Where is the fun in the ancient town of Du Yan?

Go back to Kunming from Baoshan, Yunnan after Yuanmou Tulin. It is said that there is an ancient town called Heijing at the foot of Yubi Mountain in the northwest of Lufeng County not far away. This town has a history of more than 2000 years and is famous for producing well salt. Driving into Blackwell is like walking into an underground well that has long been forgotten. I looked at the black well at the bridge head of Wuma, and let my imagination penetrate the plane with the help of broken stones and wood. What appears in my mind is not only the scars of the times, but also the glory of the past. It is this small town, which was once rich and extraordinary in a long historical period, and was brilliant in several dynasties in Yunnan history. Black well thrives on salt because it is rich in well salt. In ancient times, it was an important salt-producing town in Yunnan. With the development and prosperity of salt industry, Blackwell hidden in the deep mountains has become a well-known and wealthy commercial center. Throughout the ages, salt has been an exclusive commodity owned by the government. For the frontier, salt is money and salt is wealth. Every day, thousands of caravans and salt merchants carrying well salt come and go here. Let Heijing town, which is desolate and blocked by traffic, go to the peak. In its heyday, Heijing Town paid 64% of all salt taxes in Yunnan. Various cultures began to merge and merge in this tiny place where there are few rocks and rocks, forming a unique salt culture. Despite my psychological preparation, the town is beyond my imagination. The small streets in the town are short, narrow and curved. But the little black well is very distinctive, small and unforgettable. There are no great mountains and rivers and ethnic customs here, only the salty Longchuan River and a depressed town are sandwiched between two bare mountains. In addition to the scattered tasteless new rural houses, the town is full of dilapidated old buildings and residents who have not yet walked out of the lost. On the hillside around the ancient town, you can see the narrow salt road paved with stone strips, which is a winding and dangerous narrow path hovering between the mountains, and can only pass the goods carried by people and donkeys. On the high mountain, there are still towers that collected salt tax in those days. This is the ancient traffic, and it is also the connection between the salt cavalry and the outside world. Up to now, there is no asphalt road in the ancient town, and there are towering trees intertwined on the narrow slate road. A few miles around the ancient town, there are still salt plants that produce well salt in a traditional and ancient way. Before liberation, local brine resources gradually dried up, sea salt invaded in large quantities and the cost of cooking salt increased, the market demand for well salt decreased day by day, and the black well eventually declined, and a distant and far-reaching prosperous world disappeared from people's sight. Sleep quietly in the mountains. Now the residents of the ancient town never eat sea salt, so they must eat well salt when eating there. The local people's famous food is only local marinated tofu, and the production scale of well salt is not what it used to be. Tourists can make their own salt blocks and carve them into souvenirs, which are good tourist souvenirs. There are small pieces of cultivated land beside the road in the saltworks, and the boundary of each family is made of tall cactus, which is as thick as a tree. Obviously, he is a strong man in his twilight years. Today, Heijing Town has lost its former glory, but it has left behind the streets and lanes with Tang and Song customs and ancient folk houses. Due to inconvenient transportation, Heijing Town still retains traditional ancient buildings, and the layout of villages and towns remains the same. Surprisingly, there are western-style buildings in the ancient town, which is enough to witness Blackwell's prosperity and integration with the outside world. From the end of the first street into the town, it is General Xiao Jie Square, which is the landmark of Blackwell. In the 27th year of Guangxu, the emperor built a stone archway for 78 chaste women in Heijing, Lang Jing and Yuan Yongjing. Its exquisite craftsmanship, exquisite workmanship, solemn modeling and almost perfect carving are unique in the whole southwest region. Every visitor who walks into Blackwell must pass by this sign, feel her existence and look up to her dignity. I stroked the stone lion downstairs, and I was full of thoughts: I don't know if this is a moral model or a spiritual shackle? Is it commendable or pathetic? Xiao Jie's workshop belongs to those black well widows who are stubborn in women's ways in history, and finally die without remarriage. Heijing Town presents people with the streets and lanes in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the wood carvings and stone carvings scattered in the streets and lanes, ancient tombs and historical sites. On the ancient stage of Dalong Temple with strong architectural style in the Ming Dynasty, the words "Lingyuan Puze" on the hand-carved wooden plaque are distinctive in font, which is Yong Zhengdi's pertinent evaluation of the four directions of Huize Blackwell Brine. There are many temples around the ancient town, but there are few incense sticks. Now you can also reach Kannonji, the Sutra Pavilion, Zhenjue Temple, Xiangshan Temple and Dalong Temple from here. It is said that in its heyday, Blackwell had 75 Buddhist temples, mosques and even Catholic churches. The abbot, the priest, has his own master, the pilgrims have their own needs, and the fireworks continue. At that time, after Kurai became rich, he was as rich as an enemy. At the same time, he invested in running schools and learned elegant people. The construction of Confucius Temple is an example. Now Heijing Primary School, the Confucian Temple of that year covers an area of 6,000 square meters and was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It is the largest building complex in Blackwell, and you can feel the grandeur of that year when you are in it. Wu Weiyang, the richest man in the local area, was the largest black well chef in the Republic of China, and the Wu Jia compound was made of wood. Due to the lack of local wood (cooked with salt for a long time), the stone houses and stone archways in the ancient town are all made of red stone. Whoever can build a house with wood is a local tyrant. The wood used in the courtyard of Wu Jia is pitifully thin, and the rooms are very narrow. It is said that the seemingly insignificant wooden building took decades to build. It is said that Wuzhai was really luxurious at that time, and the government had to stipulate that the gates of Wu Jia should not be opened in Zheng Jie, so as not to spoil the yamen. Nowadays, people are empty and the house is decadent. The mysterious and quiet Wuzhai Alley, the magnificent Zhumen, the chilling coffins, the cornices, windows, doors and tiles carved with dragons and painted with phoenix, the crumbling building structure, the crazy slogan of the Cultural Revolution ... The past glory is in sharp contrast with today's decay. I seem to be sleepwalking between two eras, feeling the impact of the death of a generation of civilization that was closely connected with us today. Cross Wumaqiao and enter the second street, which used to be the main business district of Blackwell. This is an old commercial street, and the narrow street is made up of stone strips. There are still many hotels, restaurants and shops, and it still maintains the characteristics of a window and a platform shop. It's just that the scale and quantity are much worse than those in the heyday of the past. Walking in the street after dinner, it got dark and there were fewer people. Only a few shops were still open. Dim street lamps elongated the sparse figure in the town, and I was embarrassed to hear the songs of Hong Kong and Taiwan singers from the ballroom. Taking a deep breath, I feel a mixed smell of century-old wine and colorful patina, like a glorious era and a crazy era being compressed at the same time. Today's singing and dancing life is in sharp contrast with its glory and prosperity. Walking along the street to the end, you can see buildings similar to ancient city walls. According to the local people, it was the flood control levee of that year, called Qing 'an Dike. This dam is used to protect the ancient town from floods. Now, the river ditch is dry and the Qing' an levee is sleeping. Its majestic body can witness the scale of past floods. Because the local stones are red, Qing 'an levee is made of red boulders. Wuma Bridge outside the town has a wide deck, which can be used by two cars in parallel. This bridge was built in the Yuan Dynasty more than 700 years ago. It is said that Wumaqiao is the oldest cultural relic that Heijing Town can see today. Due to the underdeveloped local economy and poor road conditions, cars are still rarely seen in Heijing Town. It is a great honor for local people to have a small face to meet the bride when they get married. The transportation with local characteristics is "donkey's". Standard "donkey cart": Three rows of seats are installed on the rubber-tyred cart pulled by Xiao Lv, and then the sunshade is installed. Because of the low cost, the business of "donkey" is good. It is often seen that the donkeys going back and forth to the market are full of vegetables, and live pigs and live birds are packed in baskets to ride with people. The villagers sat in dirty seats, talking and laughing with each other. In the ancient town, there have been "donkey" cable car passengers specializing in tourism business on the commercial street. While waiting for the guests, the animals gnawed at the forage in the bag hanging over their heads. Although not beautiful, it is very practical. This will not be wasted, will not pollute the environment, and will not be eaten by other animals. This kind of car is clean and beautiful, and my brother is also a tour guide. This ancient town, full of Bo Ban history, is full of ease of life. There are no people in a hurry, and there is no invisible but depressing air. There are only a few trains every day, and there is a train from Panzhihua at noon. Every day, the train will take tourists sightseeing on time. All the wealth in the past is gone. However, Blackwell has deposited a rich cultural heritage, which once again attracted the envy of the world.