Travel Notes | Walking the Xiaochuan-Tibet Line in Southern Anhui
Walking the Xiaochuan-Tibet Line in Southern Anhui
In the late autumn of 2019, I was originally scheduled to take the dogs to Yunnan, but due to various subjective and objective reasons, the trip was postponed. Later, my brother Xiao Dingzi happened to have a free period. Taking advantage of the excitement of his trip to Northeast China at the beginning of the year, I decided to take a short trip on the spur of the moment. Ogawa Zang in southern Anhui, which I had always wanted to visit, was officially put on the agenda!
AnhuiNanchuan-Tibet Line refers to Qinglong Township in Ningguo City in the east, Qinxi Town in Jingxian County in the west, Caijiaqiao Town in Jingde County in the south, and Xuancheng City in the north. Its most essential section is the entire length. About 120 kilometers. It is named because of the dangerous road and beautiful scenery, which is similar to the Sichuan-Tibet Line.
Apart from Xinjiang, the most beautiful roads I have ever visited feel like they are all in Sichuan. For example, the highway scenery in Sichuan-Tibet (Sichuan Section) and northwest Sichuan is breathtaking. Let me share some of my humble photos taken at Queer Mountain and Ganbai Highway in western Sichuan.
When I visited southern Anhui this time, I felt that this land has its own unique temperament, which is similar to Sichuan and Tibet but very different. The so-called Liudaowan is really an exaggeration. Compared with the 72 turns and road conditions of Sichuan and Tibet, the traffic lane is nothing compared to the big one.
Starting from Shanghai, we chose to start from the Ningguo section (which is also the highlight). After arriving at Suhong Village in Jingxian County, we changed the route to Chaji Ancient Town, a 5-day trip.
Shanmen Cave is an interesting scenic spot. Located in Shanmen Village, Gangkou Town, its most iconic scenery is the natural cave (also known as "Lingyan") not far from the ticket gate. It is 10 meters high and 17 meters wide. The stone wall is cut straight and suddenly opens in the middle. Like a city gate.
The scenic spot actually includes natural caves and various artificial landscapes transformed from rural areas. Therefore, Shanmendong is another demonstration unit of the new rural economy. There is very little information online, and not many tourists come here.
The ticket price is 20 yuan, and ticket sales and check-in have been standardized, which is inconsistent with the rumors that some guides say that there is no one to manage it.
Lingyan, paired with the ancient tree guarding the gate, has an indescribable charm. Not far away, there are caves painted with neon lights, golden ginkgo trees, pink and lavender that have been popular in recent years... Although they are still artificially planted, with the ridge as the background, they are more natural than some purely artificially cultivated flower beds.
I saw some travel notes mentioning that "snakes" are often encountered in local water sources and mountains. Unexpectedly, I saw a green snake near the stream in the Fendai field, which was suspected to be a water snake. When walking, you must pay special attention.
With Brother Xiao Dingzi and the children, taking pictures was the main activity, so we spent a whole afternoon in Shanmen Cave.
Chujiatan is the real destination on our first day’s itinerary.
If Shanmendong represents warm colors, then Chujiatan is the best interpretation of cool colors. The contrast between the two is similar to the Huangling and Zhangcun in Wuyuan I visited at the same time last year (see Wuyuan Travel Notes).
Chujiatan is located in Longge Village, Qinglong Township. Like Shanmen Cave, it is also a demonstration site for rural tourism. In the small valley, with the lake as the center and mountains surrounding it, there are farmhouses providing accommodation along the roadside. As the temperature drops, the vegetation begins to turn a little yellow, complementing the color of the lake.
There are not many tourists, they are all photography groups from uncles and aunts, and most of them are from Shanghai. Seeing the four dog models from Fulu Ankang, the response was enthusiastic, which actually made the children a little overwhelmed.
You must stay overnight when you come to Chujiatan, mainly because of the morning mist. The fog began to rise at 6 o'clock, but it was too thick at that time and it was not the most beautiful time for the scenery. When the sun slowly rises and the fog dissipates around 6:30, everything is looming, as if you are in a fairyland.
It is recommended to stay at Luolingwan Self-Driving Camp . It only takes 2 minutes to walk from the room to the best photography location. The small lawn there is very suitable for dogs to play. In the afternoon of the day of arrival, the children played happily near the camp.
Running freely on the grass
Have a game of American football
Compared with the monotonous farmhouse on the other side of the lake, there are small flower gardens, lawns, stone bridges, small wooden boats and dead wood branches here. There are more changes. No wonder it is a shooting base.
The standard room is larger than the double room, so it is recommended to book the standard room.
After leaving Qinglong Township and walking along the road, the next destination is the Cypress Cypress Wetland Park in Fangtang Township.
Don’t worry about getting lost, there is only one road and there are clear signs along the way. The local government has marked some scenic spots as landmarks that can be visited selectively. This section of the road is a two-lane road with spacious pavement and not many hairpin turns. Everyone is looking forward to the Liudaowan section of Jingxian Taoling Highway that we will enter tomorrow.
From Qinglong to Fangtang, it is the most colorful section of the Sichuan-Tibet Line in southern Anhui. Indeed, there are some traces of the scenery of western Sichuan.
After seeing Chujiatan, which looked like an ink painting, the group was looking forward to the redwood forest that was as colorful as an oil painting. The bald cypress is named because its leaves fall like feathers. It starts to turn red around the last week of November and lasts until the end of early December.
The day came a little early, the red color has not yet arrived, and the yellow color has just begun. There are not many tourists, so it is easy to visit the park and river embankment. When the time was right, Mao Wa became uncomfortable. In order to ensure that the masters travel comfortably, the beautiful scenery can only be stolen online.
The scenery we saw was like this:
Looking at the fir trees, you have three options:
The way to the observation deck is right next to the parking lot of Shuise B&B. Those who didn’t bring a drone hoped to see the bald cypress trees in Kanas on the water from this commanding viewpoint.
Unfortunately, the location of the observation deck is a bit off and the height is not high enough, so the view is not as good as the other two options.
When there is not much traffic, you can choose to stand on the side of the road and watch. There are many shooting angles to choose from here, and there are some trails along the road where you can walk into the cedar forest.
This part of the cedar forest has not been maintained, and garbage, swamps, rocks and dead trees can be seen everywhere, which greatly affects the viewing mood. Because we stayed overnight, we walked almost everywhere we could go.
Walking along the shore, you can reach the dock for the Fangtang Township Sequoia Scenic Area Cruise Ship. This redwood tree scenic area seems to have been abandoned. There is a fence but it can be pushed away. When you walk past, there is a small aloe vera field and some farmers.
Cypress Wetland Park is close to the Cypress Inn where we stayed, and it only takes 5 minutes to walk to the ticket office. Walking down the road, through the parking lot, you will see the ticket office. There are two types of tickets: taking a bamboo raft (I forgot how much, it seems to be only a little more expensive than the plank road) or the plank road (40/person). We mainly took pictures, so we chose the latter.
As soon as I walked into the scenic spot, I saw a golden retriever jumping down from the bamboo raft with an excited face. However, because the wood dolls were surrounded by the river, all of them had angry and bitter expressions on their faces, and they were unable to leave, which contrasted interestingly with the golden retrievers.
It felt good to slowly walk through the cedar forest, but it was a pity that the color of the plank road was a bit weird.
The plank road will continue to sway with the rhythm of walking. The children probably walked the whole journey in trembling and horror.
The cedar forest in the scenic part is relatively clean and looks better than the free road section. Apart from this forest, there are no better activities in Fangtang Township. Therefore, it is a better choice to charter a bamboo raft for a tour.
Our accommodation is about a 5-minute drive from Fangtang Township. There is a row of small hotels along the road. The one we booked, " Luoshu Inn ", is a family-style hotel that welcomes furry children. The standard rooms are all small wooden houses. There is a small space in front of the wooden house where you can dry your clothes and the dog. The room is not big, but it is neat and clean, with sufficient hot water and air conditioning. The only drawback is that the sound insulation of the wooden house is poor, and the debris in the backyard is piled up like a garbage dump, which damages the hygienic appearance. In addition, being on the side of the road, there are not many places where you can walk around at night, which is not as spacious as the spacious and free space of Sekyoen.
The Yizhan occupies a large area and has its own parking lot. The chef in the restaurant is a girl and her cooking skills are very good. I feel that customers on this street like to come here to eat.
Leave Cypress cypress and walk toward Jingxian County, pass by Banqiao Nature Reserve, and begin to enter Taoling Highway (X076). The scenery is not as good as the Qinglong-Fangtang section. There are about 3 viewing and resting spots along the way. Except for Liudao Bay, which is relatively unique, the others can be ignored.
This is the first viewing platform after leaving Fangtang Township and can only accommodate about 6 vehicles. On the two-way mountain road, it was soon blocked by vehicles lining up to enter. Except for a stone tablet recording Taoling Highway, the scenery is lackluster.
On the second viewing platform, there is still no view. The fur doll instantly becomes a more beautiful scenery in the eyes of tourists.
It takes about an hour's drive to reach Liudao Bay, which is the most talked about online guide. My little group was very excited, so we took a few photos of our trip and even went to a "50 cent" toilet.
The entire section of Taoling Highway is wide and good. The real challenge is the unskilled drivers encountered on the road, especially in scenic areas. Everyone must be patient to avoid unnecessary accidents.
After exiting Taoling Highway, there is a fork in Suhong Village. Driving northeast, you will reach Shuimoting River and Moon Bay, which can be regarded as the complete journey of the Sichuan-Tibet Line in southern Anhui. The small group felt that the Ningguo section was enough to see the scenery, so they switched to cultural tourism mode and chose to walk northwest toward Jingxian County.
Lunch was in Jing County. Just after leaving the county, we saw the "Wannan Incident Martyrs Cemetery". The gang decides to take the furry doll for an important history lesson.
Recording heroes bit by bit
Xiaoling Village was an accidental discovery.
Among the four treasures of the study, rice paper occupies one of the places. Rice paper originated in Xuancheng, and Xiaoling Village in Dingjiaqiao Town is the birthplace.
In fact, Xiaoling Village is a small village hidden in the mountains and close to a stream. Except for some small private workshops, there are no tourist activities to visit. Tourists often visit the rice paper cultural park opened to the public by China Rice Paper Group Co., Ltd., which produces Red Star brand paper. Because the Cultural Park did not allow our four masters to enter, the small group chose to visit the birthplace directly.
After leaving the signature big stone monument, I suddenly felt like I was back to a scenic path like Ogawa Zang.
After walking and walking, we came to a huge building that looked a bit like a B&B. There is also an elegant small garden, facing the creek. I asked a villager who happened to be passing by that this was the private residence of a calligrapher and painter in Beijing, and he would stay there for a short stay every year. Using local materials and the best paper to make the best paintings and calligraphy, this kind of freehand life makes dog slaves yearn for it.
Huiji Rice Paper was the first workshop I encountered on the road. When I entered, the workers were still drying paper, and there was bulk paper available for purchase. The participation of the owners in this activity was slightly lower, but the dog slaves returned with a full load.
Chaji, pronounced zha ji, is the final stop of this journey, and it is also the place where everyone is most reluctant to leave.
What reminds people of the ancient town in Wannan is the Hui-style architecture, archways, ancestral halls and small bridges and flowing water. Most of them are used excessively by tourism propagandasuch as Hongcun, Xidi, etc., which makes people have a sense of expectation. A sense of powerlessness and aesthetic fatigue.
Chaji is slightly different. It is built according to the mountain and is well-proportioned. Among them, in the painter's village section, the owner of each household adds his own characteristics according to his own preferences. And unlike Huangling's transitional, neat and deliberate construction, it is more integrated with the environment. The ancient town is beautiful and quiet in the morning, but becomes lazy in the afternoon. When the sunset is slanting, the shadows of the trees are dancing, and the ancient bridges turn golden. Every step you take is a view, and the owners are a little impatient as we pose for photos^_^.
Chaji Village originally had 108 bridges, 108 ancestral halls and 108 temples. There are still more than 140 ancient buildings. Among them, there are more than 40 bridges, 30 ancestral halls and 4 temples.
The village also preserves Yuan Dynasty buildings and the most complete Ming Dynasty buildings, and there are also many Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings that are relatively well protected.
The ticket office is about 500 meters away from the ticket gate. To enter the ancient town, you need to check in at the entrance and then pass through the pedestrian street built later to reach the real entrance of the ancient town. There is also a small road that goes around from the commercial street and leads directly to the end of the ancient town, where the terrain is higher. If you buy a ticket to the ancient town once, you can enter it at will during your stay.
A typical pedestrian street is full of commercial elements, which is completely different from the feeling of an ancient town. This arrangement is very smart. It isolates the commercial atmosphere from the smoke and smoke of residents, so that there will be no destructive over-development like most Chinese-style ancient towns. There are also inns and restaurants in the ancient town, but most of them are very simple, as if they don't want to destroy the original atmosphere of life, which is completely different from Wuzhen in Lijiang.
Every day after leaving the ancient town, I squat on the pedestrian street. Most of the time, the place was sparsely populated, and the three of us had only four firewood, but we were surrounded by locals, children after school, and architecture students who came to sketch.
The people Chaji saw most were not tourists, but painters who came to paint and sketch, architecture students arranged by the school to study ancient architecture, and various unexpected literati.
Knowing that there were four pieces of firewood coming to the town, many students, brothers and sisters, and local children, after finishing their homework for the day, came to the pedestrian street to tease the furry children.
❖ The newly arrived architecture students marched into the village
Academies: Yuelu Academy, Bailudong Academy, Songyang Academy... The recognition of "academies" has always been as a mark of the times and a cultural relic protection unit.
Mountain Chief: I have read an online novel [New Song Dynasty]. The protagonist traveled to the Northern Song Dynasty, founded Baishuitan College, and became the first Mountain Chief. This is the first time I have ever heard of the word "mountain leader".
Unexpectedly, in the morning when Chaji was wandering around, he was lucky enough to walk to the academy and meet the family of the chief.
The head of the mountain has a handsome dog named TOKI in his family. He is a smart child who can be free-range and can go home on his own (after all, he is an academy child, and the four idiots pale in comparison). Thanks to TOKI's honor, the owner enthusiastically took us to visit the academy in order to allow TOKI to have more contact with similar friends.
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Within the framework of Huizhou architecture, the academy combines a Japanese-style courtyard. Every flower and tree, on the window sill, in the corridor, in the calmness, realize the elegance of simplicity. In this mountain village, discussing piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, going back in time, it is like being in ancient China where rituals, music, poetry and calligraphy flourished. There are articles in the academy, and children can come to an ancient and simple summer camp.
I am always full of envy for those friends who can escape from the bustling city and go to a mountain village to find a pure land. I once had a successful friend who lived in seclusion in Yunnan and practiced spiritual practice. There were only three or two futons in the room, and they ate organic food grown by themselves. After the meal, they took out tens of thousands of tea sets to make tea, and everyone drank so hard. Not far from the establishment of the academy, there lived a person from outside the clouds, Mr. Chen, who lived a sophisticated life and had a broad mind.
Teacher Chen lives alone in a huge house, two of which are rented out on Airbnb. (You can search for "Cha Jiyunwai B&B ") The room is highly private. Once the entrance door is closed, it is your own world.
If you have a strong curiosity about life, Yunwai is a treasure B&B suitable for exploration. The clean window sill is a place where you can quietly drink tea and read a book when the sun is abundant; there is a small pond in the backyard, where fat carp are raised; sitting on the wooden platform, listening to the rain, meditating and doing yoga is another good place; the kitchen is simple But it has a rich collection, including fine wines and snacks.
Teacher Chen has his own small vegetable field, where he cooks rice with firewood and uses the exclusive spring water from the mountain. My best friend came, chatting happily, and took out the mulberry wine, sweet and sour ginger and roasted seeds and nuts. We who came here had a great time eating. TOKI also brought his good friend, the 6-year-old black labrador "Maotou" brother, to join in the fun.
Teacher Chen likes dogs. He once had a border collie who kept him company for three years. Unfortunately, he recently returned to the dog breed. Friends with pets are welcome here. Maoba can play handsome in the village with TOKI and Mao Tou during his free time. Isn’t it a blessing?
If I go to Chaji again, I will definitely choose Yunwai. You can not only take care of your furry children, but also integrate into local life. If you have the opportunity, you can also go to the academy to take classes and cultivate yourself.
This time we stayed at Shambhala Beauty Garden. The B&B is outside the ancient town, about 200 meters away from the entrance ticket check-in of the pedestrian street. Service is okay and pet friendly. The road from the parking lot to the B&B was uneven and dusty. The housekeeper dragged the suitcase all the way, and I was really worried that all four wheels would fall off. In the B&B, there are many public areas for relaxing and making tea, but the room size is not large. It will be a bit crowded if there are more than 2 luggages.
You can dine in the B&B, but you need to make a reservation in advance. Ask the housekeeper and he will recommend a nearby restaurant. In the end, we had three meals in two days at an inconspicuous "farmhouse restaurant" on the walking street. The owner also cooked two little roosters in plain water for the children! The reviews didn't score high, but when we had our first meal, we met several students who had specially booked a banquet and planned to entertain their teachers here. The first recommendation is the pepper beef. The pepper is spicy and has a strong beef flavor. It is not the product of ordinary restaurants that use tender meat powder excessively. All kinds of beef-based dishes are highly recommended.
Distinguished people
The soil and water support the people.
In this picturesque place in southern Anhui , where literati and elegant people have gathered since ancient times, not only the people are kind, but even the furry children are particularly spiritual. Along the way, Fulu Ankang encountered no matter whether they were homeless children without families or strong furry children living in the town, they were all so gentle and kind, and they got along easily. Compared to some places we have been to where villagers deliberately raised domestic dogs to be aggressive, we felt more at ease and happy here.
It takes about 5-6 hours to drive back to Shanghai from Chaji. We set off in the morning and stopped for lunch at noon to let the furry kids breathe and rest.
We chose Muzi Villa in Guangde County as our stopover, located in Hengshan National Forest Park. There are pavilions and pavilions in the villa, and flowing water is everywhere. We were arranged to dine in a separate private room. From the moment we entered to the entire meal, the waiters were very enthusiastic and kept coming in to take photos of the children.
Since we said goodbye to the ancient town in the early morning and have been on the highway, Muzi Villa is a little surprise.
end:
I originally planned to go to Yunnan, but finally decided to go to Wannan. This 5-day and 4-night itinerary is compact, rich, and absolutely pet-friendly (local pets are also very friendly), making it an excellent choice for a short trip.
Useful TIPS:
1) When shooting water mist in the morning, be careful not to let your furry child close to the water source for a long time, as it may easily cause bronchitis.
2) There are many snakes along the Sichuan-Tibet route. If you plan to hike on wild roads, you need to be more careful. You can also buy some realgar hanging bags on Taobao.
3) This time when I went out, there were a lot of gravel and dead branches in the field, so children were prone to injuries or ulcers on the soles of their feet. You can bring iodophor and erythromycin to prevent infection and recover quickly.
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