"The Great Wall is Under the Eaves: A Tour of the Great Wall"
Zhang Qingren, Mao Qiaohui, Xu Shanshan, Bao Yuanyuan
Published by China Pictorial Publishing House
The Great Wall is the spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation, and the Great Wall of Beijing is the essence of the Great Wall. In addition to investing a lot of manpower and material resources to build a strong Great Wall, the dynasties also built a city pass intensively along the way and sent a large number of soldiers to garrison. These soldiers stationed at the border have multiplied at the foot of the Great Wall for generations and created a cultural form with strong local characteristics. In the brick by brick, point and line of the Great Wall, in the spring, summer, autumn and winter, cold and summer of the year after year, it has witnessed the development and changes of Beijing and supported the chinese nation from generation to generation.
Taking the Great Wall as the line and the iconic intangible cultural heritage and ancient villages as the points, this book covers intangible cultural heritage, tourist attractions, red culture, folklore, ethnic integration, rural revitalization, catering and cuisine and other cultural resources in various forms, and presents the picture of local social development and the beauty of new rural construction in the form of travelogues and raiders. The relaxed and lively text, or showing the majestic beauty of the Great Wall, or analyzing the simplicity and elegance of the village, with exquisite photography and hand-drawn pictures, leads readers to understand the beauty of intangible cultural heritage and culture along the Great Wall in a new way.
Excerpts:
Simatai: The great wall of the most and Gubei water town
The Xiaotang River meanders through, cutting a slightly flat and open projectile land in the middle of the Yanshan Mountains, known as Simatai Village. The terrain here is dangerous, the mountains are staggered, there is Panlong Mountain in the west, Crouching Tiger Mountain in the north, Longbei Mountain in the south, close to the gubeikou of the "Jingshi Lock Key", which is the gateway of the North China Plain to the Songliao Plain and the Inner Mongolia Plateau, during the war, this is the place where soldiers must fight, today's peaceful years, here is the beijing division people Huai Gu Chang must go to the ancient village. Here, you can not only see the most beautiful scenery of the Great Wall, enjoy the cultural grand view of the Qilin Shadow Wall, but also feel the diverse intangible cultural heritage inside and outside the Great Wall at close range in the newly developed tourist town, and come to an adventure of the starry night in the ancient town.
"The best of the Great Wall" SimaTai
Simatai Village is famous for the Simatai Great Wall, Simatai Great Wall is built according to the steep mountainous terrain, known for its dangerous, dense, Qi, Qiao, all five characteristics, and set natural landscape and cultural landscape as one, with rich historical significance, in 1987 was included in the World Heritage List, is the only ancient architectural site in the mainland to preserve the original appearance of the Ming Dynasty, was identified by UNESCO as the "original Great Wall", and is known as "the best of the Great Wall of China".
Climbing The SimaTai, preferably on a sunny day, under the boundless blue sky, you can see the Great Wall bending all the way with the blade-like ridge, the wide place can walk on horseback, the narrow place only allows one person to pass, when it rises like a tiger roaring in the wilderness, when crouching like a hidden dragon in the abyss, the momentum is magnificent. What is even more eye-catching is the 35 enemy towers of different sizes and shapes, which are built on various commanding heights according to local conditions, and are majestic and cold and upright. The enemy tower on the Great Wall of Simatai has extremely profound historical significance, and its construction is closely related to Qi Jiguang, a famous national hero in Chinese history. In 1567, Qi Jiguang, a famous anti-Wu general on the southeast coast, was transferred to Yan Ji and led thousands of soldiers from Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, to Jimen, with great power. During his 15 years on the northern border, he rebuilt the Great Wall and straightened out military discipline, and the Simatai Great Wall, which was praised by later generations as "dangerous, dense, strange, ingenious, and complete," was originally created when Qi Jiguang was in charge of the defense of Jizhou. Each enemy station is a horn between each other, mutual rescue, the enemy station is equipped with artillery, enough to resist the Tatar cavalry in the north, aesthetic value and military value of the perfect combination, rare in the world.
Two of the 35 enemy towers of the Great Wall in the Simatai section are the most famous- the Wangjing Tower and the Fairy Tower, and only by seeing them can you truly appreciate what is the "best of the Great Wall". WangjingLou is located in the eastern section of the Simatai Great Wall, built on the top of a mountain that rises from the ground, is the commanding height of the Simatai Great Wall, 986 meters above sea level, is a hollow brick eye building, two-story brick and stone structure. If you look up from below, you can only see the broken wall full of historical vicissitudes towering on the vertical peak of a vertically soaring peak known locally as the main peak of Tiger Mountain, showing a golden color under the sunlight, staring for a long time, not only the eyes are stimulated by the light out of tears, but also the neck is a little sore. If you look down from above, the view is extremely open, and the outline of Beijing City can be faintly seen when there is no cloud, and at night you can enjoy the lights of thousands of homes in the city, so it is called Wangjing Tower. Dens Lou also, suddenly felt that he was in the sky high and cloudy, and the robe was refreshing. Standing at the head of the building, magnificent Guanshan, the dragon meandering, heroic and ambitious, galloping in the chest, the speed of life, all in this.
Wangjing Building
On the west side of the Wangjing Tower, the Fairy Tower is the most beautifully built of many enemy towers, and is also located on a steep hilltop of Tiger Mountain, second only to the Wangjing Tower in altitude. Due to the limitation of the area of the summit, it can only be built slender and slender, with the north and south sides close to the cliff, and the east and west sides are connected by a single wall that is only 40 cm wide, and the walls are also cliffs on both sides. The lower part of the building is made of stone seams, the upper part is made of grinding bricks to the top, and the interior has two large arches, three corridors, and ten ticket doors made of green bricks. The center of the top is a cobweb-shaped octagonal algae well, flanked by four brick columns. There are also two carved flowers on the stone pillar of the gate holding a peach. The whole building, whether from the overall appearance or the internal details, gives people a sense of refinement, delicacy and beauty, as if this is not a defense facility for human war, but a fairyland pavilion.
Cultural Grand View Qilin Shadow Wall
The Simatai Great Wall is not only known for its majestic scenery and historical connotations, but also for its grand view of the Great Wall culture. Many cultural relics have been found in this section of the Great Wall, the most noteworthy of which is that there is a Qilin Shadow Wall in the middle of the enemy platform no. 13 West of the Simatai Great Wall.
The Qilin Shadow Wall is 1.99 meters high and more than two meters wide. The lower part of the shadow wall is a several layers of brick Sumire Seat, the upper part is covered with tile roofs, and the center is a brick carved unicorn figure. Only to see the four hooves of the unicorn, shrugging its hips, tail upturned, mane fluttering, eyes open, looking back at the long whistle, strong and magnificent, eight-sided mighty wind. The unicorn is the auspicious beast in Chinese mythology, which symbolizes the peace of the world, everything is as expected, hopes that the nation is strong, the descendants are prosperous, and gives the defending city the mighty momentum and strength to defend the peace of the party. The kirin is flanked by cylindrical brick frames decorated with bamboo knots. Why are the shadow walls of Beijing combined with the bamboo knots of the south? It is said that it is related to the Zhejiang disciples who followed Qi Jiguang to the north, and the soldiers left their hometowns, borrowed material lyrics, and used bamboo knots to pin their leisurely nostalgia and full of home and country feelings. A shadow wall embodies the ancient Chinese people's yearning for peace, and also contains the soldiers' longing for their hometown, which has far-reaching meaning. It can be seen that the ancients had a unique ingenuity in building this section of the Great Wall, skillfully integrating military and aesthetic ideas, so that the Simatai Great Wall is not only conducive to actual combat, but also a rare artistic masterpiece.
Unicorn Shadow Wall
Today, the Simatai Great Wall is not only very beautiful during the day, but also the only Great Wall that can be climbed at night. Climbing the Great Wall during the day is advisable to enjoy the majesty of Simatai, and climbing the Great Wall at night can feel the leisure of Simatai. The two sides of the road are orange and yellow light belts, like a dragon, reminding the border, protecting the safety of tourists; under the Great Wall is the famous Gubei Water Town, the lights are bright, the song is endless, a piece of paradise in the world; looking up at the deep blue sky is clear and transparent, there is no obstruction of tall buildings, the night sky seems to be about to pounce on people, the stars are dotted, and the lights in the world are interesting; the summer night is windy, the Great Wall is steep and unobstructed, and the wind whistles in the ears, as if a song of desolate songs sung by the strong men of the side for a thousand years, and tourists walk on the leeward. The wings under the ribs are like wings, and as soon as you look up, you will sleep in the wind; there is no longer the unbearable smell of urban car exhaust, the wind whining, bringing with it the water vapor from the valley, the fresh fragrance of pine wood, and perhaps the unknown floral fragrance.
Climbing the Simatai Great Wall at night, you can not only feel the multiple feasts of sight, hearing, smell and touch, but also touch the masonry full of vicissitudes in the whimpering wind, and you can better appreciate the mood of the ancient Shubian soldiers. Those soldiers from other places, including Qi Jiguang, may have leaned against the brick wall one night, thinking about their own thoughts. Although time has passed mercilessly like a river, the bright moon of that year is still there, the Great Wall of the old time is still there, the former Qilin Shadow Wall is still there, and the common emotions of mankind are still there. Although the development of science and technology is changing with each passing day, the emotions of human beings are connected, the emotions of the ancients, or miss their hometown, or aspire to defend the country, and today's people can still be touched.
Gubei Water Town Is Not An Intangible Cultural Heritage
Under the Great Wall of Simatai is the newly emerging Internet celebrity punch card place - Gubei Water Town. In early autumn, standing on the Great Wall and overlooking the town below the mountain, the turquoise river reflects the blue stone walls, exuding a strong charm of Jiangnan water town. The red climbing tiger crawls all over the stone walls, eaves, bridges, alleys and other places, like a beautiful ink painting. Different from the fragrant mountain red leaves, the autumn leaves here have distinct layers, bright red, yellow red, green and red intertwined, the layers are distinct but reflective. Against the backdrop of autumn leaves, the quaint stone walls and wooden gates decorate the autumn sun and depression, and the landscape town actually shows a soft and dreamy background. Walking into the town, you can see the folk customs everywhere. Ming and Qing style lantern shops, Beijing-style food stalls, quite a sense of the age of the qipao shop, a lively stage, cross-talk, pull foreign films, shadow puppets... A variety of shops and artists form a time tunnel to reminisce about history and nostalgia for the past, which makes people linger, the most unmissable of which is Miyun's intangible cultural heritage - Sima Xiaoyao.
Sima Xiaoyao is made of sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, wheat, corn five kinds of grains, folk called "five grain shochu", the brewing process of this wine is roughly for raw material ratio, soaking, steaming, looking at water, accumulation, cooling, koji, fermentation, distillation, semi-finished wine, aging, blending, filtering, finished products, small burning degree is very high, the wine body is mellow, the aroma is strong, very popular. In 1568 AD, Qi Jiguang, the chief soldier of Jizhou, set about repairing the Jizhen Great Wall centered on the Great Wall of Gubeikou, due to the short construction period, in order to seize the time to complete, so in the winter large-scale brewing of shochu to protect against the cold. The winter in Simatai was long and cold, and the workers who built the Great Wall and the soldiers in Shubian worked hard and worked day and night, and in the winter night, a small bite of Sima Tai burned, from the throat into the stomach bag, as if a cluster of flames was lit inside the body, and it instantly warmed up. Sima shochu workshops are generally relatively small and produce limited liquor, so since then this kind of shochu has been called "small yaki". Over time, "small roast" spread from the workers and soldiers, in Simatai and Gubeikou flourished, played the reputation of Beijing's old Baigan, and the Miyun area of roast meat, burnt cakes and called Miyun three burnt, there are poems praised: "The desert outside the bag pours out of love, the wine aroma returns to Sima Tai." Today, Sima Xiaoyao has become a local intangible cultural heritage.
Sima Xiaoyao's liquor store is located in the historical style area of Water Street in Gubei Water Town Scenic Area, and before entering the store, you can smell the aroma of wine in your nose, which instantly evokes the wine worms in your stomach. The door is not big, a string of long lanterns, with four big characters of "Sima Xiaoyao" written on it, fluttering in the wind and attracting customers. Entering the winery, there are large wine tanks in the courtyard indicating the direction of the demonstration area, followed by various altar jars stacked on top of each other, which has also become a landscape. Descending the stairs into the brewing workshop on the basement floor, the aroma of wine becomes more and more intense, stove, cauldron, wine altar, big qu... With almost all the equipment and tools of the traditional winemaking method, it is a small winemaking museum. In the tourists' visit, the masters operate according to the original process, after distillation, the small shochu will flow down, tourists can taste at will, with a small cup to take a sip, 55 degrees of liquor is actually very soft in the mouth, not spicy throat, after a few seconds of entrance to feel a warm feeling from the abdomen, the forehead is slightly sweaty. At the beginning of the heat, the sweet smell of sorghum and millet gradually rose and did not disperse for a long time. The hungry worms that smelled the wine from the gate finally stopped, but its owner fell in love with the soft sweet taste and had to go to the front desk to buy a bottle. The soju packaging is exquisite, the small ceramic bottle lines are soft, a layer of black glaze, with four characters written in gold paint, and sealed with grass rope blue cloth, which is quite ancient. Take the sake and sit down, see the sign of the wine shop, the original shop also has sauce pig's trotters, chicken legs, chicken claws, peanuts and other side dishes, as well as winter special wine stuffed dumplings. So I ordered a set meal with my friends, the cold wind outside, the indoor conversation was in full swing, the atmosphere was warm, shochu into the throat, and the sex was comfortable. At the same time, I also heard a group of young people at the next table surging with enthusiasm, from Cao Cao, Guan Yu, and Sima Yi talking about today's big country heavy weapons, arguing loudly from time to time, or erupting into a burst of cheerful laughter, presumably a group of military fans. I have to admire the idea of the organizers, drinking a small fire in the cold and windy Gubei water town to talk about the military, very appropriate!
The Adventures of the Starry Night in the Ancient Town
Gubei Water Town also has a beautiful name, called the town under the stars. At nightfall, the lights above the Yanshan Mountains are lit up, and the Simatai Great Wall is like a golden dragon cruising, and like the Milky Way in the night sky, the town under the stars is by no means a vain name.
Starry Sky Town
At night, as if guided, the tourists gather at the music and light show square of Wangjing Street to look forward to the upcoming performance. The light show is a special form of performance that combines modern 3D technology to creatively combine music, lights and fountains. During the day, these pavilions and fountain pools do not see anything special, at night, as soon as the music sounds, the whole building will be given the magic of "life" by light and shadow, and as the music dances, the tiles on the roof dance, the pavilions spin up, and a mischievous little girl runs to the building, she actually crossed time and space to meet an ancient general... At the same time, the fountain also dances with the rhythm of the music, sometimes elegant and graceful, sometimes spewing out a powerful column of water tens of meters high, and even spewing out a roaring flame, every time it spews out flames, you can see the surprised smiling faces of the people around you in the instant brilliance.
If the Wangjing Street Musical Fountain is already the brightest scenery of Gubei Water Town under the stars, then the drone Kong Ming Lantern Performance in Sun Moon Island Square is even more breathtaking. When a Kong Ming lantern rises into the sky, it seems to become a star in the sky, and countless good wishes are quietly promised by people. Surprisingly, the Kong Ming lanterns in Gubei Water Town are not traditional Kong Ming lanterns, but modern drones. Countless Kong Ming lanterns slowly rise to the sound of grand music, and then transform into a variety of beautiful shapes. On a breezy summer night, watching countless Kong Ming lanterns dancing in the night sky is both dreamy and romantic. In Gubei Water Town, many young people are wearing Hanfu or Qing costumes, men and women, dressed in fragrant sideburns, moths and snow willow golden wisps, laughing and dark incense, as if they really traveled through time and space like a little girl in the light show, came to the ancient town a hundred years ago, and participated in a grand festival. Time and space are broken, ancient and modern travel together, calling friends and leading companions, paradise on earth.
Author: Zhang Qingren, Mao Qiaohui, Xu Shanshan, Bao Yuanyuan
Editor: Zhou Yiqian