Baoshan: A paradise of beauty and coexistence

Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition

Baoshan: A Paradise of Beauty and Harmony (The World)

Hundreds of millions of years ago, the collision of the earth's plates stirred up the peaks of southwest China, and nature forged the two-tiered staircase of the land of Shenzhou here with the power of the flood. The Gaoligong Mountains are like the sutures of the earth, connecting the Eurasian plate with the Indian plate, and in the western part of the Hengduan Mountains, looking at his brother who "crossed the seven veins".

When the Nu River and the Lancang River fell side by side from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it was here that they waved goodbye and ran toward the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and at the same time, with their gentle arms, they embraced the large and small basins in the mountains, creating a warm and moist paradise in the windy and snowy Western Province of Yunnan.

The "here" mentioned repeatedly is Baoshan Mountain, the south of the Hengduan Mountain Range, and the west of Colorful Yunnan.

One

The volcanic hot sea of 10,000 years is engraved with the imprint of human evolution in ancient times. The fossils of "Baoshan Ancient Ape", which are about 8 million to 4 million years old, fill a gap in the history of human evolution; the Tangzigou site in Pumiao Town has left traces of the life of early Homo sapiens in Yunnan in the Paleolithic Era.

The thousand-year-old border pass ancient road has witnessed the hardships of the ancestors to open up the territory. From the mysterious ancient kingdom of Ailao to the ancient county of Yongchang in the Han and Tang Dynasties, from the "Three Expeditions to Luchuan" of the Ming Dynasty's military department Shangshu Wang Ji to the bloody battles of the Chinese Expeditionary Force during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, how much historical accumulation has made Baoshan a thick and colorful civilization.

More than 6,000 years ago, the ancient ancestors of the Yellow River Basin continued to move south along the canyons and rivers of the Hengduan Mountains, and the evolution of the hundred generations left a vast "Tibetan-Yi Corridor" culture behind them, but left the look of countless lives in the magical southwestern border of Baoshan.

The forest on Mount Gaoligong is shaded by the sun, and hundreds of beasts pass through it. On the mountains of Baoshan, the 3,000-meter altitude difference forms a vertical natural belt of mountains with different landscapes, becoming a paradise for wild animals and plants, where they breed and converge.

This is a mysterious habitat left by the Creator to thousands of beings, a refuge for life, a gene pool of species, and the birthplace of mammalian ancestors. Here are the majestic, strange, dangerous and beautiful scenery of nature, which is a long axis of mountain soul charm and is the world-famous "world species gene bank".

In Tengchong's Museum of Volcanic Geology, the columnar joint rocks present the shock of knife and axe, imagining the thrill of volcanic lava overflowing millions of years ago, as if the sound of the earth's heart beating could be heard.

The hot springs scattered among the mountains like stars and clouds steam up the charming scenery and exude the charm of Baoshan 'World Hot Spring Park'. Nature is so favored that such amorous gifts are hidden in this 19,600 square kilometers of land.

In the valley of the Nu River, the purple and red are red, the kapok blossoms like the burning clouds in the sky, and the green forest is covered with the bamboo hedges of the huts of the mountain villages. Passionate bougainvillea and phoenix flowers dance on the branches of the roadside, the fragrant dragon fruit and mango make people salivate; and a small handful of coffee beans makes you no longer need to yearn for the original taste of Ethiopia.

Two

Walking in Baoshan Mountain, I can't help but want to follow the footsteps of Xu Xiake, the "Ancient Stranger": explore the spring light of the Banana Cave, the Gurudwara Rock Reclining Buddha, the Kao Jiulong Cuigang, visit the Ailao Golden Well, stand on the Tiansheng Bridge overlooking the East River, and climb the Agate Mountain to see the Lishi mine.

The trees on the Heavenly Mountain are high, the forest is deep, the moss is thick, and the green that spreads over the mountain is soft like a slowly flowing river. Climbing the Etou Cliff, the Lancang River has a panoramic view of the 100-mile long lake formed by the interception of the Xiaowan Hydropower Station.

By the Yiluo Pond of Longquan Gate, the towering white pen pagoda is dotted with the charm of the Tang Dynasty; the old land of Huxin Pavilion was originally a Mao Pavilion built by the anti-Wu hero Deng Zilong; the wuhou ancestral hall is lined with the story of the Seven Captures of The Dragon; and the ink print of Xu Xiake's "Diary of Dianyou" has been sprinkled in the Huizhen Building of the Jade Emperor Pavilion.

Baoshan is a happy land of beauty and commonality of the Chinese nation. The lisu four-voice chorus is known as the "natural sound of Gaoligong Mountain", as if it can connect with the mysteries of the cosmic heavens; the carnival of the Brown people's night singing field stirs up the enthusiasm that runs in people's blood; the rainbow embroidered on the hemp cloth of the Miao daughter weaves the ancient history of a nation; and looking at the dai family's golden gatehouse and roof, you can see the exotic river and mountain style in the distance.

Baoshan is a piece of jade that fell from heaven to dust. With a little carving, you can chisel out the southern red agate, which is called "red pearl" by the Buddhists; here is the famous jade city of the country, which is the largest jade jade distribution center in the southwest; it is from here that Huanglong jade is born, interpreting the new legend of the jewelry and jade world; the "Yongzi", which is smelted with secret formulas and stunts, has become a universally recognized Go holy product since the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

Three

Baoshan is the center of communication between trade and commerce in the southwest. The "Shushen Poison Road" of emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened the Southwest Silk Road; generation after generation of horse caravan merchants who "walked the Yifang side" crossed the mountains and walked out of the countless legends of the Ancient Tea Horse Road; the lifeline of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Yunnan Burma Highway, which runs here; the stone mills that built the hump route airport are still proudly standing on this land; and the Anti-Japanese Hero Bridge, the Huitong Bridge, waiting for people to listen to the magnificent history.

The water and soil of Baoshan mountain have bred countless celebrities and righteous people. Yang Shen, the head of the three talents of the Ming Dynasty, lived and wrote here, and was eventually buried in this amorous land; here came out of the Xinhai elder Li Yuan, led the Yunnan Uprising, and ruled western Yunnan; Li Yueyuan, who was known as "a pen in Tiannan", also ran to the revolution from here, leaving behind the world's proud protector military government's "Discussion on Yuan Yuan"; the cemetery of the National Martyrs is still dormant with soldiers killed in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in Western Yunnan, and the statues of the Chinese expeditionary forces standing at the site of the Battle of Songshan are shocking.

Strolling through Baoshan Mountain, you can "encounter" the plaques inscribed by Li Shizeng, Hu Shizhi, Xiong Qinglai and other leaders in the political and academic circles during the Republic of China period at any time. The old mansions with white gray walls and fish scale tiles, the colorful flower paths that stretch out outside the ancient villages, and the green tobacco fields will make people confused whether they are in front of the town in the southwest or the pastoral garden where Tao Qian has returned. Flocks of egrets will fly around the hand tractor, chasing and pecking at the insects in the newly turned soil, making people forget the scenery, as if they can unite heaven and man.

In the late spring of more than 380 years ago, Xu Xiake once explored the realm here, and his feelings flowed with the angry waters and rivers, and his footprints spread throughout the two foothills of Gaoligong Mountain. Today, why don't we pack our bags and walk into the southwest border city of the strange mountains and rivers to slowly explore the distant world?

Baoshan Mountain, just south of the Hengduan Mountains and west of Colorful Yunnan, is waiting for you.

Li Zhuoxi