The Great Wall is one of the greatest buildings in the history of human architecture. Any epic adjective cannot be used too much for the Great Wall. For the Chinese people, the Great Wall has a kind of feeling that they can't give up, can't explain clearly.
Climbing the Great Wall, Yanmenguan Great Wall must not be missed. Yanmenguan is located on Yanmen Mountain, about 20 kilometers north of Daixian County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province. Since King Zhao Wuling in the Warring States Period, it has become a national strategic military location.
"Three fronts must be unparalleled, and Jiusai respects the first pass" refers to Yanmen Pass. Yanmen Pass, Ningwu Pass and Pian Pass are collectively called "Outer Three Passes", which are the historical symbols of the ancient Song and Ming dynasties. It is also located at an important pass on the Great Wall, so it is also known as "the first pass in China".
There are wonderful historical stories inside and outside Yanmen Pass, King You of Zhou inspected the border, the three families divided into Jin, Li Mu towned the border, Prince Qin guarded the border, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty marched north, Zhaojun went out of the fortress, Wu Zetian built the pass, the heroes of the Yang family who fought bloody and loyal to serve the country, Song Qinbei Major historical events such as captivity took place here.
Shanxi is good at making pasta and likes to eat vinegar. There are also many local special snacks in Yanmenguan, such as Daixian fire, Daixian boiled fish, Daixian pickled vegetables, Daixian sesame slices, Daixian bowl trays, etc. are worth trying. When you come to Shanxi, you can’t just eat delicious food and climb the Great Wall. The ancient city of Pingyao and the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County should not be missed.
Day 01 Pingyao ancient city, witnessing the prosperity of Wall Street in China hundreds of years ago
Speaking of the ancient city of Pingyao, it can be said to be very famous. There are dozens of film and television dramas filmed in the ancient city of Pingyao that can be called famous—— "The Last Emperor", "General Yang", "Special Mission", "Shangdang Battle", "New Star", "Fu Zuoyi", "Breaking Attack", "Jinhua Fengyun", "Heroes of the Ancient City", "Three Attacks on Yuncheng", "Skyfire", "Skynet", "Legend of Dongguo Village", "Guan Gong", "Guo Lanying" ", "Hundred Regiments War", "Revisiting the Past 1942" and so on, this place is simply the realistic version of "Hengdian" in the north.
The ancient city of Pingyao is the most well-preserved ancient county in China. It has a history of 2,800 years. It is also the birthplace of China's Wall Street hundreds of years ago. When you come to the ancient city of Pingyao, you must go to the ticket office here to appreciate the prosperity of Wall Street in China a hundred years ago and see the style of Shanxi merchants.
Rishengchang Bank is the first private bank in Chinese history and the predecessor of various modern banks. Rishengchang, once the first bank in China, has become the museum of bank accounts in China today. Rishengchang bank was founded in the fourth year of Daoguang. There are more than 10 cities and important commercial towns, as far as Europe, America, Southeast Asia and other countries, and it is famous for "connecting the world".
As the saying goes: "The gate of the yamen opens to the south, don't come in if you have a reason and no money." We haven't experienced the second half of the sentence, so I dare not say whether it is right or wrong, but judging from the various available information, it still makes sense. The gate of the yamen faces south, and the Pingyao County Yamen is no exception. The entire government office faces south and has an axisymmetric layout. The north-south axis is more than 200 meters long, and the east-west width is more than 100 meters, covering an area of more than 26,000 square meters.
Pingyao County Government is located in the center of the ancient city of Pingyao. It was first built in the Northern Wei Dynasty and was finalized in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The earliest preserved building was in the sixth year of Yuan Zhizheng (1346), which has a history of more than 600 years.
Pingyao was formerly known as ancient pottery. In the early Ming Dynasty, the city wall was built to defend against foreign disturbances. In the third year of Hongwu (AD 1370), the old wall was rebuilt and expanded, and it was fully covered with bricks. After that, Jingtai, Zhengde, Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli dynasties carried out ten repairs and repairs, updated the towers, and added enemy towers. In 2009, the ancient city of Pingyao won the honor of being the most complete ancient county in China by the World Records Association.
The ancient city wall of Pingyao built a watch tower every 50 meters. There are 72 towers in total and more than 3,000 crenels. It is said that it was designed according to the fact that Confucius had three thousand disciples and seventy-two sages. However, except for the gates and crenels, most of the rest have been destroyed. Among the six city gates, there are one in the north and one in the south, and two in the east and west respectively. Outside the east and west gates, there are attached urns, which are shaped like the head, tail and four feet of a turtle. It is known as "Turtle City".
Overnight at Jinjiang Boutique Hotel
Drive from Pingyao to Dai County and arrive at Jinjiang Boutique Hotel after a 4-hour drive.
Jin Jiang Boutique Hotel is not a luxury type, but it is very close to the people. The color tone is warm, the warm big bed, the yellow wood grain of the home, dining, bathing, sleeping, comfortable and comfortable, all can be attributed to the ranks of neighbors, close but not alienated.
Take a good night's sleep with the pillow in your arms, and recharge your batteries. When you wake up, Yanmen Pass is right in front of you.
Day 02 Zhan Yun is far away, Xiongguan is still there, what you don't know is "China's first pass" Yanmen Pass
Starting from Daixian County and entering Yanmenguan Scenic Area, there are three roads to choose from. One is to get off the expressway at Xinguangwu Exit of Universiade Expressway, go southward on National Highway 208 for 7 kilometers and enter the scenic spot from Guanbei; the other is to go northward for 30 kilometers along National Highway 208 from Yangmingbao Town, Daixian County, and enter the scenic spot from Guanbei; Get off at the Daixian Exit of the Universiade Expressway, go to Daixian County through the expressway approach, go north along the Yanmenguan Guannan Tourist Line for 15 kilometers, and enter the scenic spot from Guannan. We went to Guanbei, and entered the scenic spot from Yanmenguan Houyaopu Post Station.
Some guest officials will ask, I am traveling independently, but I don’t know whether to enter the scenic spot from the front waist shop or the back waist shop? In fact, this is a good choice, depending on which story you are more interested in in Yanmen Pass. When entering the scenic spot from Qianyaopu, the first thing you encounter is the story of Zhaojun going out of the fortress, including the Heqin Pavilion, the group of relief sculptures of Zhaojun going out of the fortress, etc. Entering the scenic spot from Houyaopu, the first thing you encounter is the story of the generals of the Yang family, including the relief statues of Yang Liulang and the group of relief statues of female generals of the Yang family.
Yanmen Pass has a majestic terrain. It is said that only wild geese can fly through it. It has been the frontier of fighting against foreign enemies since ancient times. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Yanmen Pass had always been the military center of the Song and Liao rivalries. During this period, Yang Jiye, the famous general of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the descendants of the Yang family wrote a heroic history here.
The humming of wild foxes in the ruined grasslands once said that Liulang was here to garrison troops.
For thousands of years, wind and smoke have locked the old base, and the three armies have left the deserted city.
The poem talks about Yang Liulang's feelings when he was guarding Yanmen Pass. The fame of Yanmen Pass is due to the great achievements of the four generations of the Yang family in defending the country and guarding Yanmen. Entering Yanmen Pass from Guanbei, there is a grand opening ceremony every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In front of Mingyue Tower, the city gate was opened, and the "Yang family generals" ordered soldiers on the battlefield, showing Yang Jiaerlang's pride and passion. For a moment, it seemed that he had traveled through time and space, and saw the years of raging wars. Back then, Yang Jiaerlang was stationed at the side rein. He was a friend who invited him in and entertained him with good wine and meat. He was an enemy, so he drove him out to keep our people safe.
As the "first pass in China", Yanmen Pass has two gates in the east and west, which are divided into ancient Yanmen Pass and Ming Yanmen Pass. Ancient Yanmen Pass is the iron-wrapped gate, located at the former site of Xixing Pass. The famous scenery of Ancient Yanmen Pass is Guancheng and Ancient Official Road, Monkey Ridge Great Wall and Sun Chuanting Mu. Guancheng is a manually excavated pass, in the shape of a V, with existing surrounding wall foundations, four house foundations in the south, and a beacon tower in the north. The ancient official road is more than 30 kilometers long, and it was the only way for businesses and pedestrians to walk at that time. The Monkey Ridge Great Wall is famous for its rocks resembling monkeys on the cliffs. The tomb of Sun Chuanting is the tomb of a high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty, which has very high historical value.
Ming Yanmen Pass is located in Dongxing Pass, and its famous attractions include Tianxian Gate and Yan Tower, Zhenbian Temple, Yanmen Pass Great Wall and many other attractions. Tianxian Gate is the first city gate on the south side of Guancheng, built in the Ming Dynasty. There is a goose tower built on Tianxian Gate, facing east from west, which was an important historical point at that time. The Zhenbian Temple was built to commemorate the general Li Mu in the Warring States Period. The scale of the temple building is grand, and it is one of the largest architectural complexes in Yanmen Pass. The Yanmenguan Great Wall was built in the 33rd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, with a total length of 5,033 meters and a watchtower built every 120 meters. It is a famous masterpiece of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty.
The importance of Yanmen Pass lies in the fact that it was a channel for the northern peoples outside the Great Wall to invade the interior in ancient times, so it has been an important place for border defense since ancient times. Yanmen Mountain is the part of Yunzhong Mountain, the northern branch of Luliang Mountains in Shanxi Province, extending to the northeast of Shanxi. The giant defense. And it is a fault-block mountain, steep and precipitous, difficult to climb, which further strengthens the isolation between the north and the south of the mountain, so that the northern part of the mountain has long been out of reach of the ruling power of the Han nationality in history, and has been occupied by the northern ethnic groups. Yanmenguan is connected to Datong, an important town in northern Shanxi in the north, as far as the Mongolian plateau, and Taiyuan, an important town in central Shanxi, in the south. It can convey the ancient political center of Central Plains and Guanzhong, and its strategic position is very important.
Yanmen Pass stands like yesterday, and the old Great Wall bricks and mottled traces record the years, and also record the turmoil like abundance. Today the gate of Yanmenguan city is opened, and Yang Jiaerlang's school field will order soldiers in autumn. Today, the gentle Zhaojun, the iron-blooded Yang Jiaerlang, Qiao Feng and Azhu came to Yanmen Pass again, traveled through time and space, and sang "My Motherland and Me" together.
Day 02 "The World's Three Great Pagodas" and "China's First Wooden Pagoda"——Ying County Wooden Pagoda
After passing Yanmen Pass, after lunch, we set off from Yanmen Pass in Daixian County to Ying County to see Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, which has the reputation of "China's No. 1 Wooden Pagoda". In most people's minds, traditional Chinese wooden structures are not considered tall, and the residences of emperors are only 10 to 20 meters high. However, the Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple (commonly known as Yingxian Wooden Pagoda) located in Ying County, Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province is an exception.
The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda was built in the Liao Dynasty about 1,000 years ago, with a height of 65.84 meters, which is equivalent to a modern high-rise building with more than 20 floors. It is the tallest and oldest wooden tower building in China. Together with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is also known as the "three strange towers in the world". In 2016, Shakyamuni Pagoda was recognized by Guinness World Records, and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is the tallest wooden pagoda in the world.
China has a vast territory and abundant resources, and has also achieved a lot in architecture. There have been recorded wooden towers over 100 meters high in historical records. It's a pity that no matter how great the building is, it can't stand the time. Over the millennium, other similar wooden pagodas were either destroyed by natural disasters or lost by man-made disasters, and gradually became nothing but difficult to verify. Only the wooden pagoda in Ying County exists in the world. It has experienced more than 40 earthquakes, more than 200 gunshots and bombardments, and countless lightning strikes. " title.
China's first wooden pagoda can stand for thousands of years, and its quality is absolutely outstanding. The base of the pagoda is made of thick stones, and the depth of the underground part reaches 2 meters, and the total thickness exceeds 6.4 meters. Except for the base, the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County is built with an all-wood structure, with more than 3,000 tons of heavy wooden components, which are interlocked to form the tower body, and there is no iron nail in the whole body.
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is also a veritable "Dougong Museum". According to statistics, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda uses a total of 54 kinds and 480 Dougongs. Dougong, also known as 枓栱, Dou Ke, 欂栌, Puzuo, etc., is a unique structure in Chinese architecture. Between the top of the column, the architrave and the eave purlin or the frame, the bow-shaped load-bearing structure protruding from the architrave is called the arch, and the square wooden blocks between the arches are called the bucket, collectively called the bucket arch.
The emergence and development of Dougong has a very long history. It was first seen in the bronze plan of four dragons and four phoenixes unearthed in Zhongshan during the Warring States Period. Dougong is like a spring that can be loosened or tightened, which can absorb kinetic energy and protect the main structure from damage when strong winds and earthquakes come.
Standing under the tower and looking up from the bottom up, the blossoming dougongs are like clusters of blooming lotus, shining brightly on the tower.
