Lishui | Songyang Ancient Village: There are people living deep in the white clouds

The first time I met Lishui Songyang came from Shen Hui, the champion of the Northern Song Dynasty, who praised her in his "First Arrival at Songyang": "The road to the west is blocked, and the road to the south is sparse. Only in this peach blossom garden, there are no other dangers." Southwestern Zhejiang Mountains Although there is a halo shrouded in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, construction in the deep mountains is still difficult. South Zhejiang and northern Fujian are stuck in the same rut. Of course, Wenzhou is an outlier, rich and wealthy, but that belongs to working hard outside. The people of Wenzhou with loose leaves. Compared with the dazzling tourist attractions in the same province, Lishui seems too low-key. When I looked at the map before going there, I realized that I knew very little about Lishui - Lishui is the largest prefecture-level city in Zhejiang, with the following counties and cities: Qingtian, Jinyun, Suichang, Songyang, Yunhe , Qingyuan, Jingning; Listen to the names of these beautiful and fairy places, and the scenery of each place is an independent scene, small but scattered. Self-driving is of course the best choice to go to these places.

Songyang is a small pearl among these beautiful place names. In 2013, Songyang Ancient Village was first published in the "China National Geographic" magazine and was called the last secret place in Jiangnan; in the following years, with the national rural revitalization plan and the revitalization of traditional ancient villages by the local government, With the introduction of the village policy, more and more architects are paying attention to this precious rural land hidden in the mountains of southwestern Zhejiang. After drastic changes, this yellow wall, black tiles, old trees and cooking smoke retain the essence of China's original rural culture in 1800. The ancient village has gradually come into people's sight; fortunately, due to the inconvenient transportation, Songyang Ancient Village still has few people and a low profile even during the crowded holiday season, and there is no competition for it.

Songyang Ancient Village is the collective name of several ancient villages around Songyang County, including ①Chenjiapu Village & Pingtian Village, ②Yangjiatang Village and ③ Songzhuang Village is the most famous. ④Songyang Old Street in Songyang County and ⑤Dushan located on the south bank of the county river are also worth visiting; the former has been there since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the commercial center of Songyang Mountain District and is known as the living Riverside Scene during Qingming Festival. The latter is the highest peak in the county. You can have a panoramic view of Songyang at the top.

In addition, there is Xikeng Village in the direction of ①Chenjiapu Village & Pingtian Village , and in ②Yangjiatang Village and ③Songzhuang Village and Youtian Village can be used as expansion points for the above tours. Depending on the travel rhythm, the entire Songyang can be visited in two days and one night or three days and two nights.

Chenjiapu Village

The car winds along the mountain road, and Chenjiapu Village is located on the cliff. This ancient village with a history of 600 years is the representative of Songyang cliff-style villages. The entire village is surrounded by terraced fields, bamboo forests, ancient trees, and mountains. Yellow walls and black tiles. The holes in the old rammed earth houses are like dry eye sockets; some are still inhabited by villagers, and most of the ones left behind are elderly people. ;The rest were converted into B&Bs and studios. Like most tourists, I came here just for the most beautiful bookstore in China - "Pioneer Bookstore" hidden in a narrow village lane.

In this mist-shrouded cliff village, Pioneer Bookstore Chenjiapu Common People Bookstore is like a bright light. The building where the bookstore is located is the former site of the Chenjiapu Cultural Auditorium. It is no different from other houses at the entrance of the village. It has the same earthen walls and gray tiles. Only the design-rich store name sign at the entrance shows that this place is unique. . The interior of the bookstore is in a circular layout, with the village side for display and the mountain side for readers to rest. There is a viewing terrace on the second floor, and the good spot has naturally been occupied by a certain Red Book user who took the trouble to pose in different poses over and over again. There is no place where I want to take pictures of pure scenery.

Of course, I am extremely proud that the cultural business card of my hometown Nanjing has been spread here. To be able to open such a bookstore deep in this vast mountain, it is no longer important whether it makes money or not, just as Qian Lao, the founder of Pioneer Bookstore, said: “The story of Nanjing and the story of China make everyone who comes to the bookstore a worthwhile trip and feel the roots of a local culture and the soul of history. This is the most important thing.

Chenjiapu Village is very small. If you don’t stop too much at Pioneer Bookstore, you can walk up and down it in more than half an hour. Many old houses in the village have been transformed into B&Bs of various prices. There are also several small hotels in the village. Convenience stores and small restaurants. A lone tree on the top of the village is a popular spot for Internet celebrities to check in. At the entrance of the village there are also Feiziji B&B and Yunxi MO . The price is around 1,500 all year round. It is a popular accommodation in Chenjiapu.

Pingtian Village

Pingtian Village is located under the hilltop of Chenjiapu Village. A towering cedar tree struck by lightning at the entrance of the village is the symbol of Pingtian Village. Compared with Chenjiapu Village, this place is smaller but more fully developed. The village has more than one B&B , restaurants, and even cafes . It is suitable for a warm place. In the bright afternoon, I have no distracting thoughts and am quietly in a daze. There is a renovated Farming Culture Center in front of the village, and there is also an internship base for a film and television school on the hilltop above the village. YunshangPingtianShanjia Qinggong Restaurant is a restaurant with a good environment in the village. It serves farm food. It has two floors upstairs and downstairs. It was designed by Professor Wang Weiren of the Department of Architecture of the University of Hong Kong. The station From the second floor window, you can even see distant mountains.

While climbing up and down in Pingtian Village, I noticed some people standing on the hill diagonally opposite the village entrance. I don't know who they were, but they didn't look like photographers. As a "dedicated" landscape lover, how could I miss such a panoramic photo of an ancient village? Following the distant chatter of the crowd on the hillside, we passed through the terraced fields and dirt roads behind the village. It turned out to be local villagers who were farming. They pointed to the dirt road on the hillside and said that the scenery above would be better.

On the top of the mountain, the small Pingtian villages spread out in front of you as the mountains undulated. Smoke rose in the distance . The lights gradually lit up, and the surrounding crowds dispersed. The dedicated scenery dog ​​was left to slowly set up the tripod in the dusk breeze.

Yangjiatang Village

Yangjiatang Village may be the most famous among Songyang ancient villages, and it may also be the most photographed on major social platforms. Everyone will write the tag "Golden Potala Palace". Of course, this sentence first came from "China National Geographic". The small village is simple and peaceful . When you wander around the village, you will hardly see any villagers. Only a few locals setting up stalls selling specialties in the small square near the entrance of the village make it slightly more popular. There is an ancient camphor tree in the village that is more than 500 years old and is a popular attraction. Before I came here, I saw many photos on the Internet of old people leading oxen past this ancient camphor tree. Next to it, there were smoke cakes scattered by the prop team. , creating the light of Tyndall in the sun, individual tourists naturally do not have such "staged photo" treatment, but fortunately the sky view is also beautiful and quiet.

Yangjiatang Village is not big, and it only takes more than an hour to walk around it clockwise. There is also a viewing platform at the corner of the last residential house on the west side of the village. This is the best location to overlook the entire Yangjiatang Village. The photographer of "China National Geographic" may have taken those classic photos here, and praised them: the earth-yellow exterior walls are in sharp contrast with the lush trees, and the sunshine is shining, giving the village a beautiful color. A layer of gold. There is a strength in simplicity.

Songzhuang Village

After coming out of Yangjiatang Village, continue walking into the mountains. After about a few kilometers, you turn onto a cement road on the edge of a cliff. After another 20 minutes of driving, you can reach Songzhuang Village deep in the valley bottom. Perhaps because it is a bit far away, there are few tourists here; creeks, bamboo forests, stone bridges and old houses make up this small paradise. There are several B&Bs in the village, and most of them are old houses with broken walls, some of which have been abandoned for a long time. A crescent-shaped stream runs through the entire village, and next to it is a stone scripture, which serves as the main road in the village. Climbing up the steps, the houses on one side are lined up like terraces, built against the mountain. There are some small courtyards next to the houses, where flowers, fruit trees or vegetables are planted, which is a typical pastoral life.

There are two shooting spots in Songzhuang Village. One is located in the parking lot and continues 50 meters up the road, overlooking the entire village; the other is the stone bridge on the left hand side of the village. "China National Geographic" once filmed here. Naturally, it cannot be exempted from vulgarity: an old man happened to walk across the stone bridge. Human beings and nature are in perfect harmony. This is the Songyang in my mind.

Songyang Old Street

Songyang Old Street located in Songyang County has been the commercial center of Songyang Mountain District since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is known as the Five Mile Long Street and is known as the living Qingming River Scene. The old street still retains many traditional handicraft shops, such as tailor shops, ironware shops, gold and silver shops, charcoal candle shops, tin foil shops, herbal medicine shops, engraving shops, etc. The short 300-meter old street condenses the entire Songyang farming industry. The mark of civilization.

In the middle of the old street, there is a century-old noodle shop that cannot be missed - Baixian Noodle House. The small store has an endless stream of residents and tourists coming to eat noodles; the most eye-catching thing is the hand-made noodles on site and the firewood. Boiled in the stove, there are four toppings in total, the most famous of which is large intestine with lees; the large intestine has been brewed with red wine yeast and is processed very cleanly. Of course, the safest way to eat it is to have a bowl of family portrait that includes steaks, meat, large intestines and fried eggs. Songyang’s omelette has a regular version and a pickled vegetable version. It’s also good to imitate the locals and eat a pickled fried egg with pickled vegetables. A good choice.

Practical information

arrival and departure

High-speed rail combined with self-driving is the most convenient and fastest option to get to Songyang. Songyang High-speed Railway Station is located about 5 kilometers west of the county, but there are almost no options for renting a car here. If you don’t plan to drive by yourself, you can talk to a Songyang taxi driver after arriving at the county. Negotiate the price of a chartered car to nearby villages. A better way is to take the high-speed train to Lishui Station . It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to drive from Lishui to Songyang for sightseeing. In addition to the medieval villages and old streets mentioned above, there are also other places within an hour's drive of the surrounding area. East-West Rock and Guyan Painting Village Scenic Area can be visited together. According to different travel rhythms, the entire Songyang can be visited in 1-3 days.

stay

Various ancient villages scattered among the Songyang Mountains have various B&Bs, among which Chenjiapu’s Feiziji B&B and Yunxi MO are the most famous. If you don’t want to be distracted by the dazzling B&Bs, Songyang County also has many private or state-owned hotel accommodations to choose from. Tianyuan Mingdu Hotel is the best hotel in the county.