Along the Lancang River, 80 kilometers away from Deqin County, there is a beautiful and quiet mountain village - Cizhong. "Ci" means village, and "Zhong" means big, in Tibetan. During the period of the Republic of China, the head of the village governed the six villages, so it was named Cizhong Village. And this Catholic church built by French missionaries at the beginning of last century was named Cizhong Church.
The historical significance of Cizhong Church is greater than its actual significance as a church building itself. In the middle of the 18th century, Western Catholics entered Diqing. They established churches, developed believers, and preached hard in the powerful Tibetan Buddhist forces.
The local people could not tolerate the missionary activities of the Catholic priests, which triggered the Adunzi Mission Case and the Weixi Mission Case. In the Weixi church case in 1905, angry crowds burned down 10 churches along the Lancang and Nu rivers, and killed French missionaries Yu Bonan and Pu Deyuan. At that time, the Qing government sent heavy troops to suppress the monks and laymen. The anti-foreign religious masses resisted for three months and were finally suppressed. The church received compensation for this and built this Cizhong church on the land of Cizhong.
After the Qing government succeeded in suppressing monks and lay people, they asked the priest of the church what kind of compensation they wanted. The priest said that they only need a piece of land as large as a cowhide. The Qing government readily agreed to this request and gave the priest a piece of cowhide. Unexpectedly, my grandfather took this piece of cowhide and boiled it in a pot, then cut it into thin strips, circled a piece of land of several acres, and said that what I want is such a large land. The Qing government reluctantly agreed to this request. The land area occupied by Cizhong Church now.
The church style as a whole embodies the characteristics of Basilicate churches and the characteristics of Roman churches. The main building sits west and faces east, and is a brick and wood structure. Its front is a tall bell tower. Although the upper part of the bell tower is a Chinese-style pavilion with Chinese-style eaves and tile roofs, the cross marks on the top of its two ends still cite its Western-style identity. After many years of turbulence in history, the government paid for repairs and protection, making it regain its original style.
Cizhong Church is a Catholic church. Construction started in 1905 and was completed in 1921. The magnificent church has become the bishop's auditorium in the "Yunnan Duo District". It has a history of 100 years and has been rated as one of the 10 most beautiful churches in China.
This is the tall bell tower of Cizhong Church. Although the upper part of the bell tower is a Chinese-style pavilion with Chinese-style eaves and tile roofs, the cross marks on the top of its two ends still cite its Western-style identity. After many years of turbulence in history, the government paid for repairs and protection, making it regain its original style.
Before liberation, there were many such Catholic churches along the coast of Lancang, but they were all destroyed in the movement of "destroying the four olds" of the Cultural Revolution after liberation, and Cizhong Church was exempted from it because it was used as a local primary school classroom. Busted doom.
In the backyard of Cizhong Church, there are two big trees with lush branches, one is eucalyptus and the other is laurel. They were planted by missionaries with trees brought from Europe in order to relieve their homesickness. It has been nearly a hundred years since then. , the tall eucalyptus can only be embraced by four people, and this may also be the oldest eucalyptus in Yunnan.
There are large vineyards under the big trees. In late autumn, the vines are full of fruits. The grapes in Cici are much smaller than common grapes, only the size of a fingernail, the particles are small and plump, and the taste is sweet and sour. The variety used to make grapes is called rose honey. It is said that the variety was brought from France by local missionaries. It is now extinct in France, but it still grows well in the remote mountains of Yunnan. Now the hillsides in Cizhong are full of grapes, and every household has wine-making utensils. The common people have inherited the grape planting and winemaking techniques learned from the French missionaries to this day.
There are two side-by-side tombs in the backyard of the church. The tombs are in the shape of round arches with crosses on them. The tombstone on the north side of the tomb is engraved with the name of the French missionary Father Wu Xudong. The other unnamed tomb buried the Swiss missionary Yu Boliang, who died of meningitis not long after he was admitted to hospital.
The murals of Bible stories on the wall of Cizhong Church have been completely peeled off, but the flowers above the brackets are still clearly visible, and the plant patterns on the ceiling are as new as ever. There are slatted seats on the red carpet, and the villagers will come to worship on weekends
The flowers above the arches of the church are still clearly visible, and the plant patterns on the ceiling are as new as ever. There are slatted seats on the red carpet, and the villagers come to worship on weekends.
Cizhong Village is located in the Lancang River Valley at the junction of Meili Snow Mountain and Biluo Snow Mountain. Although the village is not big, it is a magical place. There are seven ethnic groups, including Tibetan, Han, Lisu, Naxi, Bai, and Nu. Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, seven ethnic groups, three religions coexist, and man and nature live in harmony, enjoying the reputation of Little Shangri-La.
On May 25, 2006, Cizhong Church was approved by the State Council to be listed in the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. How to get to Cizhong Church from Lijiang: Cizhong Church is located in Cizhong Village, Yanmen Township, Deqin County, Yunnan Province, just south of the connection between Meili Snow Mountain and Biluo Snow Mountain, and 60 kilometers from the nearest county seat, Deqin. If you want to start from Lijiang, you need to take the shuttle bus to Shangri-La first, then transfer to Deqin County from Shangri-La, then take a local farmer from Deqin County to Yanmen, and then charter a car from Yanmen to Cizhong Village. It will take a whole day , if you arrive in Deqin too late and don’t have a car to go to Yanmen, it is recommended to stay in the Feilai Temple scenic spot 20 kilometers away from Deqin City. After the sunshine on Jinshan Mountain, return to Deqin from Feilai Temple, and then go to Cizhong Village. Cizhong Village already has a number of B&Bs and restaurants with good conditions, and it is very convenient to eat and live. When you arrive in Cizhong Village, you must taste the wine brewed by the local villagers.
Points to note when going to Cizhong Church: Now that the bridge from Yanmen to Cizhong Village has been built and opened to traffic, vehicles no longer need to pass through the old bridge. The cable suspension bridge in the picture is the earliest old bridge of Cizhong Bridge. Limited, has withdrawn from the stage of history.
The Cizhong Church and the Cizhong Village where it is located are still in the undeveloped stage. Due to its remote location and inconvenient transportation, there are fewer tourists going here, and those who go here are also donkey friends who are studying historical sites and interested in Catholicism. If you don’t want to squeeze the long bus and all kinds of reversing suffering on the plateau, but also want to go deep into the Shangri-La area, it is an ideal way to go to a professional outdoor club. At present, the four-day tour of the Meili Snow Mountain Ring Road by Yunxing Outdoor not only includes Tiger Leaping Gorge , Shangri-La, Meili Snow Mountain and other well-known scenic spots, such as Cizhong Church, Tongle Village, Tacheng and other small scenic spots are also included. Around Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, take a Shangri-La small ring road. This icon has The location of Cizhong Church in the entire four-day tour of the Meili Snow Mountain Ring Road.
Several plans for the itinerary of Cizhong Church
The four-day loop line of Shangri-La Meili Snow Mountain in Northwest Yunnan is a classic Shangri-La tourist loop that does not take repeated routes. The magnificent Meili Snow Mountain, and then cross the alpine valley to Cizhong Village, a fairy tale town under the snow mountain, pass through Liming National Address Park, and finally arrive at Lashihai, the first wetland park in Yunnan. On this route, you can enjoy the world's two deepest canyons, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Lancang River Grand Canyon, the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Yunnan - Songzanlin Temple, the home of Yunnan golden monkeys - Baima Snow Mountain, the highest peak in Yunnan - Meili Snow Mountain, the world's largest Mingyong Glacier, the glacier at the lowest latitude, the World Natural Heritage - Three Parallel Rivers Area, the only Catholic Church in Northwest Yunnan - Cizhong Church, and the real first bay of the Yangtze River in Shigu. For detailed explanation of the following itinerary, please refer to Yunxing Outdoor
Meili Snow Mountain Ring Road 4 days
The first day: Lijiang - the first bay of the Yangtze River - Qiangui Mountain at dawn - Tacheng - Weixi (260 kilometers)
Day 2: Weixi - Tongle Village (Lisu Village) - Cizhong Catholic Church - Lancang River Grand Gorge - Deqin - Feilai Temple (2200 km)
Day 3: Feilai Temple—Rizhao Jinshan Mountain—Baima Snow Mountain—Benzilan—Songzanlin Temple—Yila Grassland—Shangri-La (200 kilometers)
Day 4: Shangri-La - Xiaozhongdian Flower Sea - Tiger Leaping Gorge - First Bend of the Yangtze River - Lijiang (220 km)
8-day Grand Ring Road in Meili Snow Mountain in Northwest Yunnan
The first day: Lijiang - the first bay of the Yangtze River - Qiangui Mountain at dawn - Tacheng - Weixi (260 kilometers)
Day 2: Weixi - Tongle Village (Lisu Village) - Cizhong Catholic Church - Lancang River Grand Gorge - Deqin - Feilai Temple (2200 km)
Day 3: Feilai Temple—Rizhao Jinshan Mountain—Baima Snow Mountain—Benzilan—Songzanlin Temple—Yila Grassland—Shangri-La (200 kilometers)
Day 4: Shangri-La - Xiaozhongdian Flower Sea - Tiger Leaping Gorge - First Bend of the Yangtze River - Lijiang (220 km)
Exploring Three Parallel Rivers Meili Snow Mountain Nujiang 7-day loop
Day 1: Depart from Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Yi Village - Yila Grassland Napa Sea - Songzanlin Temple
Day 2: Songzanlin Temple - Benzilan - Moon Bay - Meili Snow Mountain
Day 3: Feilai Temple - Xidang Village - Nanzong Pass - Yubeng Village
Day 4: Yubeng Village - Base Camp - Ice Lake - Yubeng Village
Day 5: Yubeng Village - God Waterfall - Yubeng Village
Day 6: Yubeng Village - Ninon Grand Canyon - Cizhong Church
Day 7: Cizhong - Lisu Tongle Village - Yunnan Golden Monkey National Park
Day 8: Yunnan Golden Monkey National Park - Tacheng - Jinsha River - Shigu First Bend of the Yangtze River - Lijiang
Panorama of the Three Parallel Rivers of the New Yunnan-Tibet Channel on the 9th Bingchacha Ultimate Crossing
The first day: Lijiang→Shangri-La→Feilai Temple Driving mileage: 350KM
Day 2: Feilai Temple→Kongqueshan Pass→Bingzhongluo Mileage: 170KM
Day 3: Bingzhongluo → Chavalon Mileage: 120KM
Day 4: Chavalon → Zayu Driving mileage: 200KM
Day 5: Zayu → Laigu Glacier → Ranwu Lake → Bomi Driving distance: 333KM
Day 6: Bomi→Tongmai→Lulang→Linzhi Mileage: 230KM
Day 7: Nyingchi → Gongbu Jiangda → Mila Pass → Lhasa Driving mileage: 410KM
Day 8: Lhasa→Yanghu Lake→Lhasa Driving mileage: 200KM