Dabai gaoguo
The most mysterious impression of Yinchuan is the legend of Xixia Dynasty. When Li Yuanhao, a Tangut, proclaimed himself emperor, the territory of Xixia was "a land of more than 10,000 miles from the Yellow River in the east, Yumen in the west, Xiaoguan in the south and the desert in the north", and Xixia was prosperous and brilliant. But this dynasty, which only existed for 190 years, suddenly disappeared overnight, leaving few historical materials. How to restore this history?
Time is aphasia, but stones can talk. This sentence was originally seen in the inscription of Feng Jicai, a famous writer in the rock painting scenic spot of Helan Mountain. It feels that although the years have passed, the culture will last forever. This sentence also applies to the restoration of the history of Xixia Dynasty. Xixia, as an independent kingdom, has its own language and writing. When the Mongolian fighters led by Genghis Khan crossed Helan Mountain and went straight down to Zhongxing House, they slaughtered the city, dug graves and burned books. "White bones cover the wild, and thousands of miles become a red city." A fire destroyed nearly 200 years of glory, and Genghis Khan also died in this battle. Angry Mongols not only destroyed Xixia, but also did not compile the history of Xixia, which ruined the splendid culture of a dynasty. No one can know Xixia characters anymore. It was not until Zhang Peng, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, discovered the inscription on the Gantong Tower of Liangzhou Rebuilding Huguo Temple in Qingying Temple, Wuwei County, Gansu Province. The front of the monument is engraved with Xixia characters and the back is engraved with Chinese characters. Since then, Xixia characters have finally come to light, and the civilization of Xixia dynasty has been restored bit by bit.
The Xixia Mausoleum is known as the "Oriental Pyramid", but it is just a few bulges among the local population. There are four words at the gate. At first glance, you can't recognize any of them. After reading the annotation, I know that it is the "Great White and High Country" of Xixia. Yuan Hao, the first emperor of Xixia, was very angry. He didn't want to do it, so he changed Li's name and became emperor himself. His title is "Dabai Gaoguo", known as Xixia in history. "Great White and High Country" is about Xixia, and the emperor respects it as great. The Yellow River was clear thousands of years ago and has been called "White River" since ancient times. In addition, the Tangut people advocate white, so they are called "Great White and High Country". Fiona Fang, the tomb of the Western Xia Dynasty, is located in the alluvial fan zone in the middle of the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, more than 50 kilometers away. There are 9 imperial tombs and more than 250 buried tombs. It is one of the largest royal cemeteries in China.
The No.3 Mausoleum is considered to be the Tailing Mausoleum of Yuan Hao, the founding emperor of Xixia. Walking into the cemetery, the yellow sand is long, and piles of tall and majestic mounds stand alone at the foot of Helan Mountain, and nothing grows. The imperial tomb of Xixia is large in scale, and its momentum can still be felt after thousands of years. Unfortunately, the cemetery has been destroyed and stolen by the Mongolian army and looks old and desolate. The tomb was full of potholes, but I saw a bird go in, but it didn't come out for a while. Maybe there are birds nesting here. It seems that the myth that a hundred plants are barren and birds are not close is only half right. At first glance, the back is the majestic Helan, with a wide field of vision and mountains and rivers. It is indeed a land of feng shui, but it is a pity that it can't bless the "immortals" to spend the summer. It's easier to fight a mountain than to defend it. Brave Tangut people are bound to perish and disappear so tragically. Coupled with its nationality, history and writing, only these mounds prove that the Xixia Dynasty was once brilliant.
Where is the famous Hao Yuan today? In the long river of history, everyone is a passer-by
Approaching Helan Mountain
Drive to Helankou rock painting scenic spot, 56 kilometers away from Yinchuan city, located in the middle of Helan Mountain. Helankou rock painting is a rich place of Helan Mountain rock painting, which is known as the prehistoric cultural and artistic corridor. Helankou Rock Painting Scenic Area is located in Jinshan Township, Helan County. It looks like a notched Oyamaguchi in Helan Mountain, so the locals call it "notch".
Helankou means the pass of Helan Mountain. According to records, Helan Mountain has "72 passes". In fact, there may be more than that, but some are traffic arteries and some are dead ends. Helan Mountain has been a military stronghold for generations. The ancients once commented that "North Helan Mountain in Ningxia is the guarantee of the north and the throat of the desert". Helan Mountain is a natural military barrier, and these mountain passes become the channels for northern nomads to enter Yinchuan Plain. Genghis Khan attacked Daxia country six times and entered through Helan Mountain Pass five times.
I don't want to see the rock paintings of Helan Mountain. Maybe I'm not a literate person, so I want to "break through the Helan Mountain Que" and appreciate what kind of sacredness is the battleground of military strategists in past dynasties.
Helan Mountain is getting closer and closer, and its rugged appearance is amazing. There is no tree in Baishan, and there are alluvial fans on both sides of the road, covered with stones of different sizes washed down from Helan Mountain. You can feel the power of the flood. Master Xue told us that because there is no soil and vegetation to store rainwater in Helan Mountain, Helan Mountain will be flooded every rainy season, and the road is full of washed stones. After the rainy season, the roads need to be cleaned again.
According to legend, the horse is called "Helan" in Mongolian, so it is called Helan Mountain. Helan Mountain is from north to south, with Yinchuan Plain in the east and Lashan Plateau in the west. Since ancient times, it has been a paradise for nomadic people, and rich products and natural military barriers have become a battleground for military strategists in past dynasties. Wei Qing and Yue Fei are famous for Helan Mountain.
We entered the mouth of Helan Mountain from the east. Helan Mountain looked like a fault and approached. The mountain is not bare, and sparse shrubs are tenaciously rooted in the gaps, and yellow-green flowers bloom in the scorching sun. The locals told us that it is called Zizyphus jujuba, and it will be covered with strings of Zizyphus jujuba in autumn, which is as attractive as red agate. In this way, the seemingly bare mountains are crossed by rock sheep from time to time, which shows how tenacious these animals and plants are. Blue sheep are protected animals. They are used to frequent visits by tourists and are not afraid of people. They guard the Helan mountain pass with tourists. Unfortunately, our luck is not very good, the sun is too strong, and the rock sheep may hide in the shade and enjoy the cool, and did not come out to meet us.
The rocky mountains on both sides of the mountain pass are steep, and the rocky beach at the foot of the mountain extends to the depths of the mountain. Thousands of years ago, if a cavalry entered Yinchuan Plain from Alashan along the Helan Mountain Pass, it was really unnoticed. Spots of rock paintings began to appear along the mountain. Without the guidance and explanation of symbols, those abstract symbols are difficult to see and understand. After all, the way of life of prehistoric people is too far away from us. I walked into the valley along the rocky beach unconsciously, and there was little difference between the mountains on both sides. I turned to a cliff, turned to a cliff. The scorching sun is only accompanied by a clear stream in the ditch, which makes people feel a little cold. There were few tourists in the valley, so the fat girl gave up and waited for me under the tree: after all, not many people came to see the stones. Walking alone in the valley, I didn't know what was waiting for me until a waterfall was born. The waterfall hangs from the top of the mountain. When it meets a rock, it splits into several strands, splashes and falls into the valley, forming a green pool. So this is where the water in the ditch comes from. This waterfall is particularly precious in the desolate Helan Mouth, adding a touch of tenderness to the rugged Helan Mountain.
The lovely security guard advised me to turn around, saying that the road ahead had been washed away by the flood. There were stones everywhere in the valley, so I had to crawl forward. The scenery was the same as before, with endless cliffs and endless rocky beaches. I asked how long it would take to walk along the mountain pass, and he said, "Three days and three nights."
Until the end of the world.
Shuidonggou, as its name implies, is a place with water, holes and ditches. Such a simple and straightforward name includes 30,000 to 500 years of civilization. Shuidonggou is located in He Lin Town, lingwu city City, Ningxia, with Yinchuan 19 km in the west and Zuo Qi in Alashan, Inner Mongolia in the north, one foot across two provinces. This is a time tunnel, where will it lead us?
1923, French paleontologists De Jinri and Sang Zhihua discovered prehistoric cultural sites in Shuidonggou, which attracted a large number of archaeologists to explore. Shuidonggou has become the earliest paleolithic cultural site in China, and is known as "the birthplace of prehistoric archaeology in China". The hotel where De and Sang Zhihua came to Shuidonggou was called "Zhang San Xiao Store", which was a small inn beyond the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty, so it was recorded in history.
This seemingly ordinary loess pile records the prosperity of ancient humans, shows the life picture of ancient humans 30,000 years ago, and changes the record of prehistoric culture in China, which has to be amazing.
If you come to Shuidonggou just to see prehistoric cultural sites, I believe many people will back down. After all, 30,000 years is too far away, and the Shuidonggou will definitely show the world more than that.
Shuidonggou is located on the southern edge of Ordos. The landform of Ya Dan created by nature has been carved and eroded by wind and sand for thousands of years, standing in it with a majestic face, which is intuitively timeless and unparalleled.
"The charger rushed to the battle base with a spear, and the general drew his sword and chased Hu Bing". Shuidonggou is a grand view garden of military defense buildings such as the Great Wall, beacon towers, castles, gullies, hidden soldier caves, grand canyons and wharves in the Ming Dynasty. It is the only three-dimensional military defense system of the Great Wall that is the most intact in China at present.
In the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent the invasion of Tatars and Walla people, except the natural barrier of Helan Mountain, all other parties built the Great Wall, forming the West Great Wall, the North Great Wall and East Great Wall across the Yellow River. The Great Wall of Ming Dynasty was rammed with earth, and the cliff was cut with the mountain, and the shovel was steep, which still feels magnificent.
Outside the city wall is Alashan Zuo Qi, the endless Mu Us Desert, and rows of brand-new yurts are welcoming you, but thousands or even hundreds of years ago, Mongolian fighters rushed out from here, killing and plundering all the way.
Luhua Valley is a landscape of the Great Wall. Dense sand reeds sway and rustle in the sun. Walking on the wooden plank road in Luhua Valley seems to be in the south of the Yangtze River, and the sunshine seems to be less intense. June is the season when reed flowers fly, and they pass through the years of Jinge Iron Horse with enchanting gesture.
From Shuidonggou to Hongshanbao, there is a canyon about 4 kilometers long, which is a masterpiece of nature, and the Tibetan soldier cave is hidden in it. Go to the cave of soldiers by camel. Cliffs on both sides. In the meantime, I am afraid of being ambushed.
The so-called hidden soldier cave is that the defenders of Hongshanbao move from the ground to the underground, hide their troops, ambush the pursuers and wait for an opportunity to attack. Tatar and Vala nobles went south several times, but they didn't attack from Hongshan Castle, which shows the magic and power of the Tibetan soldier cave.
The entrance and exit of the Tibetan soldier cave is very hidden, and outsiders would not know it if all kinds of indicative buildings were not built. The Tibetan soldier cave twists and turns in the upper wall, connecting up and down, left and right. There are many branches in the cave, and the left disk rotates like a maze. There are various armories, powder magazines, forts, wells, stoves, conference halls and living rooms in Zangming Cave. Soldiers hiding in caves can still survive without leaving them. There are traps in the cave, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack. That kind of real scene has only been seen in movies. The Tibetan soldier cave is more than ten meters above the bottom of the ditch and has never been flooded. The wisdom of the Ming army more than 500 years ago was really impressive.
After seven turns, I can't see the sign. The fat girl and I seem to be lost. According to the temperature in the cave, we can roughly judge whether we are close to the ground. Anyway, let's go out first! Drilling holes made of two big boards, we actually came to Hongshan castle, fortress and military camp. The defenders of Hongshanbao can freely enter and leave the Tibetan soldiers' cave, divert westward and fight tunnel warfare. No wonder the Tatars kept their distance from the Warras.
The water around the dunes made the world extinct.
How far is it from the lake to the sand dune? How far is it from Jiangnan to the desert? Husha Lake is such a magical place.
Sunset on Moon Lake
face
Ten thousand clear waves reflect the sunset,
In the evening breeze, the light suddenly overflowed.
Low smoke, close to the fishing village.
Water is much higher than water.
Forget the seagulls playing in the water,
They all swim like herons in the water.
Tourists from the north to the south have increased their homesickness.
Like Jiangnan water town.
Being in a sand lake is like returning to Jiangnan. The boat is in the water, and if it is far away from the mountains, reeds and grasses fly on both sides, and birds play by from time to time.
And ashore, the desert in front of me brought me back to Saibei. The magical desert wetland landscape appeared in front of us. Husha Lake is located at the foot of Helan Mountain and on the bank of the Yellow River. 22 kilometers of desert adjoins 45 kilometers of water. Sand and water are interdependent, sand is surrounded by water, and water is surrounded by sand. It is very beautiful.
A big river, a civilization, a culture, the Yellow River gave birth to a unique wetland culture in Ningxia.
In June in Ningxia, the sun is like fire, and the roast people are very hot, but they don't feel very hot. They don't exercise and seldom sweat. It's really hot to walk barefoot on the sand slope. Burying your feet in deeper sand without walking a few steps is not hot, just the surface layer of the sun. It's a good idea to imitate someone walking on the beach in socks. Don't burn it. The sand in Husha Lake is very fine and soft, and the word soft sand is like silk, which makes people reluctant to leave.
Not far away, several camel teams are walking slowly on the sand slope. Blue sky, white clouds, golden sand dunes, green lakes, green reeds, and amazing birds make people unable to tell the difference between the fortress and Jiangnan.