During the Spring Festival this year, my sister and I discussed where to play, and we all thought of Langzhong. After all, there is such a famous ancient city less than 50 kilometers from home. Wouldn't it be a pity not to take this opportunity to visit?
Langzhong, known as Baoning in ancient times, is located in the northeast of Sichuan Basin, at the southern foot of Qinba Mountain, and the Jialing River passes through the city, which makes the ancient city of Langzhong have a geomantic pattern of "surrounded by mountains and water on all sides". Known as "the ancient city of geomantic omen", it is one of the four best-preserved ancient towns in China, and is known as "Fairyland in Yuen Long" and "Bashu Flowing".
Langzhong ancient city has a history of more than 2300 years. As a famous geomantic cultural city, it can be said that it is a classic example of "harmony between man and nature" in the site selection of ancient cities in China, the hometown of astronomer Luo Xiahong in Han Dynasty, and the important birthplace of Spring Festival culture in China.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, my sister and I went out with our family. Take the shuttle bus to the county seat at home, and then take the bus from the county seat to Langzhong. In less than an hour, we arrived at the Jialing River outside the ancient city.
Before entering the ancient city, walk around the ancient city along the river to see the river view. There are many tourists on the riverside, most of whom are traveling with their families to help the old and bring the young. Compared with the heavy clouds and dense fog in Chengdu Plain, sunshine can still be seen in the hilly areas of northeast Sichuan in winter, and the weather is getting better and better with the warming in spring, which is very suitable for going out to play.
Near noon, we turned into the ancient city. The architecture of the ancient city is in the pattern of Tang and Song Dynasties, with many wooden structures. The architectural style combines the characteristics of northern quadrangles and Jiangnan garden buildings, which is both rich and mysterious. Among them, the most distinctive is the carving of eaves, doors and windows, lintels, with simple patterns, fine workmanship and exquisite variety.
The whole ancient city is well preserved, with rows of houses with limestone tiles, Ming and Qing buildings and streets paved with slate, rather than antique renovation. From the map, the streets of the whole ancient city are arranged like a chessboard, and red festive lanterns are hung on the ancient buildings, which makes people feel like crossing.
Walking along the uneven stone road into the ancient town, there are all kinds of shops on both sides, selling all kinds of special goods and snacks. There are three most famous ones in Langzhong: Baoning vinegar, white sugar steamed buns and Zhang Fei beef. The streets are full of the bittern flavor of beef and the acetic acid flavor of Baoning vinegar, and the hot flavor of white sugar steamed bread is floating in the wind. I smell it all the way, and then look at the bright signs in the snack bars on both sides, which makes people hungry and want to eat.
There are many kinds of snacks in Sichuan, including North Sichuan bean jelly, Guokui bean jelly, pork intestines powder, beef powder, peach slice cake and so on. You can eat it in the ancient town, which is cheap and good. You don't have to worry about your wallet when you eat from street to street!
There are many scenic spots in this ancient city, such as Zhangfei Temple, Langzhong Gong Yuan, Feng Shui Museum and Luoxiahong's former residence. In my opinion, one of the most worthwhile places to visit is Zhangfei Temple, and the other is the Feng Shui Museum.
Huanhou Ancestral Hall in Han Dynasty, commonly known as Zhang Fei Temple, was built to commemorate Zhang Fei, a famous scholar in Shu and Han Dynasties. Even if you are not familiar with history, as long as you have watched the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, you will not know Zhang Fei. He used to be the Brazilian satrap, guarding Langzhong, and was later killed by the Ministry. His body was buried in Langzhong and his head was buried in Yunyang, Chongqing.
Because the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is widely circulated, I always thought that Zhang Fei was a savage who was braver than wiser. After visiting Zhangfei Temple, I realized that he was not only brave and good at fighting, but also a man with both wisdom and courage. Besides, his handwriting is also very good.
It is a pity that such a valiant soldier finally died at the hands of his subordinates, which is really embarrassing.
After Zhang Fei's death, "the villagers longed for his loyalty and courage and built a temple in front of the tomb to worship." After thousands of years of sacrifice, the Zhangfei Temple Group now covers an area of 10 mu, consisting of the gate, the watchtower, the left and right archways, the east and west wings, the main hall, the back hall, the tomb pavilion and the tomb mound. In addition to offering sacrifices to Zhang Fei's tomb, there are also some exhibitions about Zhang Fei's life story.
In Langzhong ancient town, another place I like very much is the Feng Shui Museum. At present, the Feng Shui Museum is the only tourist attraction in China with the theme of architectural Feng Shui. It was built in 2004 and officially opened in 2007. It is divided into five functional areas: museum, sacrifice, lecture hall, post station and mascot. Unscramble the mysterious China geomantic omen with Yi and Bu as the main pulse.
All the exhibits in the museum are graphic panels or physical cultural relics related to geomantic omen, which can help us understand the origin and development of geomantic omen in China, the ins and outs of geomantic omen in Langzhong ancient city and many mysteries. Following the free commentator in the museum, you can not only learn about the excellent urban geomantic omen of Langzhong ancient city, but also learn some daily geomantic knowledge.
After reading the sand table map of Langzhong ancient city in the geomantic museum, even a layman like me can see that the geomantic omen of the whole ancient city "before Suzaku, after Xuanwu, left Qinglong, right white tiger, jade belt wrapped around the waist" really occupies the charm of heaven and earth. It is said that standing on Jinping Mountain on the other side of Jialing River overlooking the ancient city, you can feel the feng shui fate of the whole city more intuitively.
Speaking of eating, the most famous in Langzhong city are Baoning vinegar, Zhang Fei beef and white sugar steamed bread. So, a famous chef made these three treasures into a special dish called "Three Wonders of Yuen Long". Its practice is not complicated. First cut the white sugar steamed bread into small pieces and fry it until golden and crisp. Then cut the beef into small pieces, put it into the broth, add Baoning vinegar juice, add a proper amount of starch water, cook it with slow fire, and finally sprinkle with crispy steamed bread, which becomes the delicious "Yuen Long Three Musts". This "Three Wonders of Yuen Long" is like soup and porridge. The beef is tender, the steamed stuffed bun is crisp, and the soup is rich with acetic acid. The taste is unique.