare the World Natural Heritage to the World Heritage Committee and its conference, so that Dong Zhiyuan can be valued and protected by all mankind.