Great Harmony in the World (1)—Walking in Great Harmony
Since the epidemic, different friends around me are experiencing different difficulties in life, and how can my own life be any easier? Come to think of it, no one in this world is not burdened to move forward. No matter whether they are prominent or ordinary, no one's life is a history of ups and downs of struggle. Unsatisfactory things are often eight or nine, but they are the same as those who speak. Wherever there is smooth sailing and everything goes as planned, that is just our wishful thinking. The meeting of resentment and hatred, the separation of love, and the failure of what we want will lead to suffering throughout our lives. If we move forward with compassion, the future will be long.
Taking advantage of the May Day holiday to go out for a walk is not so much a trip as a way to relax, find a chance to get away from this seemingly inescapable life for a short time, and steal a few days of leisure. As for why it was Datong, I suddenly discovered that it only takes less than two hours from Beijing to Datong due to the opening of the Dazhang Line, and I was not in the mood to travel far away for sightseeing. Datong seemed to be a good option.
When I was a child, I lived in Shaanxi and Henan. Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces felt like places on my doorstep. I would never take the initiative to travel to these provinces. Because that is the environment where I grew up. I can imagine the scene there with my eyes closed: the air is dry and there is little rain, the sun is bright and dazzling, the scenery is all gray and dusty, and when sand comes occasionally, the sky is full of yellow sand. The abundant green vegetation is also wearing a gray coat, which inevitably makes people feel that this place is really lacking in vitality; the streets are straight, just like the straightforward character of northerners, the city is square, the east-west, north-south roads are straight, it is not easy to get lost, and there are few running water in the urban area. Rely on buildings to support the facade. People speak loudly, wishing they could be heard all over the street; the streets are full of noodle restaurants, a bowl of noodles with a cold dish is a typical northern meal. The dishes in the restaurants are great for their large portions, but the cooking is difficult to say and they don’t pay attention to the appearance. The huge plates should be filled as much as possible so as not to leave any impression that they are lacking; the clothing stores on the street have old styles and bright colors, and they are thousands of miles away from the fashion trends, but even in Beijing, the capital of the north, they still have the same style. It's a kind of rustic style that comes from the village, which is incomparable with Shanghai Ning, which is surrounded by the prosperous Bund and the ten-mile foreign market. Digging up the loess in the surrounding wilderness will reveal some kind of ruins or ancient tombs. A Shang Dynasty ruins park was dug out behind my building. My hometown, Hancheng, has also developed into a tourist city. I am really interested in these provinces. I don’t have much curiosity, so I don’t have much motivation to travel. I can’t remember how many times I have passed by the Terracotta Warriors and Horses and Huaqing Pool, but I have never been there until now. There are also Huashan Mountain, Songshan Mountain, and Luoyang. It is really easy for me to go there, but I haven’t been there yet. I have been there... Although this is not the case, psychologically I feel that they are all within the scope of my home.
Let me briefly talk about my impression of Datong:
Datong’s license plate is Jin B, which surprised me. It shows that Datong used to be very good, but now it seems to be in decline. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, this was a key industrial city developed by the country. There were many heavy industrial enterprises and it was a key construction city in the First Five-Year Plan. But now? The GDP in 2018 ranked fourth from the bottom in Shanxi Province. In addition to being higher than Xinzhou, Shuozhou, and Yangquan, it was lower than Changzhi, Yuncheng, Linfen, Luliang, Jincheng, Jin, etc. There is a saying that Datong is the three eastern provinces of Shanxi. I personally feel that it is quite appropriate. It is a heavy industrial city that was focused on construction under the planned economic system, but it has lost its advantages and opportunities under the market economy. But why are other cities in Shanxi better? I think it’s probably due to its location. Datong is located in the north of Shanxi, adjacent to Inner Mongolia and Hebei. The neighboring Hebei area is the famous poverty belt around the capital. Who can be expected to drive whom? What's more, who would have thought that Datong had never had a high-speed rail connection before. The Datong-Zhang high-speed rail connecting Beijing was only opened in November 2019, and it feels like it has been forgotten by everyone. Taiyuan, the provincial capital located in the middle of Shanxi Province, cannot radiate to the far northern border. In other words, Shanxi has no other economy except selling coal, and there is no economic radiation effect. I just looked at the data. The GDP of the entire Shanxi Province is less than that of Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu Province. The GDP of Taiyuan, the most developed city in Shanxi, is less than 400 billion. This result ranks among the bottom three in Jiangsu Province, and the second in Shanxi. It’s not even half as good as Taiyuan, just like the first place in your class is already at the bottom of other classes, and the second place in your class is half as bad as the first place... Come to think of it we are poorIt is really difficult for the poor and backward inland provinces in the western .
Datong is one of the first batch of famous historical and cultural cities in the country, which surprised me. I checked the information and felt that its glorious history probably stems from its location. It is really a success or failure. Datong is located in the Datong Plain, with the Taihang Mountains to the east, the Loess Plateau to the west, and the Inner Mongolia Plateau to the north. From the Inner Mongolia Plateau to Datong, you can reach the hinterland of the Central Plains in the south. Therefore, this place has also become the intersection of the farming civilization and the nomadic civilization of the Central Plains. When you leave Datong, you will be the world of the Mongolian plateau nomads, and when you enter Datong, you will be the territory of the developed farming civilization. Therefore, the nomads tried to invade the hinterland of the Central Plains through Datong, while the Central Plains dynasty tried to defend Datong with heavy troops to resist the invasion of foreign enemies, so it also achieved the status of Datong as an important border fortress. There are countless wars that happened here in history. The Siege of Baideng, which almost killed Liu Bang, happened in Datong. There seem to be many other wars (I am not good at history so I won’t give examples). The highlight of Datong as a historical city came when the nomadic Xianbei Tuoba lineage occupied the north and established the Northern Wei Dynasty. The initial capital was Pingcheng (Datong). I felt that this was a position that could be advanced, attacked, retreated and defended (the position may have been secured later) , then moved the capital to Luoyang). At present, most of the ancient buildings in Datong come from the relics from when it was the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, such as Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, ancient city walls, etc. The ordinary Hengshan Mountain is actually one of the Five Mountains. Presumably, it is also because of its important location, forming a barrier to protect the Central Plains. Therefore, people gave the honor of Beiyue to Hengshan Mountain. Otherwise, there are too many famous mountains and rivers in our vast territory of China. How could it happen? Nor is it the turn of the featureless Hengshan Mountain. Finally, we return to the famous historical and cultural city. If you think of any city in the Central Plains, it can be regarded as a famous historical and cultural city. The farming civilization in the Yellow River Basin was born and developed here. At that time, the Yangtze River Basin and the southeastern coast were not suitable for human beings. Living in a remote and rough place, now look at how depressed Kaifeng and Luoyang, which were once the ancient capitals of many dynasties, are now. It is really sad to think about the ups and downs of these history.
I spent two days in Datong this time. I visited Yungang Grottoes for half a day, visited the ancient city of Datong for half a day, and took a one-day trip to Xuankong Temple, Hengshan Mountain and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in one day. Here are some of my intuitive insights:
1) Datong’s ancient city walls and bell and drum towers instantly made me feel familiar and cordial, as if I was in Xi’an. The ancient city is said to have been dilapidated in the past. A large number of old buildings were demolished during the ancient city reconstruction project. The new buildings along the streets are mainly in antique style. The new city mainly extends from the ancient city to the south. You can encounter it by walking south along the south gate of the ancient city. The busiest area of the city. The overall feeling is not the smoky coal mining city you imagined, but it looks new and tidy.
2) The poplar trees in northern cities are really a ghost. In Datong, I don’t know which blocks there are. Poplar catkins are flying wildly and the sky is filled with snow, which is outrageous. You will find that masks are really a good thing, preventing smog, viruses, and catkins. When I was very helpless that day, I looked up and saw the words "Datong Yangshu Bureau" written in the heavy snow. I immediately couldn't laugh or cry. I didn't know what the function of this poplar bureau was.
3) Prices in Datong are so low that I immediately bought two kilos of ugly oranges and strawberries for 5 yuan per pound at the farmer’s market near the hotel. A bowl of shaved noodles with pork only costs 9 yuan, and large stuffed pork buns only cost 9 yuan. You can have a full meal with wine and food for only 1.5 yuan or more than 10 yuan. Probably matching the low price level is the low income level, but this is better than the high price and low income in some cities.
4) The roads in Datong are wide and particularly friendly to pedestrians and bicycles, which makes people like me who often ride bicycles around feel satisfied.
5) The temperature in Datong during the May Day days was extremely abnormal. It reached 35 degrees on the 2nd. It is said that the average summer temperature in Datong is only more than 20 degrees. I can encounter such high temperatures, which is obviously in line with my usual character... .
6) Finally, let me tell you a weird thing: On the bus from Datong South Station to the hotel, there was a college student wearing a black T-shirt with Chairman Mao’s face on it. I guess this guy went back to Datong to visit his family during the holidays. Then an aunt sitting next to him was ignited by the T-shirt with the chairman's face on it, and she pulled this guy to chat all the way. I probably understood four things: She is a huge fan of the Chairman and has various souvenirs of the Chairman at home; she found it very rare to see this young man respecting the Chairman so much (In this aunt’s eyes: Wearing a Chairman T-shirt = worship Chairman); she specifically went to Datong South Station to take photos to post on Kuaishou; in the end, she invited the college student to her home for dinner with an overwhelming enthusiasm that she could not refuse, and even made a video call with her mother to reassure her. After witnessing all this, Ms. Wang felt that she was on the wrong set. May I ask where the sets of Daniel Wu and William Chan are.
There is another documentary related to Datong. The documentary "The Mayor of China" directed by Zhou Hao in 2015 won the Taiwan Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary. The film records the past of Datong Mayor Geng Yanbo demolishing the ancient city wall. It feels a bit like Secretary Dakang. I recommend watching it.
I have never been to any of the four major grottoes in China, and I don’t understand any historical knowledge at all. Even the key knowledge points about Datong and the Northern Wei Dynasty were learned on the train. When visiting Yungang Grottoes, I spent 10 yuan to buy the official audio guide on WeChat. I listened to it casually and got a rough understanding of it.
There are mainly 20 caves in the Yungang Grottoes for tourists to visit, the most famous of which is Tan Yao Five Grottoes. It is said that Tan Yao started building Buddha statues and built today's Yungang Grottoes, so there is a Tan Yao Square at the entrance of Yungang Grottoes to commemorate him. The five Buddha statues in Tan Yao Five Grottoes are said to symbolize the five emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty. They can be regarded as a symbol of the unity of politics and religion. The support of the rulers gave Buddhism the soil to survive and spread. However, I personally have no interest in these five caves. They are just some huge Buddha statues. I think the colorfully decorated caves in the middle with exotic elements are more interesting. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in these caves.
It took me about 3 hours to visit the 20 caves twice (but this may be due to the lack of tourists during the epidemic). For people like me who don’t know the truth, if you just take a quick tour, more than an hour may be enough.
The largest cave - Cave 3, appearance
In Cave 3, this cave is a semi-finished product, with only three lonely Buddhas. It is suspected that the construction of these three Buddhas will be unfinished.
3 cave Buddha statues
Cave 7-8, I was wrong. I took these two pictures secretly... I saw someone taking pictures next to me. I thought this cave was allowed to take pictures, so I took two pictures, and then I found out that it was against the rules...
These six people on the door frame are known as the Six Beauties of Yungang, but I can't see clearly. First, they are too tall, and second, my eyesight is not good, so I can only get a rough look.
Cave 7-8, this cave has quite a few Greco-Roman style architectural elements, such as the Greek Ionian columns.
I like these two caves very much
Cave 14 door frame
Cave 15 Thousand Buddha Cave. It is said that these Buddha heads are weathered and damaged. Most of them may have been stolen.
Cave 19, the Buddha statue on the left accidentally revealed his true body
Cave 20, this cave is considered the masterpiece of Yungang Grottoes. This Buddha statue should also have an antechamber in front like other caves. It has been damaged for many years and now it can only face the world.
Cave 39, the guide introduces that after Cave 20, all Buddha statues were built by private citizens. The scale and quality are not as good as the previous 20 royal ones. This 39 is considered the most exquisite one after the 20th century.
Hanging Temple, as the name suggests, is exactly what you think, a temple suspended in the air. As for why it can hang in the air, we can only admire the wisdom of the ancients. We feel that the people in Shanxi have maximized the role of wooden materials. The force that supports the entire hanging temple in the air does not come from the pillars below, but from the wooden piles buried in the mountain. As for the wooden piles we see outside, they only serve as supplementary support.
On the far left is a mortise and tenon structure similar to an expansion screw.
Rainproof
windproof
Hengshan is a relatively boring scenic spot. There are some Taoist temples on the mountain, but I don't understand them. To me, there is no significant difference between this place and the surrounding wild mountains. The management of this scenic spot is like a rural scenic spot. The entrance to the Tangtang Scenic Area is like a private ticket gate. And when you turn around from Zhenwu Temple and arrive at the ticket gate, you find that you don’t need to turn around at all. The intersection at the entrance of Zhenwu Temple is directly towards The entrance is on the left, but there is no prompt here and everyone will enter the Zhenwu Temple by default. Although the scenery of Zhenwu Temple is not bad, and it is not a bad idea to take a stroll, this kind of scheming design makes people very uncomfortable, and the deliberate intention to make money is too obvious.
There was a very steep stone staircase that was a bit scary. I didn’t dare to look back when I was climbing it.
This is the top of the mountain
Yingxian county seat
The name of this hotel is so domineering
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