Travel Notes in South China Part 16: Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area

Departing from Xiamen at 8:45 a.m. on December 3, 2020, we drove northwest with the goal of Wuyi Mountain. After traveling 514 kilometers in 6 hours and 45 minutes, we checked into a hotel near the Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area. A full-day tour of Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area on December 4th. This travelogue introduces Wuyi Mountain scenic spots.

1. Itinerary from December 3rd to 4th

2. Natural landscape of Wuyi Mountain

1. The origin of the name Wuyi Mountain

Wuyishan Nature Reserve has been rated as a world cultural and natural cultural heritage and a national 5A scenic spot. Wuyi Mountain was called Jingnan Mountain in ancient times. It was originally a primitive land. According to legend, Peng Zu took his two sons, Peng Wu and Peng Yi, to camp in the mountains at the end of the Shang Dynasty. They split mountains and moved rocks, widened river beds, opened up wasteland, planted trees and crops, and turned Jingnan Mountain into fertile farmland and beautiful ponds. To commemorate their pioneering achievements, the villagers took a word from each brother's name and renamed Jingnan Mountain, namely "Wuyi Mountain".

2. Mother tree Dahongpao

When you go to Wuyi Mountain, you must see the mother tree Dahongpao in person. The mother tree Dahongpao grows on the waist of the rock in the Jiulong Nest (Ke) in the Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area. There are only 6 trees dating back more than 340 years. It is known as the "King of Tea". The growing environment is unique, and the finished tea has a unique aroma and endless aftertaste. It is said to have miraculous medicinal effects.

According to the scenic spot introduction, in July 2007, 20 grams of Dahongpao tea leaves were last collected from a 350-year-old mother tree and were collected by the National Museum of China. This is the first time that modern tea has been selected for inclusion in the National Museum. At this point, Wuyi Mountain no longer produces Dahongpao tea from the mother tree.

3. Jiuqu River

Jiuqu River is a scene in the rocky valley of Wuyi Mountain Peak. Because there are thirty-six peaks and ninety-nine rocks in Wuyi Mountain, the peaks and rocks are intertwined, and the streams are crisscrossed. The Jiuqu River runs through it and winds for fifteen miles. Because it has three bends and nine bends, it is called Jiuqu River. Because the Jiuqu River is winding and deeply cuts through the Wuyi peaks, it forms a wonderful landscape of nine winding clear streams surrounding the green peaks. Taking a bamboo raft across the stream to enjoy the mountain scenery has become a major feature of Wuyi Mountain tours.

4. Dawangfeng

Dawang Peak is also known as Shamao Rock and Tianzhu Peak. It is named because the mountain shape is like an eunuch's Shamao and has the unique majesty of a king. It is 530 meters above sea level. It is full at the top and converges at the bottom. It is majestic and majestic. From a distance, it looks like a giant pillar supporting the sky. Among the thirty-six peaks of Wuyi, it has always been known as the "King of Immortals".

3. Wuyi Mountain Cultural Landscape

1. Wuyi Jingshe

Wuyi Mountain is the cradle of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism. Zhu Xi is the greatest thinker, philosopher and educator in Chinese history after Confucius, and is a later representative figure of Confucian thought. "Wuyi Jingshe" is an academy built by Zhu Xi himself at the foot of Yinping Peak in Wuyi Mountain in the 10th year of Chunxi (1183).

Zhu Xi completed many works here, such as "Enlightenment of Yixue", "Publication Mistakes of Xiao Jing", "Primary School", "Collected Poems", etc., especially "Great Learning Chapters", "Zhongyong Chapters", "Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius". The four works "Collected Commentary on Four Books" were revised and published together. "Collected Commentary on Chapters and Sentences of Four Books" went out of Wuyi Mountain and traveled all over the country, becoming a must-read book for scholars. Wuyi Jingshe’s academic exchanges and educational practices marked the formation of Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian ideological system.

2. The story of Wuyi rock tea

Wuyi rock tea is a famous traditional Chinese tea, an oolong tea with the quality characteristics of rock rhyme (rock bone floral fragrance). Wuyi rock tea is a semi-fermented green tea. The production method is somewhere between green tea and black tea. It has the fragrance of green tea and the mellowness of black tea. It is the best among Chinese oolong teas. Wuyi Rock Tea The most famous Wuyi rock tea is Dahongpao tea.

Since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Wuyi rock tea has been the tribute tea of ​​all dynasties in my country. In the 17th century, Wuyi tea began to be exported. In 1607, the Dutch East India Company purchased Wuyi tea for the first time and resold it to various parts of Europe via Java. A few decades later, Wuyi tea has developed into a daily necessary beverage for some Europeans, and is called "Chinese tea".

4. It is very convenient to travel to and from Wuyishan from Xiamen

We saw many middle-aged and elderly tourists in the scenic area and learned that most of them took the high-speed rail from Xiamen to visit Wuyi Mountain. I logged into "Railway 12306" to check the number of trains from Wuyishan to and from Xiamen. I learned that there are as many as 30 trains to and from Xiamen and Wuyishan every day. The shortest time is 2 hours and 52 minutes, and the longest time is 3 hours and 44 minutes. The shortest interval between departures is 11 minutes, and the longest interval is less than half an hour. Compared with our self-driving journey of 6 hours and 45 minutes, the EMU has great advantages.

Wuyi Mountain is an important tourist attraction in Fujian and also an important scenic spot in national tourism. According to local people, Wuyi Mountain is the best place to escape the summer heat. In the future, you may consider taking the high-speed train from Chengdu to Wuyi Mountain to escape the summer heat.