Qingfeng, a geological epic
When I was studying geography, my teacher often mentioned a place, that is, "Qingfeng" in Fang County, saying that there was a large fault here, which was a very famous earthquake zone. Geologist Li Siguang named this large fault "Qingfeng Rift Zone". At that time, I felt both surprised and inexplicably proud, and it was indeed a great thing to think that such a famous geographical term came from Qingfeng in our Fang County. Recently, I walked there and not only saw the long-awaited Qingfeng Rift Zone, but also appreciated the magic of the ancient riverbed, and enjoyed the strange scenery of Longtankan and the mysterious boulder of Longwanggou. I suddenly felt that Qingfeng was not only a place with green mountains, beautiful waters, strange stones, and strange caves, but also a huge geological epic, which vividly recorded the major changes that took place in geological history.
Longtan Scenic View
Longtankan is actually two deep pools sandwiched by a majestic dragon-shaped mountain, we first walk carefully on the ridge, the ridge is very narrow and steep, looking at the deep pools on both sides can't help but be a little scared. Here we see the whitebark pine, a rare vegetation that is a living "fossil" of a plant left over from a certain geological period. There are also a lot of iron trees, and a photographer told us that he once photographed the strange scene of "iron trees blossoming" here.
Then we supported the "first-line ladder" down, our eyes did not dare to look down, only dared to see a step under our feet, this step and hurdle, I understood why it was called "Longtankan". After going down the ladder, we saw the Dragon Pool, the pool is deep and fairy, the water is indescribably green, there is no trace of impurities, it seems to secretly store all the green in the world here. A waterfall hangs down from the ridge, seemingly gentle, like a fairy dressed in white, spinning, dancing, fluttering and falling down. According to a big brother's recollection, before the construction of the power station, the waterfall here could be described as huge, really like the Milky Way falling for nine days, and the roar of the waterfall could be heard five miles away. The story of fairy bowls, beautiful dragon girls, poor handsome mountain people, ugly rich men who are obsessed with courtship, beautiful dishes, and huge waves in the pool, pinning people's wishes to punish evil and promote good.
If you follow the ridge, you will reach the watershed, which is the dividing line between Fang County and Danjiang. On the watershed, you can overlook the whole picture of Wudang Mountain, which may really be a bit of a sense of "being at the top of the mountain, seeing Wudang small". One of the elder brothers Yu told me that he had climbed the watershed decades ago and used a pencil to outline the outline of Wudang Mountain in his notebook, and I thought it was a wonderful feeling, but unfortunately we didn't have that full eye this time.
What makes us feast our eyes is the huge rock of Longwanggou, I think this must be the relic of a major orogeny on the earth hundreds of millions of years ago, right? Longwanggou is actually a very long canyon, you can also name it "Longwang Gorge" or "Longtan Gorge", the whole canyon is made of boulders stacked, this is really a stone world, they in this canyon to show their own style, or standing, or sitting, or leaning, or lying, or standing, or bowing, different postures. Some are rounded, others are angular. It takes the magic of nature to create a variety of stones. The clear stream flows slowly between the boulders, we jump carefully in the gaps of the boulders, dozens of people can pose in various poses on the boulders, and you can also drink it boldly with a handful of Qingling water, sweet and delicious, and cool to the bottom of the heart. And on both sides of the canyon, ancient trees are towering, rock bodies are peculiar, and some of those rock bodies are like book pages, they should be shale, right? Others stand on the wall, with branches hovering freely on the rock mass. Sitting alone on a boulder to meditate: at a certain time hundreds of millions of years ago, what kind of sky collapsed and the earth cracked, magma gushed, boulders, boulders, fell from the sky, and the waves crashed on both sides of the canyon... The vicissitudes of the sea have left today's canyon wonders.
Rift Belt Break
Climbing the seven-level watchtower, the cool breeze here makes people think a lot, thinking that more than 50 years ago, the famous writer Biye once came here and wrote a beautiful article "Green Peak on a Moon Night". At that time, Qingfeng was simple and secluded, and the writer's mood was calm and comfortable, so the pen would have such a distant and secluded artistic conception. Today we came here, most of the time sitting in the car, Qingfeng Town only flickered in front of our eyes, and we couldn't feel the fragrance of an ancient town like Biye, which was inevitably a bit regretful. But when I arrived at Qingfeng Zhai Ecological Park, I climbed the tower and looked far away, and my heart seemed to calm down. It doesn't matter if the watchtower doesn't have a name yet, it's not matter if it's called "Floating Tower" or something else, but it's a nostalgic place. We are here, eating fresh strawberries from the ecological garden, everyone thinks that the strawberries here are far more delicious than other places, maybe it is the unique water and soil of the Qingfeng Rift Zone that can produce such good quality strawberries, right? The blueberries are not yet ripe, and they are expected to be a rare delicacy. There is also Qingfeng beer, brewed from natural spring water in the Great Fault, which has a unique taste, which is perhaps the best gift of the Qingfeng Rift Valley to contemporary people?
Climb to the top of the tower, and you can see the entire green peak and the surrounding mountains. Some people pointed to the distant mountain and introduced that it was Qingfeng Mountain, where the Qingfeng Rift Zone was located, there was Ziyang Cave on the mountain, and the ancient river bed was under the mountain.
Driving to the bottom of Qingfeng Mountain, my heart is inevitably a little excited, is this the Qingfeng Great Fault that I have admired for a long time? What earth-shattering events have happened here in geological history? Has there been a major earthquake? The volcano must have happened, otherwise how could there be hot springs on the banks of the Malan River? At this time, images of some moment tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years ago were churning in my mind: on the towering mountain peaks, the grass is thick, the apes climb on the rocks, the hares and chickens run through the forest, the python entangles in the ancient trees, the cicadas sing in the treetops, there is peace and quiet. Suddenly, a lightning bolt in the afternoon sky passed through the sky, dark clouds hovered on the top of the mountain, the deposited mountain seemed to be a giant lion, awakened by this sudden wind and lightning, suddenly opened its mouth, tongues of fire erupted from here, hot magma spread violently to the surroundings of the mountain range, gradually forming a sea of fire, the violent fire wave swooped towards the trees and creatures, the fire wave wrapped the flying rocks and flowed across the sky, making a rumbling noise, resounding in the sky. Between heaven and earth, it seems to be pushed and shoved by an unprecedented majestic force, oppressed by the overwhelming momentum, and boundless flames shrouded the entire universe...
Today, despite the damage of quarrying, the mountains are still majestic and mountainous. It is said that this is the "Qingfeng Mountain" in the "List of Gods", there is a Ziyang Cave on the mountain, which is the Immortal Cave Mansion, where Ziyang Zhenren once cultivated to become an immortal, and the place where he ascended to the immortal was called Tianchiya, and later someone built the Dengxian Temple here. Standing at the Dengxian Temple, you can see in the distance that there is a mountain as steep as a giant pen, called Wenbi Peak.
Ancient River Bed Contemplation
For the first time in my life, I saw such an ancient riverbed, and the entire riverbed was a three-dimensional ink painting, a relief carved by time.
Whose huge splash of ink is this? Whose chisel is it? Surrounded by mountains and waters, extending with the trend, high and low, I don't know the edge. Those stones on the riverbed, or rough, or smooth, or square, or rugged, or lying still like turtles and turtles, or rolled into rocks... I think that once upon a time, they were hidden under the waves, rain or shine, calm and calm, lonely for many years. The inner hardness and toughness, as well as the silence and serenity on the outside, make people sigh in amazement.
What kind of ancient riverbed is this? One after another hard as iron "islands and reefs", wave after wave of ups and downs of "rock waves", one after another dark blue "rock flowers", they have experienced how many years of sun, moon, frost and snow on the banks of the years, how many winds, rains, thunder and lightning forged, how much noise or lonely corrosion, still calm and forbearing, hidden blue-brown light. Not flashy, not restless, frank and rough, especially like a hermit, a hermit like Ziyang Zhenren, watching the dusk and sunset of Qingfeng Mountain alone.
We walked on this ancient riverbed and wanted to keep walking. The background is the Qingfeng Rift Belt, as well as the trees on the mountain, and the crystal clear river, the stone steps on the river, and the sheep jumping on the stone steps, all of which are beautiful and confused, empty and distant. On this clear day, the ancient riverbed like a picture, a period of dusk, a beautiful place, a group of people standing or sitting, or looking up close or far, the surrounding is clear and picturesque, and the mountains in the distance are plated with a golden halo, which is peaceful and charming. With a gentle breeze, I sat on the stone ridge of the ancient riverbed and spent a different time at dusk in early summer, and the joy in my heart was so real and reliable, like a green leaf of Mount Aofeng, frozen by time, green and bright. I can't know what kind of difficult and dangerous way this ancient riverbed comes and goes, and no matter how twists and turns its distant places are, I just need to preserve the peace and quiet beauty of the present, preserve the unique "painting stone" appearance of this ancient riverbed, and have an ineffable attachment in my heart and endless reverie for the ancient riverbed.
In a hurry, Qingfeng's geological epic unfolded in front of my eyes like a picture scroll, turning the scroll and closing it. Here, I seem to see the kingdom of animals and plants in ancient floods: the towering white-bark pine, the flowering iron tree, the running elk; It seems to have experienced a mountain-building movement of "chaotic rocks piercing the sky and crashing the shore"; It was as if witnessing the eruption of the Qingfeng Mountain crater, and the fiery red magma rushed in all directions; I also guessed how the monstrous waves intersected, fused, and fissioned with magma, leaving behind this rare ancient riverbed today... Today, the hardworking and wise Qingfeng people are composing new poems: the beautiful and attractive ecological garden, the production line of Qingfeng beer, and the geological significance of Longtankan, ancient riverbed and other beautiful attractions, adding more beautiful chapters to this geological epic of Qingfeng.
Author: Yang Qizhen