Yongtai Ancient City, located in Stan Township, Jingtai County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, is about100km away from Baiyin City. It is located on the deserted Gobi Desert, surrounded by Tiger Hills and the continuous Qilian Mountains. From a distance, it looks deserted and desolate, like a no-man's land, but the scenery is really spectacular.
The ancient city of Yongtai was built 36 years ago during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, with a history of more than 400 years. Built to resist foreign invasion, it became an important local military fortress when it was completed. At that time, Lanzhou generals were stationed here.
Today, although it is deserted, the military facilities of that year are still clearly visible, such as tall city walls, towers, crocks and moats. In addition, looking around the ancient city, you can also see the beacon tower stretching for dozens of miles, which can be called "the textbook model of the ancient military fortress in China".
Historically, Yongtai ancient city has a very high status, four distinct seasons and lush flowers and trees. It used to be the gateway to the eastern end of Hexi Corridor and the throat to Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet. Who would have thought that now it has become a barren, vast and neglected ruin.
Generally, the ancient city walls we see are made of bricks. Yongtai ancient city is different. Its wall is rammed by loess, with a height of12m and a foundation thickness of 6m. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, it is still well preserved.
If you have been to Yongtai ancient city before, you should be impressed by the appearance of this ancient city. The ancient city covers an area of 3 18 mu, and the whole city is oval. Together with the towers, urns and beacon towers on all sides, it looks like a golden turtle lying on this land from the air, so Yongtai ancient city is also known as the "turtle city".
When I walked into the ancient city, the scene I saw in front of me was basically deserted, and the people who lived here didn't know where they had gone, leaving an empty yard overgrown with weeds.
It is reported that when it was first built, there were more than 2,000 soldiers and more than 500 cavalry stationed here, as well as institutions and facilities such as mills, coke factories, horse farms and forage fields. In the 1950s, 1, more than 300 people lived here, but now it is deserted.
It is said that this is related to the large-scale construction in the 1950s. Due to the need of construction, hundreds of trees in the ancient city were cut down, and the high-rise buildings of temples built in Ming and Qing Dynasties were also demolished, which led to increasingly serious land ecological problems. The sandstorm problem is getting more and more serious, and the rainfall is getting less and less, which is completely unsuitable for people to live and live. Most residents have moved out.
Of course, there are families here now, but less than 10 families live here. Because the land is salinized and desertification is serious, it is not suitable for planting crops, even if it is planted, the harvest is not ideal.
Because Yongtai Ancient City is not a tourist attraction, there are no tourist facilities, such as restaurants and accommodation, but you can go to farmers' homes for dinner. A bowl of ground floor 10 yuan is nostalgic and accommodation is not provided. You need to stay in Jingtai county.
Although the scenery of Yongtai ancient city gives people a desolate feeling, it is spectacular and attracts many film and television crews to shoot the scene. The Battle of Martha's Town, starring Sun, Lin Chi-ling and others, was shot here, and the building that was shot and built in that year is still there.
Apart from growing crops, people living here basically live by herding sheep, but in recent years, with the increase in the number of shepherds, the surrounding grasslands are almost disappearing, and shepherds may have to stay away from here. At that time, Yongtai ancient city may really become an empty city.
I don't know. Have you ever been to or heard of the "Yongtai Ancient City" in Gansu? What's your impression of the scenery of this ancient city? Would you travel here if you had the chance? Welcome to leave a comment.