On the morning of October 2nd, autumn was high and pleasant, and my family and I decided to take a trip to the nearby Zhijiang River. At ten o'clock, starting from the mountain city of Huaihua, under the guidance of the navigation map, the car continued to cross the tunnel and viaduct, galloping between the mountains and rivers of western Hunan Province.
After driving for about an hour, I successfully arrived at the Chinese Memorial Hall of the Anti-Japanese Resistance, went inside and visited for another hour and a half, ate Chinese food in a humble restaurant nearby, and tasted authentic Zhijiang duck. After that, we drove to the first bridge of Sanchu - Zhijiang Longjin Wind and Rain Bridge.
Zhijiang, a beautiful border town in western Hunan Province, has a long history and a collection of humanities, named after Qu Yuan's "Leaving sorrows" in "Yuanyou Zhi Xi You Lan". Zhijiang is not only an ancient city, but also a place where the War of Resistance was surrendered, and is known as the "City of Peace" and "City of Heroes" by the world.
Standing on the banks of the Dancing River, the wide river flows slowly, and the Wind and Rain Bridge is like a giant dragon lying on the blue waves, magnificent. The whole covered bridge, with its angled cornices, is layered and layered, which is spectacular. The stilt houses of the Dong people along the coast are ancient and oily, and they are full of national architectural wonders. The largest Mazu Temple in the interior, the Tianhou Temple, is covered with a mysterious color. The green mountains in the distance are greener, and the reflection in the water is even more feminine. A beautiful painting of ink splashed in the water town of Jiangnan makes people's thoughts fly and their feelings are tight.
At the head of the wind and rain bridge, a huge inscription is hung, on which are engraved three vigorous and powerful gold characters of "Longjin Bridge", shining in the sun. Walking into the covered bridge, you will be greeted by a strong classical charm and commercial atmosphere. Modern and ancient elements are cut in perfect harmony, yet so perfectly integrated.
Stroll on the bridge and feel the transformation of time and space, as if traveling through hundreds of years of history. Antique covered bridges, pavilions, mortise bolts hooked. Hanging pillars, hanging melons, pillar horns, stone drums, stone beasts, fully embody the traditional architectural style of the Dong people, and also reflect the contemporary garden architecture. On the pillars, the couplets of the literati and inkers can be seen from time to time, such as: "The Galaxy flies, the wind and rain puji the world's guests; Changhong crosses the sky, the first bridge of Sanchu Longjin." "Zhi Shui Lan, upstream lock key." "Longjin pillar, the other shore to board." "In particular, the two hanging titles are intriguing. The West Bank Fang was inscribed by the envoy Chen Yongshi: Puji Anlan; the East Bank Fang was inscribed by Zhang Wudian of ZhiXian County: The First Bridge of Sanchu. The covered bridge silently shows the world a profound historical and cultural heritage.
On both sides of the bridge deck, there are more than 90 shops. Stroll along the covered bridge, such as entering the city well. The shop is full of goods and overwhelmed. There are cultural relics and antiques, pens, ink and paper stones, jewelry, clothing, and famous snacks. Tourists rubbed shoulders and were very noisy.
The Zhijiang river on the tip of the tongue and the delicious food emitted in front of the stall tempt people's taste buds. We came to a shop selling snacks, and the landlady spoke a Zhijiang dialect, but it was easy to understand. The same is true for previous meals at the restaurant.
The landlady, a middle-aged woman, enthusiastically promotes her special snacks - oil cakes and hair cakes, and we bought six oil cakes and six hair cakes. The taste of the cake is sweet and fragrant, and the tendons are delicious. While enjoying the scenery on the river, while tasting the Dongxiang cuisine, there is a charm, it seems that I, a foreigner, am also a member of the Dongxiang.
Linhe has a railing trunk, looking out from the railing, the sky is blue, the white clouds are leisurely, and the Dongxiang landscape is in full view.
On the long bench, several Dongxiang elderly people chatted leisurely. The old people were bathed in sunshine and blowing river breezes, and the expression on their faces was light but peaceful, as if to tell people that the glitz in front of them had nothing to do with them. Guarding the bridge, guarding the roots, guarding the thousand-year-old cultural context, the days have passed, and the Dongxiang people have a strong emotion for the landscape of their hometown.
Under the opposite pavilion, the two sisters-in-law wore Dong costumes and danced the original Dong song and dance to interpret the national customs. There was no acoustic accompaniment, no tourists watching, and they reveled in their own song and dance alone. Although I couldn't understand their lyrics, I understood the connotation of song and dance, and the people of Dongxiang expressed their good wishes for love of life and pursuit of happiness in the form of song and dance. Dongxiang has always been known as the "hometown of song and dance", and is most loved by the people with pipa songs, Dong operas, Dong songs, dorae and Lusheng dances.
The Wind and Rain Bridge is a bridge unique to the Dong people, and there are wind and rain bridges built on the crisscrossing streams and rivers, which are very rich in national personality. Longjin Bridge has a long history and a lot of fate. It was built in the nineteenth year of the Ming Dynasty (1951 AD) and has experienced nearly 500 years of vicissitudes. Legend has it that the Longjin Bridge was originally built for the Kuanyun monks to raise donations, and because the piers and flowing water are shaped like Longkou Pujin, it is named "Longjin Wind and Rain Bridge". Later, the Longjin Bridge was destroyed several times by flash floods, fires, and wars, and the Longjin Bridge has been in the process of circular restoration. It has always been a traffic fortress of Xiangqian Highway, and it is also the most prosperous place where merchants and tourists gather, which is known as the "First Bridge of Southwest Sanchu".
In ancient times, people cast a rhinoceros at each end of the bridge to calm the water, hoping that once the flood came, the rhino immediately cast a spell to make it retreat. The use of rhinoceros to town water is just a legend, and what really locks the gushing flood is the wisdom and strength of the common people.
Today, we see the Wind and Rain Bridge, which was rebuilt under the auspices of the government in 1999. It is 246.7 meters long, 12.2 meters wide and 5.8 meters wide on the sidewalk, making it the largest wind and rain bridge in the world today and the largest in Guinness.
The whole covered bridge, such a huge project, has not used a nail and a rivet, and the tourists are all shocked and amazed. These seemingly strange and complex structures of columns, woodcut hangings, fangs, purlins, carved railings, etc., diagonally worn straight sleeves, crisscrossed and intertwined, all connected with wooden mortise, embodying the ingenuity of the people of Dongxiang and becoming a rare cultural landscape in The land of China. Perhaps you will not think that the "main hall ink master" who repaired the Longjin Bridge is actually two peasants who have not graduated from primary school, they are Li Xiuqing and Xiaolong.
The people are the creators of history, and the masses are the real heroes.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhijiang became an important rear area of the Chinese army, with an important military base of the Sino-US Air Force - the "second largest airfield in the Far East", which became the focus of the Japanese army's bombing target. For wartime necessities, the Chinese army demolished the bridge corridors, pavilions and eaves on the bridge deck of the Longjin Bridge, and a large number of military supplies passed through the bridge every day. As a result, the Japanese army continued to send fighters to bomb the Longjin Bridge in turn, reaching as many as 27 at most, in an attempt to hinder the determination of the Chinese military and people to resist the war. What is unbelievable is that the Longjin Bridge was unmoved in the war of the Japanese army, and it was unharmed, ensuring the unimpeded flow of this "lifeline".
Chinese people are waging a just war against fascism. Longjin Bridge is a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation and composes a heroic song of the War of Resistance.
History will never forget that the first bridge of Sanchu - Longjin Wind and Rain Bridge.