Guazhou is named for the production of beautiful melons, according to legend, during the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian was ordered to go to the Western Regions, traveled to Anxi suddenly seriously ill, bedridden, and searched for medical treatment in many ways to find ineffective, one day a river and lake Langzhong found Zhang Qian's place, after cutting the pulse, he said that this was a fire in the heart, and eating melons could be cured. Zhang Qian quickly recovered from his illness after eating, and after Completing his mission, Zhang Qian returned to Chang'an to remember the fact that He had saved his life by waxing the moon and getting melons, so he personally named the place Guazhou.
It is the transportation hub of the ancient east and west, and the merchant town of the ancient Silk Road. It's more niche and less known. Therefore, the historical sites here are no longer noisy and bustling, and they sleep in relative silence in the long river of time and space, waiting for people to slowly explore the traces of the ancients and listen to the voice of history.
1, the sister cave of Mogao Grottoes - Yulin Grottoes in Guazhou
Located in the Guazhou Anxi Extreme Arid Desert National Nature Reserve, it was built in the annals of no text, but it is famous for its countless amazing murals and painted sculptures. The world knows that the relics of mankind are Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, few people know the sister caves of Mogao Grottoes, Guazhou Yulin Grottoes, in fact, Yulin Grottoes located in Guazhou County, Gansu Province is not inferior to the Grottoes grotto art group, cave form, performance content and art style, very similar to Mogao Grottoes, is a branch of the Mogao Grottoes art system. This is a unique place that is closely related to the Mogao Grottoes and is regarded as an important part of the mogao grottoes art system, and is called "sister grottoes" with the Mogao grottoes. This is a place with many resounding names, and it is also a place where you can have unlimited reverie before you arrive.
It is worth noting that although Yulin Grottoes has the artistic value of not inferior and Mogao Grottoes, but the number of tourists visiting Mogao Grottoes is far less, Mogao Grottoes in order to protect the existing grotto murals, many caves have no longer been open to the public, friends who like history and art can choose to visit Yulin Grottoes. Yulin Grottoes is more than 170 kilometers away from Dunhuang, the whole road condition is better, you can drive or take a car train to Guazhou, along the way is the vast Gobi Desert, the scenery is very good.
Yulin Cave has preserved a total of more than 250 painted sculptures, murals of about 5,000 square meters, from the existing mural style and tourist inscription structure, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Western Xia, Yuan, Qing Dynasty have been excavated and painted sculpture, large-scale construction. From the form of its caves, the way of expression of works of art, the inscriptions of tourists of various dynasties and other aspects of comprehensive speculation: excavated before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the subsequent generations have been built and maintained, and the scale of the caves has been increasing. This is a magical place to express the world with murals, painted sculptures and other art forms.
2, Guazhou Suoyang City
The ruins of Suoyang City are located in Suoyang Town, Guazhou County, also known as "Bitter Yu City". Suoyang City was founded in the Han Dynasty and was the seat of government of Dunhuang County; it flourished in the Tang Dynasty, which was a county of Guazhou, and other dynasties have been rebuilt and used to varying degrees. In the Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Kuyu City, and the city was abandoned at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, in the history of Suoyang City, there are many names such as "Guazhou Ancient City", "Jinchang Ancient City", "Bitter Yu City" and so on. The name of Suoyang City originates from the qing dynasty folk, because there are many delicious and sweet Suoyang growing around the city.
"The 6 ancient han and Tang dynasties distributed in and around Suoyang City are rare in China because of their complex shape, long age, complete preservation, and rich remains." The ruins of Suoyang City are ancient cultural relics integrating ancient city sites, ancient tombs and ancient reclamation areas, and are also an important town on the throat of the Silk Road.
The landmark building of Suoyang City, the corner pier. The corner pier is an alarm system for the ancient military to stand guard and put out sentry, "burning smoke during the day is a beacon, and lighting a fire at night is a flint", once the enemy situation is found, the soldier can transmit information through the beacon. Suoyang City has the best preserved ancient military defense system and ancient farmland water conservancy irrigation system in China. At the same time, it is also a typical specimen of the vicissitudes and changes created by the evolution of ancient desertification, and the most perfect tourist attraction in the combination of ancient cultural relics and unique natural landscapes in western China. You can feel the century-old silence of the Millennium City On foot. I seem to see the scenes of tragedy and joy staged here by different eras and different nationalities, and this hub connecting the western regions of the Central Plains is also concrete. There are surprises, but also challenges.
3, ruins of the broken city
The ruins of Broken City are located in the west of Changle Village, Suoyang Town, Guazhou County, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, and the locals have always known as "Broken City" and "Changle City". It was founded during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. Located exactly fifty miles northwest of Tanggua Prefecture City (that is, the ruins of the current Suoyang City), echoing with Guazhou, the remnant city wall is 257 meters north and south, 148 meters from east to west, and the city wall is 6.5 meters high.
On the north and south sides of the city, there are also two temple ruins, which are a complete remnant of the city defense with military defense characteristics. Founded in the western Han Wudi period, it was the seat of han guangzhi county, which belonged to Dunhuang County, and was the seat of changle county in the Tang Dynasty. However, some scholars believe that the ruins of the Broken City are the location of the Tang Dynasty Yumen Pass, because there are historical records that "the Early Tang Dynasty Yumen Pass was on the Hulu River fifty miles northwest of Guazhou". The current site of the city was built in the Tang Dynasty. There are two cultural layers stacked in the city, the lower layer is the Han culture layer, the upper layer is the Tang culture layer, and the middle is separated by the sediment layer of sand and water.
The ruins are on the edge of the national highway, next to the village, not overdeveloped, maintaining the original ecology of ancient times, and people can climb the earthen city wall. Stand here and experience the ancient city of more than a thousand years ago.
4, Guazhou Museum
The museum is located opposite the county government, founded in 1988, is a comprehensive local museum, built a museum exhibition hall building, office buildings and cultural relics warehouse, etc., the collection of more than 4600 cultural relics. In 1997, it completed a number of special exhibitions such as "Anxi Historical Relics Exhibition", "East Thousand Buddha Cave Grottoes Essence Mural Exhibition", "Anxi County Reform and Opening Up Achievement Exhibition" and so on. There are 7 national-level cultural relics protection units, 14 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, and 112 county-level cultural relics protection units.
The exhibition hall is on the second floor, the largest exhibition hall is the history of Guazhou, the main exhibits are ivory Buddha, eight immortal walking sticks, wheat ear pattern faience pots, wooden pots, bronze horses, three colored maid figurines, the Great Wall of Han, Wei and Jin portrait bricks, and local folk objects and so on. The exhibition is quite distinctive, and the collection of cultural relics is rich! The archives and cultural relics reflect that Guazhou was an important pass on the Silk Road. The historical changes of Guazhou are worth seeing, and the treasure of the town hall is a Buddha tooth elephant pagoda.
One of the "Champions Stickers" has a great history! It is the representative work of the famous Caosheng, that is, the great calligrapher Zhang Zhi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhang Zhi Dunhuang County Yuanquan County (that is, present-day Guazhou), the ancestor of the grass saints, Lanzhou Baita Mountain, the most conspicuous sculpture is Zhang Zhi. The exhibition hall opposite the small point is the "Wang Hong'en Teacher and Student Copy mural exhibition", which exhibits part of the East Thousand Buddha Cave copy, which can make up for the regret of not going to the East Thousand Buddha Cave! Immersed in it, it feels very magical, copying the murals, and taking pictures is very beautiful!
5, Kangxi Dream City - Qiaowan City
80 kilometers east of the county town next to the Ganxin Highway, there is a ruined earthen castle is Qiaowan City, Qiaowan City is rectangular, 122 meters wide from north to south, 880 meters in circumference, 60+ meters high, loess fortification, the wall preservation is relatively complete, open the south and north of the two city gates, there are battlement walls and city tower remnants. There are corner piers in the 4 corners of the city, and there are architectural relics such as the East-West Avenue and the House Temple in the city.
It is not majestic, but it is it that leaves an eternally fascinating story: once upon a time, a temple in Qiaowan was placed with two human skin drums. The large ones are the size of a washbasin, and the small ones are only the size of a rice bowl. The color is dark yellow and slightly dirty. If you tap lightly, you will hear "poof, poof", and the drums are heavy. What the drums tell - the legend of Kangxi Night Dream Bridge Bay, angry beheading of the corrupt official Chen Jinshan's father and son.
Kangxi executed the corrupt official Cheng Jinshan and his son, and used the heads of his two sons to clasp them together, and carved in the middle of the silver into two dragon play beads and set into a drum rack. The upper and lower drums were made of their skin, and then a head bowl was made of Cheng Jinshan's brain. The human skin drum was placed in Yongning Temple, 200 meters outside the city, which is now the Bridge Bay Museum. The museum also houses precious plant specimens, dried corpses and ivory Buddha engravings of the Great Gobi.
All right! Guazhou is introduced here today! The next issue is more exciting! Follow me! It's more interesting to see past issues!
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