The famous Guozigou is a famous canyon tunnel that leads to Sailimu Lake in the north and the Ili River Valley in the south. It is named after the wild apples that are scattered in the ravine. In the ravine, there are towering peaks, turning canyons, pines and birches. Lush, fruit trees, wild flowers blooming, waterfalls and springs, and beautiful scenery are a natural treasure trove given by nature, and are known as the "No. 1 Scenery in Ili".
Guozigou was called Talqidaban in the Qing Dynasty, and Talqi means "willow tree" in Junggar language. Guozigou runs through the North Tianshan Mountains. "Pine Tree Head" is the pinnacle of Guozigou. It goes straight to the bank of Sailimu Lake in the north and to the Guozigou Canyon in the south. It is 36 kilometers long and is the natural gateway of Ili. Since ancient times, it has been the northern throat of the Silk Road leading to Central Asia and Eurasia. In 1218, Genghis Khan marched westward to Central Asia and led 300,000 cavalry from the Mongolian grasslands to Ili. It was autumn and the army had to quickly pass through the Talqi Mountains in the Tianshan Mountains. Genghis Khan ordered Chagatai to be responsible for digging mountains and roads, and the second prince led the army and civilians to dig mountains. They opened roads, built roads to divert water, felled trees and built bridges, making Guozigou comparable to a highway, allowing more than 100,000 Mongolian troops to safely pass through the natural dangers of Guozigou. The Mongolian cavalry swept across Central and West Asia like a violent storm, establishing a great steppe empire spanning Europe and Asia.
The excavation of Guozigou changed the geographical value of Yili in a corner and turned it into a major channel for Central Asia. Therefore, Alimari in Yili has been the political and economic center of Xinjiang and the center of Central Asia for hundreds of years. A metropolitan city and a hub of east-west transportation, long-term and brutal wars from the late 14th to the early 15th century left the famous city of Alimari in ruins, and the once bustling Silk Road became increasingly silent.
After Emperor Qianlong put down the Junggar rebellion, he built Huiyuan City near the historical city of Alimari and established General Yili to rule the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. Guozigou became lively again and became a hub for trade between the mainland and Central Asia. important channel.
Songshutou, with Jinghu Lake in the north and a view of the sky in the south, and an abyss of forest and sea in the south, you will arrive at Sailimu Lake in the north, also known as Santai Haizi, which is closely related to Guozigou. It is one of the famous places in Xinjiang . Going south from Songshutou to Ertai Forest Farm, the mountain road is winding and rugged, with deep valleys all the way, and a silver belt surrounding the mountain. It is the most dangerous part of Guozigou. Next to Luogu Mountain, there is a high mountain waterfall rushing down in the sky, which is extremely spectacular. From then on, we went down to Ertai, where the valley is close to the canyon. It is only a few feet wide, the water is fast, the rocks are strange and strange, the rocks are staggered, the mountains are beautiful, the trees are green, the water changes the scenery, and it is looming, which is regarded as the fruit ditch. A section of stunning scenery. Going south from Ertai, the mountains gradually get lower, the valley mouth gradually opens, and the flying bridges overlap. On both sides of the road, there are green trees, with only clear clouds, ancient poplars, tamarisks and willows intertwined, apricots, wild fruits, and fresh green everywhere. Guozigou is famous for its wide distribution of wild fruits and rich medicinal resources. From spring to autumn, the grass is fragrant and the wild flowers are brilliant and colorful. In the past, there were towering peaks and mountains, luxuriant pines and birches, fruit trees, blooming flowers, springs and waterfalls, and a cool climate. Countless trickles in Guozigou merge into a surging river. The banks are surrounded by mountains and dense forests. Looking down from a high place, the undulating blue waves are as vast as the forest sea.
Guozigou has eighteen bends and one hundred and eight ditches, including Huamu ditch, Xiaoshuigou and Jiangjun ditch, with different scenery. The water in Guozigou comes from melted ice and snow from the snow peaks of the Tianshan Mountains. It lasts all year round. Even in winter, when the water is covered with ice, there are still undercurrents surging under the ice. It is said that the terrain is flat and open when you reach Jiangjun Valley. During the Yuan Dynasty, troops once stationed their troops here, hence the name Jiangjun Valley. When you walk into the ditch and close your eyes, you can feel the roar of soldiers and horses, the majestic sound of mountains and rivers.
In a towering canyon, a high mountain waterfall cascades down in the air. It is 200 meters high. From a distance, it looks like it is hanging in the air. It is so spectacular that it can be heard half a kilometer away. There is a huge sound of water pouring down from the air. Six kilometers away from the exit of Guozigou, there is a stone cave on the steep cliff east of the highway. The word "Cai Shou" is engraved on the top of the cave. Local herdsmen call this cave Banxian Cave. Legend has it that in the Qing Dynasty, a Taoist named Zhang Banxian came to Guozigou and took a fancy to this feng shui treasure land with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and wanted to practice Taoism and become an immortal here. He chose this cave on the cliff, where he practiced Taoism with great concentration every day and ate wild fruits. One day, after a heavy rain, the clouds and mist in the valley floated into the cave. Zhang Banxian thought that he had achieved enlightenment and became an immortal. He was overjoyed and walked out of the cave. He wanted to ride on the auspicious clouds, so he jumped into the cave and made an eternal smile.
Guozigou is a place that has inspired poetry by ancient and modern literati. For thousands of years, ancient people have praised Guozigou, often using it as a metaphor for my country's famous places, and they have many praiseworthy words.
Many famous warriors passed by Guozigou, and they all left behind some good lines and rhymes describing Guozigou's ruggedness and steepness, the verdant peaks, and the vast forest like a fairyland. Qiu Chuji, a real person from Changchun in the Yuan Dynasty, left in Guozigou: "The mountains in Henan and Hebei are endless, ever-changing and of the same scale. Mount Weiruozi is so amazing, upright and steep as a meritorious service." Yelu Chucai passed by Guozigou and wrote a poem, "Why do Liu Ding praise the power of God? The rooftop is Luofu." Move here. The forty-eight bridges are crossed by wild geese, and it’s really a wonderful sight to visit.” In the Qing Dynasty, famous scholars wrote many wonderful poems about Guozigou. Lin Zexu also wrote a poem praising it in Guozigou, "The ancient path is winding and winding, the springs are cool, and every step of the twenty miles is fascinating. It is truly not just a view from the mountain valley." Xie Bin's "Travel Notes in Xinjiang" compares the beauty of Guozigou with "the wonders of the mountains and rivers are greater than those in Guilin; the wonders of the cliffs and rocks are greater than those of Yanyan". In Xinjiang's vast land of thousands of miles of sea and criss-crossing Gobi desert, Guozigou has unique landscape value. It is the original pride of Tianshan Mountain and an unparalleled natural park outside the Great Wall. There is such a description in "Tianshan Road" by contemporary writer Yuan Ying: "The road to Guozigou winds and twists, suddenly going up to the top of the mountain, and suddenly people are in the sky. It is suspected that the mountains are poor and the water is restored, but the willows are dim and the flowers are bright. Everywhere is quiet and full of vitality. Unknowingly, I crossed the Tianshan Mountains. "Guozigou has different wonderful scenery in different seasons. When the autumn air is high and crisp, Guozigou is covered with a gorgeous golden coat, which is dazzling; in the snow-capped season, Guozigou is covered with silver. The pines and cypresses on the mountainside are evergreen, which is very charming. Why are there basically no fruit trees in Guozigou today, and there are even no remaining fruit tree stumps? So with a historical perspective, I patrolled the mountains, gravel, sand, soil, and rivers in Guozigou to find the answer. It is extremely related to ecological destruction. Indiscriminate deforestation and overgrazing, the amount of grazing stock exceeds the ecological limit, etc., can completely destroy the previously beautiful natural landscape. You may see two to three hundred sheep covering the rugged slopes, gnawing on the light yellow grass. On one side of the valley is gravel and fine sand exposing the grass, and on the other side is the valley "a river of gravel as big as a bucket". There are trees in the river that have been uprooted and washed into the valley. Such a fragile ecology is no longer suitable for such overgrazing. If I just talk about the past glory of Guozigou, I don’t need to say more here, because most tourists who come to Guozigou drive along National Highway 312. The ditch you see is an ecology that has long been destroyed by humans. Without plowing through the mountains, chopping down the luxuriant trees, plowing the fragrant grass, leading the winding streams, and removing the strange rocks and rocks, how could there be a smooth road today? Fortunately, humans have not destroyed all the 108 ditches, otherwise the ditches would How do beekeepers survive on the roadside? Where do bees love the fruit trees in bloom?