On September 13, 2021, after finishing the tour of youyang Taohuayuan Scenic Area, it was more than 9 o'clock in the evening when we arrived at Maoshui Ancient Town by car. Along the way, everyone was very tired, I heard the tour guide to the upcoming Maoshui ancient town to introduce, know some about the customs and customs of Maoshui, at this time, tourists from time to time through the car window to see the Wuling Mountains mountains of the peaks and meandering Apeng River.
When I returned to the hotel, I could not rest, and hurried with my companions towards the bridge. Although the night is dark, but the old distance to see the shining lights of the bridge, through the light to see the water of the Apeng River sparkling, the bridge quietly lying on the river, wooden bridge, heavy eaves resting, shaped like waves, like a dragon dancing phoenix. Under the bridge, the still water is deep, and the water ripples, making the quiet reflection of the covered bridge gently flutter.
It is understood that history has left many cultural monuments and local cultural heritage for Maoshui Ancient Town, and the intertwining of Bachu culture, Tujia culture, Daxi culture and Chinese civilization here has formed a unique folk culture custom of Maoshui Ancient Town. The important commercial geographical location has made Maoshui an important post station and commercial port since ancient times, and since the late Qing Dynasty, it has become the only way for the post road, commercial road and salt road in southeast Sichuan.
Legend has it that the Bridge was built in the Tang Dynasty by a Tusi prince in Jiangdong for Princess Puhua, who lived on the west bank of the river. Without admitting it, the original intention of love has become a gospel bridge that benefits the people on both sides of the strait. In 2013, the Millennium Covered Bridge was hit by a fire. When the Maoshui people lamented, they dredged the blackened river water, turned the beach into a wetland, turned the wasteland into a garden, carefully lifted the lodging water and grass, planted a grass on the water bank, and built this new covered bridge on the old site.
Flipping through the history of the ancient town will always bring people a lot of emotions, and the sound of an ancient chant seems to sound in the ears: "The water of the waves is clear, you can muddy me; the water of the waves is muddy, you can muddy my feet." Nowadays, this new wind and rain covered bridge is built with pure wood, integrating corridors, towers, pavilions and pavilions, spanning the Apeng River, with a length of 303 meters, which can be called "Asia's first wind and rain covered bridge" and has become one of the world's famous wind and rain covered bridges.
The impression of the smoke and rain covered bridge is a straight corridor-type passage, even if you know that the road surface of this covered bridge is like a streamline, high and low, up and down, you need to sometimes pick up the steps, sometimes down the steps. If your footsteps are brisk and jumpy, it's a real feeling of dancing with the waves. That's how I walked up the tower and came to the highest central pavilion. Here, the scenery of Maoshui is unobstructed.
As I walked, I thought how nice it would be to sit down quietly, listen to nostalgic ancient songs, and sip a cup of tea with care, and enter the realm of selflessness. Thus, many illusions of nothingness and beauty are like the light clouds in the mountains after the rain, and like the flowing water of the Apeng River that flows in the dark night. I leaned on the bridge to the east in the interval of strolling, and the lights of the ancient town were staggered by the mountains, looming, shining for miles, and the stars and moons in the sky were shining; looking west, the bridge was full of colorful lights, like a golden dragon flying across the Apeng River.
With the gentle river breeze, we wandered along the covered bridge, and we sincerely felt at the taotao river water of the Apeng River: a good covered bridge, a good river, a good water, a good song of vicissitudes. At that moment, everyone relied on the heart of the covered bridge river, listened to the sky wind Xiao Xiao, the autumn waves slapped the shore, looked at the maoshui ancient town in the night, a row of Tujia stilt houses built on the stone embankment, lying here at night can be described as the sound of water under the pillow. Let the tourists revel in the magnificent night of the ancient town.
Author: Chen Tailin