The transformation of the peninsula: Baofeng San Village and the old and new Baoxiang River - traveling around the Dianchi Lake

Baoxiang River, one of the six ancient rivers in Kunming, originates from Laoye Mountain in the southeast of Guandu District. It is also the second largest river in Kunming. It flows through Kunming Bazi. The new and old Baoxiang Rivers enter the Dianchi Lake in Baofeng Peninsula.

There is a sign "Baoxiang River Entrance Wetland" on the east side of the lake, and an asphalt road stretches down the bank of the Xinbaoxiang River. There is a very impressive and distinctive building on the other side of the road. The text on a huge stone in front of the building tells me that this is the "Yunnan Kunming Planning Museum". There is also a sign warning that construction is underway here and no one is allowed to enter.

On the west side of Xinbaoxiang River is Baofeng Peninsula.

During the historical changes of Baoxiang River, its river course has also changed a lot and there are many tributaries. In order to prevent floods and discharge floods, gates were built to divert the water in different sections of the river. Many rivers related to the Baoxiang River such as the Wujia Baoxiang River, Liujia Baoxiang River, Lao Baoxiang River, and Xin Baoxiang River (flood diversion channels) coexisted. , it is really difficult to verify, I only record here what I saw. The Xinbaoxiang River is actually the flood diversion channel of the Baoxiang River. In 1978, in order to solve the problem of flood drainage in the lower section, a newly dug flood drainage river was dug on the south bank of the Baoxiang River in Xiaofu Village and took a straight path to Dianchi Lake. The Lao Baoxiang River flows along the narrowed river channel through Baofeng San Village and merges into Dianchi Lake at the top of the peninsula.

It is said that there are many folklore versions of the origin of the name Baoxiang River. One of them is a beautiful legend, which tells that a long time ago, Samei Village was short of water, and there was a lake at the foot of Laoye Mountain. The kind-hearted girl Aimei wanted to He diverted water into the village, agreed to the elephant's request to protect the water source, and married the elephant. The elephant carried Miss Aimee all the way, and the lake flowed behind it, forming a river. The elephant and girl Aimee walked along the river holding hands. Walking, walking, walking through the village, walking down the mountain, walking to the dam, until the Dianchi Lake disappeared. Therefore, the villagers call this river Baoxiang River.

I walked along the Xinbaoxiang River towards the entrance of the lake. The wide river channel has neat embankments on both sides, and there are river trees shading the embankments.

Behind the planning hall is a wetland. When you reach the lakeside, Baofeng Wetland and Haidong Wetland are intertwined, making it difficult to tell which is Baofeng Wetland and which is Haidong Wetland. They are all connected together.

The entrance to the lake is under construction. It was not fenced off when I last visited, and there was an excavator on the construction site. I happened to meet a master and asked, what is going to be built here? The master replied that a sluice should be built here to prevent the lake water from flowing back.

I chatted with him by the way, looked at the water at the entrance of the lake, and said that the water quality at the entrance of the lake looked much better after treatment.

He said, yes, much better. He also told me nostalgically that he was from Songming. When he came to Kunming in the past summer, he always liked to swim in Dianchi Lake. The water was clear at that time, but now he can no longer swim.

We all hope that through unremitting management, the water quality of Dianchi Lake will become better.

Not far from the entrance to the lake, a colorful steel bridge spans the Xinbaoxiang River. Across the bridge is the Baofeng Peninsula.

After crossing the bridge, a path leads to the village. There is a wetland full of trees beside the path.

When you cross the bridge and enter the village, you are faced with a stretch of warehouses built with steel plates. Due to eviction, the warehouse is being moved, and there are many small advertisements for moving companies posted on the walls of the warehouse.

On the main road of the peninsula, there is a long street in front of you. In the past, cars were coming and going, and it was very lively. Now that the reconstruction of Baofeng Peninsula has entered the implementation stage, intense demolition has begun in the northern section, awaiting new development. There is a scene on the street that is about to be demolished and renovated. The businesses and shops on both sides are basically closed, and the restaurants are much deserted. There is a market that is also closed and no longer in use. Small advertisements for moving companies can be seen everywhere in the village.

There were originally three villages on the Baofeng Peninsula: Baofeng Village, Dingjia Village, and Yanjia Village. Although the year when the village was founded has not been verified, I think it may have hundreds of years of history like other villages on the Dianchi Peninsula.

The one closest to the lake is Yanjia Village. When you see the village name plate of "Yanjia Village" hanging on the electric pole, follow the road on the right to the south and leave the village.

Out of the village entrance, there are wetlands on both sides of the Laobaoxiang River. In some places, there are forests of trees, and in other places, there are scattered small vegetable plots among the trees. On the roadside, I saw a stone monument for river protection built by "Jiusan Society Kunming City Member and Kunming CPPCC Hong Kong and Macao Committee Member".

The entrance of Laobaoxiang River to the lake is blocked by construction and the gate is closed. The villagers sitting outside pointed out to me that the only way to get in was through the stone ridge on one side. I think since I'm here, I don't want to go in and take a look. It's almost like climbing over to get inside. There is an excavator parked, but it seems that it hasn't been working for a while. This area has no trees and is relatively open. There are a few ruins of old houses near the small pond.

Walking back and upstream, I saw a stone bridge over the Laobaoxiang River at the entrance of the village. It looked quite old, with green trees shading the bridge. Judging from the location of the bridge, it was probably called Qingfeng Bridge. An elder was sitting alone on the bridge. I went up to greet him and sat down to rest my feet. The elder told me that he was from Guandu Town. 70 I am over 60 years old and have retired. I used to have a few old friends in Baofeng and used to come here to play. Now it is going to be demolished, so I came to take a look. In the future, all of this place will be built into villas.

After sitting for a while, I said goodbye to the elder. Walking back along the river, at the bend of the river, I saw an ancient building. Looking up close, it was called "Zhenhai Pavilion". The year of construction is unknown, but the existing buildings were rebuilt in the twelfth year of the Republic of China (1923). People pray that "the mountains and rivers are charming, the people are outstanding, and the tigers and dragons are leaping and the people are prosperous." The stone tablet next to the pavilion records that "the original statues of Fuxi, Shennong and Youchao in the pavilion are the only existing carriers of folk value for worshiping these three clans in our (Yunnan) province." More than 10 meters away from the pavilion, there is No. 36 "Dianchi Lake" First-level protection pile".

After looking here for a while, I walked up and saw a well. There were several young women surrounding the well, some were doing laundry, and some were chatting with their babies. When asked about the age of the well, it was said that it had been there since the village was built. The well water is clear, which is a huge difference compared to the turbid river water. Several young people joked that they really wanted to bring their clothes back to wash after they move away. He also said that during this demolition, he heard that if the ancient well is not filled in, the ancient bridge will not be damaged. I think so. If we can leave some ancient relics and some history culture in the planning and design, we can also add some unique landscapes to the future community after the planning and design is completed.

The Lao Baoxiang River meanders through Baofeng No. 3 Village, and villagers build houses next to the river. All the way up the river, there is a bridge not far away. I don't know the name of the bridge, but it can be seen that some bridges are very old. Coming from the downstream village entrance, there are at least five or six bridges in Baofeng Village Three.

There is also a "Baoxiang Temple" in the village, but I haven't gone there yet.

In the Dianchi Peninsula, urban village reconstruction is underway, and the construction of the Dianchi Lakeside Eco-City is underway. Soon, when we go there again, we will see new buildings.