In Yuxian County, Hebei Province, there is a West Castle with a strong and simple style. Although this is not a professional film and television city built with a lot of money, in recent years, it has attracted many film and television crews such as the movie "The Devil Is Coming" and the TV series "Bright Sword" with its unique geographical and cultural forms, as one of the location locations. On October 24, 2015, the reporter went to Yu County to visit the West Ancient Castle with the self-driving tour team organized by Beijing Aiche Sunshine Global. In the morning, more than 100 new and old car lovers from all over the capital gathered at the Baige service area of Badaling Expressway. Set off in a mighty way to Yu County. On the way, the joyful exchanges and laughter of car friends came from the car radio.
The Aiche Sunshine self-driving team arrived at Nuanquan Town, Yuxian County at noon after about five hours of driving. Yuxian County was called Weizhou in ancient times, also known as Luochuan. It is located in the northwest of the province, bordering Beijing and Tianjin in the east. During the Five Dynasties and Sixteen Kingdoms period, it was one of the "Sixteen States of Yanyun" in history, known as "the first state in the west of Beijing". . As the county seat of Yu County, which was built in the second year of Daxiang in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the tenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, it is the most well-preserved ancient city in the west of Beijing. Yuxian County has a long history and profound cultural heritage. Yuxian paper-cutting is unique and well-known both at home and abroad. Historical and cultural city".
After the car team arrived in Yu County, they first came to West Castle in Nuanquan Town, according to the scheduled itinerary. Members who love cars, the activities here are composed of rich and colorful contents such as visiting Nuanquan Ancient Town in Yuxian County and watching the large-scale real-life performance of "The First Castle in the World" including the wonder of the world "Dashuhua". This is the second time for the reporter to come to Nuanquan Town, Yuxian County. Compared with a few years ago, it has changed a lot, and the scenic spots are more standardized. On one side of the parking lot, sightseeing coaches dedicated to scenic spots are neatly lined up. After the members got off their favorite cars, they took a sightseeing car and entered Nuanquan Town in batches.
When we came to Xigubao, everyone got off the car and went to Sanhetai Restaurant in the town to have lunch. Diagonally opposite the restaurant was the archway with the four characters "Wuhua Tianbao" that we had seen in the movie "The Devil Is Coming". Going through the archway, you will come to the doorway in front of the castle. Not far from the first gate is the Fort Gate. Looking closely at the bluestone slabs at the foot of the gate opening of the ancient castle, the vicissitudes of history are revealed in the ruts on the smooth and damaged surface.
Since the performance is limited to the scheduled time of the show, after entering Nuanquan Town, the members first used the local characteristic farmhouse luncheon, then immediately entered the old castle, and went to the newly completed building located behind the west old castle and near the southeast. In the Grand Theater not long ago, watch an art troupe composed of local farmers and friends present a wonderful live performance "The First Castle in the World".
This performance was just unveiled when Nuanquan Ancient Town was newly opened on September 28 of that year, and this panorama is intangible and amazing. . The only indoor live-action performance theater is newly built, with a total investment of 120 million yuan, which can accommodate nearly 900 spectators at the same time.
During the performance, dazzling lights, gorgeous costumes, changing stages, a huge lineup, beautiful faces, and unique scripts, present the country's first performance that integrates intangible cultural heritage items - tree flowers to tourists here every day . Because it is an indoor real scene, "Trees and Flowers" has ended the history that it could only be watched outdoors and during the day, so that tourists will no longer return with regrets. The gorgeous trees and flowers and the theater are just like "Weizhou in the dream does not want to return, the trees, flowers, fireworks and warm springs fly!"
Regarding the special program "Treating Flowers", the reporter once watched its shocking effect at the launching ceremony of the "2011 Chinese Cultural Tour" in the province. And it has a history of its origin. It is said that "Dashuhua" is one of the ancient festival fires in Nuanquan Town, and it is said to have a history of more than 300 years.
In the past, poor people had no money to buy firecrackers and fireworks during the Chinese New Year. In order to celebrate the harvest and pray for good weather in the coming year, the local ironworkers entertained themselves by turning some scrap iron into molten iron, scooping it out with a wooden spoon made of strange willow roots and pouring it on the wall. After the iron juice at more than 1000 degrees Celsius burst, thousands of sparks burst out, like a leafy tree crown, so it is called "tree flower". The "tree flower" is full of brilliance and various poses when it is played, and its spectacular scene is no less than the fireworks show on the National Day. It is a game for the brave, it is also a unique skill of Nuanquan people, and it is the only one in the country. In the past, it was only available during the Lantern Festival, but now there are also performances on the third and fifth day of the first lunar month.
I remember that the protagonists who watched the performance of "Striking Tree Flowers" that year were three entertainers wearing straw hats and sheepskin jackets on their backs. One was surnamed Zhong and the other two were surnamed Wang. The body and head are for anti-scald use. On the nearly 10-meter-high city wall behind them, there are traces left by tree-cutting flowers seen during the day. After the hot molten iron was poured into the basin in front of the city wall, a master came on stage. I saw him stretch out the white spoon in his hand to the molten iron, and the flames sprang up all at once. When he threw spoonfuls of molten iron towards the city wall with all his strength, the pearl-sized red water drops exploded into clusters of small umbrella-shaped golden sparks, which traveled far away along the city wall. When it spread out, scenes of fiery trees, silver flowers and endless sky bloomed in the night sky.
Now, in the panorama performance of "The Best Fort in the World", with the Xigubao Town of Nuanquan Town as the background, various artistic elements such as music, dance, local opera, acrobatics, etc. are performed in a dramatic way with colorful sound Against the background of the excellent effects of light, film and dance beauty, it shows people a sad and touching love story, and also organically integrates the unique skill of "beating trees and flowers" into the play.
After watching the panoramic drama "No. 1 Fort in the World", car lovers began to explore the West Castle in Nuanquan Town, Yuxian County. The West Castle was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. The plan is square, with a side length of about 50 meters. The two urn cities open to the east, and each has a fort gate. There are dizang temples, pavilions, theater buildings, temples and other buildings in the urn cities. In the west, there is a small brick city tower protruding. This castle has a complete structure and a varied layout. It is a typical village fort. This place integrates the four cultural wonders of "ancient dwellings, ancient houses, ancient castles, and ancient theater buildings". It is the most unique and best-preserved example among the 800 castles in ancient Weizhou. It is now a national key cultural relic unit.
Entering the fort gate is a straight ancient street. And in the straight street, there are several alleys running through the east, west, north and south. According to historical records, the ancient town belonged to Jizhou during the Yao and Shun periods, belonged to the Dai state during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and was a place where Zhao, Qin and other states competed during the Warring States period. During the Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, and Jin Dynasties, it belonged to Dai County, and Nuanquan belonged to Pingshu County. The existing tall Fengtu Han Tombs in the west of the town are buried with the bureaucrats and officials of the year. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was a place where the Han nationality and the minority nationalities competed. The town was built in the Yuan Dynasty, and developed into "three castles, six lanes, and eighteen villages" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Since then, Nuanquan has become a transportation hub and business center in the west of Yu County.
There is a distance of 227 meters between the north and south gates of the West Ancient Castle, forming a main avenue. There are small alleys in the east and west of the main street. There are 180 ancient residential courtyards in existence, including 5 large serial courtyards (also known as nine serial courtyards), 49 small and neat ancient courtyard houses, and 246 ancient folk houses with ornamental and research value.
These dwellings are all of brick and wood structure, with wooden lattice windows, wood carvings and paintings, green strips and cornerstones, white gray and blue bricks and tiles, ridged roofs, and kissing animals installed. The windows of the residential buildings are all open to the courtyard, but not to the alley. Although it has experienced hundreds of years of wind and rain, its thick and thick wood and stone, beautiful and delicate brick carvings and wood carvings, and simple and elegant oil decoration and painting still show the prosperity and style of that year. Climbing up to the gate tower of the fort and looking down from the north to the south, there are row upon row of residential houses, tall and neat ridged kissing animal cylindrical tile roofs, and the towers are steep and majestic, showing the charm of an ancient city.
Riders walked into the ancient streets and alleys, and one after another, ancient houses appeared in front of them. Under the guidance of the tour guide, they entered a courtyard with two entrances. The houses in the courtyard were well laid out, and people still live there. Seeing so many strangers coming here suddenly, the dogs in the yard kept barking "Wow, woof, woof". Although it was harsh, it exuded a strong breath of life.
There are many buildings in Nanweng City, including 74 rooms, towers, towers, and pavilions, with a construction area of about 1,500 square meters. From Zhijie to the southernmost point is a small and exquisite ancient theater building with flying ridges and brackets and colorful paintings. The theater building is 13 meters wide and 8.5 meters deep. It also increases the usable area of the theater building in a limited space. This design form is unique among nearly 700 ancient theater buildings in Weizhou.
Entering the courtyard from the brick-carved vertical flower gate on the west side of the theater building is the Dizang Temple (commonly known as the hall), one of the places for Buddhist activities approved by the provincial and municipal education management departments. The temple is divided into upper and lower floors, a courtyard-style building. There are 12 all-brick cave dwellings on the lower floor.
On the upper floor are the Dizang Hall, the Ten Halls of Yan Jun, the Ghost King Hall, the Temple of Sanyi, the Temple of the Horse, and the Bell and Drum Tower. The layout of these buildings is rigorous and ingenious, the brick and wood carvings are exquisite, and the statues and murals are lifelike. The corridors embrace the buildings, the winding paths lead to seclusion, and a novel landscape of one scene after another, one scene after another is created in a small space. Looking north from the dizang temple, you can clearly see the ancient castle straight street and the vertical and horizontal streets and alleys you just walked through.
Due to the antique characteristics of West Castle, many film and television artists have been attracted to film here in recent years, such as "Folk Opera Saint", "Zuo Tang", "New Shaolin Temple", "Unconsciously Flowing Water", "Bright Sword", "Enemy Rear" Military Workers", "Mother is a River" and many other film and television dramas were filmed here. In particular, the movie "The Devil Is Coming" directed by Jiang Wen in 1998 used this village castle as one of the main locations, and invested in the construction of many scenic spots that still exist today.
Today, Nuanquan Ancient Town's "five time-traveling themes" courtyards also welcome guests simultaneously, including Liao Song War Culture Museum, Ancient Weizhou Marriage Customs Museum, "Bright Sword" shooting location, Magic Children's naughty Museum, and Misty Castle. By stretching the age of each pavilion, the thousand-year history of Weizhou can be seen, felt and experienced by tourists, making tourism full of fun in history. Nuanquan Ancient Town has newly built the first glass tower in an ancient town in China. The eaves and platforms of the entire tower are made of glass. The glass in different directions shows different colors in the refraction of sunlight.
Standing on the nearly 50-meter-high glass tower to watch the scenery, looking down at the earth, and looking up to embrace the blue sky, you can have a panoramic view of the "home, country and world" of the East and West Shuangbao, and you can have a panoramic view of the ancient town; It is radiant, a high-tech light show will dress up the clear glass tower like a dream. When the ancient town meets the glass tower, it is the collision of historical heritage and modern civilization, and it is the fusion of culture and tourism.
After the visit to the West Castle, the members came to Nuanquan Town, where there is the famous Nuanquan Academy. The academy was first built in the Yuan Dynasty and was supervised by the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry in the Yuan Dynasty. In the northeast corner, there is Kuixing Building, which is a three-story brick and wood structure. You can see the surrounding scenery from a distance by climbing to the top. The shade in the academy is shaded and quiet. It is not only a quiet place to study, but also a good place to escape the heat in summer.
It is recorded in "Weizhou Zhi·Channel Map": "In Nuanquanbao, 30 miles west of the city, the source of the spring is divided into east and west by stone urns." The name "Nuanquan" comes from this. The most famous of the springs is Fengyuan Chishui. The spring water flows out through the east and west dragon mouths facing each other, and flows slowly around the village. In the south of Fengyuan Pool is the Pavilion Academy. The main building in the academy is a pavilion of about 80 meters 2. The spring water passes through the pavilion underground. There is a flowing well in front of the pavilion. "Water passing through the gazebo and octagonal well" is one of the "eight scenic spots" in Yuxian County. The spring water waters hundreds of acres of vegetable gardens and rice fields in the south of the town along the open channel around the village, and finally flows into the Huliuhe Reservoir in the southeast of the town. The warm spring water flows out within 1.5 kilometers without freezing in cold weather.
Since it was already dusk when we came to Nuanquan Town from West Castle, and because we had to rush, we could not visit Nuanquan Town again. The members had no choice but to drive to Laiyuan County, where they stayed that night, with unsatisfactory excitement. Night finally came. Driving on the highway at this time, the publicity car the reporter was riding on looked at the long motorcade with double flashing lights from the rear of the motorcade, like a fire dragon cruising on the highway. The expressway in the middle adds a beautiful landscape. (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
