It is often said that good-looking ancient towns are the same, but in fact, there are not many ancient towns with distinctive characteristics.
Luodai is an ancient town with distinctive characteristics, it is a Hakka ancient town with a long history, deep cultural heritage and the most complete preservation in the suburbs of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and has been rated as a town with Chinese characteristics, a famous town in Chinese history and culture, a national civilized town, a national ecological township, a national 4A tourist scenic spot and other honors.
Today, I will travel to Luodai to experience a different Hakka ancient town and feel a different Hakka culture.
1. Distinctive street layout
Luodai Ancient Town has a rich history, built in the Three Kingdoms and Shu Han Dynasty, and presents distinctive characteristics of the pattern of "one street and seven alleys" that has not changed for thousands of years.
From the Sifang Pagoda into Luodai Ancient Town, through the archway all the way, feel the Hakka concept of "living in the mountains but not in the dam", the ancient town is built by the mountain, living by water, backed by Longquan Mountain, facing the Chengdu Plain.
Looking at the entire street topography, the terrain falls from east to west from high to low, and the street is straight and slightly undulating, rich in changes. The main street is about 1,200 meters long and 8 meters wide, running through the entire ancient town, and the main street is lined with leaf-like "seven alleys". The seven alleys of the first street are all bluestone inlays, and the entire main street seems to be flowing clouds and water, smooth and natural, simple and beautiful.
2. Hakka architecture full of ancient charm
The thousand-year-old streets and Hakka houses in the ancient town are well preserved and are typical of the Ming and Qing dynasty architectural styles.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the ancient buildings that have gone through vicissitudes exude the elegant temperament and classical beauty of traditional culture; The black tiles and mottled black walls tell the past history, exuding the old atmosphere of the years, condensing the struggles and hardships of the Hakka people and the hopes of the past; Houses are lined one after another, and the streets are lined with shops, simple and ancient, blooming the prosperity of the ancient town; The four halls (Guangdong Hall, Jiangxi Hall, Huguang Hall, and Chuanbei Hall) gather in the ancient town to collect Hakka charm, record migration stories, witness the cultural history of Hakka immigrants in Luo, and let people reminisce about the past and present in the long river of history.
According to reports, the guild hall is built by the Hakka people from Huguang, Guangdong and Jiangxi during the Qing Dynasty, its architectural style and construction technology can be the first-class level of the year, more than 200 years ago, the four halls are an important center for Hakka gatherings and sacrifices, with high cultural and artistic value, and was rated as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council in 2006.
3. Profound Hakka culture
Luodai Ancient Town is known as "the first Hakka town in western China", in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, a large number of Hakka people migrated to Luodai, the current population of 45,000, more than 85% of the residents are Hakka immigrant descendants, Hakka culture is rich.
The Hakka are a creative ethnic group, and in the process of migration, they have formed the Hakka spirit of patriotism and family love, tenacity and hard work, and perseverance, always adhering to the ancestral motto of "diligence is the foundation of building a family, thrift is the way to maintain a family", bringing advanced farming technology and entrepreneurial spirit to Sichuan. They have opened up mountains and mountains, created foundations, cultivated heirlooms, revitalized civilization and education, revitalized cities and towns, prospered industry and commerce, not only agricultural production has been vigorously developed, commercial trade has also developed simultaneously, and achieved extraordinary results, writing a brilliant chapter for the reconstruction of the country of Tianfu!
Hakka culture inherits and carries forward the essence of Chinese traditional culture, and long-term migration has cultivated the folk style of "eclectic and eclectic, pioneering and enterprising, not conservative", and embracing all rivers, so that the Hakka people have strong cohesion and vitality. In terms of language, the Hakka people have always adhered to the ancestral motto of "rather sell the ancestral land than lose the ancestral language", and can not only speak fluent Sichuan official dialect, but also communicate smoothly in the distinctive Hakka dialect (also known as "native Cantonese"), and pedestrians conversing in Hakka can be seen everywhere on the streets and alleys; In terms of customs, to this day, the Hakka people have always followed the unique customs and habits of Hakka, and will also integrate some local customs and habits. The Hakka folk dragon dance, Hakka wedding, Hakka traditional skills, as well as the Fire Dragon Festival, Water Dragon Festival, Qingming Blessing Ceremony and other characteristic traditional folk activities have been passed down to this day, making me feel the pure and strong, simple and warm Hakka atmosphere belonging to Luodai Ancient Town.
While respecting the teachings of the Hakka people, they attach great importance to the cultivation of family style. Respect for ancestors, benevolence and harmony are the traditional virtues and distinctive characteristics of the Hakka people; Advocating virtue and righteousness, emphasizing virtue as the first and goodness as pleasure. Honoring filial piety, honesty, diligence, honesty, abstaining from greed and extravagance, respecting etiquette, and upholding morality are the family customs and social customs passed down from generation to generation by the Hakka people; Serving the country is a burden for the Hakka people to have lofty aspirations and dare to contribute.
4. Unique Hakka cuisine
There are many Hakka delicacies, including sad cold powder, smoked oil scalded goose, swan eggs, nine big bowls (also known as nine bucket bowls), salted marinated chicken, noodle soup, turnip cake, stone-ground bean flowers, stuffed tofu, etc., and sad cold powder, smoked oil scalded goose, swan eggs are the most famous.
Sad cool powder is a special snack, it is said that there are two kinds of sadness: one is that the Guangdong Hakka people living in Luodai Ancient Town made cool powder when they missed their hometown, because they were sad because of their thoughts, so they got their name; The second is that the cool powder is too spicy, spicy is delicious, and people who eat cool powder will be spicy tears, tears, hence the name.
Smoked oil blanched goose is a specialty, and it is also the signature dish of Luodai Supply and Marketing Co., Ltd. Restaurant today, I have the pleasure to taste, it really tastes special, the meat is firm and tender, not greasy and very refreshing. It is said that the production process of blanching goose with smoked oil is relatively complicated, from slaughtering, pickling, hanging, smoking, marinating to frying, it takes seven or eight processes before and after, and it takes more than 10 hours to do well.
Swan egg is a special snack, not a real swan egg, this is a delicious snack "invented" by the Hakka family after moving to Luodai, in order to protect wild swans and the eggs they produce, red bang, round cute fried glutinous rice dumplings, looks like Chengdu's fried noodles "sugar oil fruit", but the difference is that the swan eggs have a sandwich inside, the sandwich contains filling, it tastes crispy and tender inside, and the filling is delicious and delicious. The swan egg is also a symbol of good luck, happiness and well-being.
After a day of wandering Luodai, I always feel that I can't see enough, and the aftertaste is endless. Luodai is a characteristic Hakka ancient town that you still want to go to.