"Old Beichuan" and "New Beichuan", even though 15 years have passed since the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake, many locals still use to call Beichuan separately.
The old Kitagawa was destroyed by the Great Earthquake, and the New Kitagawa began a long period of rebirth and growth in the wasteland 24 kilometers away.
△Ruins of Beichuan Old City. /Visual China
Fifteen years later, Beichuan, as the only county seat rebuilt in the "May 12" Wenchuan earthquake, and the only Qiang autonomous county in the country, has become a well-known tourist county.
The Qiangzhai watchtowers surrounded by mountains are of staggered heights, the Banacha commercial street is full of tourists, and the people returning from visiting the ruins and memorial halls of the old county town have red eyes... Kitagawa is born in the sun, but the past has never been forgotten.
△The new county seat of Beichuan under the rising sun. /Visual China
After the catastrophe, this small Qiang city hidden in northwest Sichuan is far stronger than the world imagined.
New cities and ruins, hope and not forget
Leave your hometown and build a city in the wilderness.
For the Beichuan people who have lived in a corner of the mountain for generations, this was a fantasy.
However, the earthquake destroyed almost the entire Beichuan county, and the reconstruction of the original site was no longer suitable, and the location of the site to "recreate a new Beichuan" became an urgent need after the earthquake.
△A wasteland about 24 kilometers south of the old Kitagawa was selected, and the new Kitakuwa was born here. /Figureworm Creative
Yongchang Town, located in the southernmost open area of the entire autonomous county, was established as a new town after the earthquake and became the central area of the current Beichuan New County.
"Anchang River" and "Yongchang Town" express the most simple and strongest expectations of the locals for the future after experiencing deep disasters.
In June 2009, the construction of New Beichuan was fully started. At the end of 2010, the first batch of affected people moved into the new county town, and in February of the following year, New Beichuan officially opened.
△The dammed lake of Tangjia Mountain, which once touched people's hearts, is now turquoise. /Figureworm Creative
Since then, it has become the first stop for everyone to explore the scenery of Beichuan inwardly, but also a window for the autonomous county to display Qiang culture to the outside world. As the county grew and tourism developed, 10 years after the earthquake, Kitagawa took off the poverty county.
According to official statistics, during this year's May Day holiday, the county received more than 510,000 tourists. Tourists gather here, and this small town with a permanent population of less than 200,000 people is crowded and lively.
△The county seat of Beichuan during the May Day holiday. /Public number @Beichuan Cultural Tourism
Visiting the ruins of the old county town, which has been preserved in its entirety, is the main purpose of most tourists heading to Kitagawa . Almost every day, buses carry tourists between the old and new cities.
Walking into the Beichuan earthquake site, whether you personally experienced that disaster or not, you will be overwhelmed by great pathos.
△Walking into the Beichuan earthquake site, it is as if you have entered the day of May 12, 2008. / Little Red Book@HTR Dawa
To this day, the old Beichuan is still full of ruins and exposed steel bars, and there are tattered, rusty cars parked on the side of the road, and occasionally there are peeling paint, which looks particularly rugged street signs... Secondary disasters such as the magnitude 8.0 earthquake and landslides have ruined the originally quiet and beautiful town.
Further down the county seat, steel pipes support dangerous buildings, and some buildings are nailed with signs that "earthquake cultural relics belong to the state and are protected by law." Under the memorial plaque next to the deceased, you can also see some fresh fruits and sugar cubes that have been left as a memorial.
△ Downstairs, a newly erected sign reads "Farewell to Pain and Face the Future" in many Chinese words. / Little Red Book@HTR Dawa
Fifteen years later, the much-watched "Pig Strong" died of old age and exhaustion last year, and the Beichuan earthquake site is still overgrown with grass, silently whispering about the sudden and painful disaster.
The 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Hall was built in Renjiaping, about 2 kilometers away from the Beichuan earthquake site, adjacent to the former site of Beichuan Middle School, which was buried by huge rocks.
△ At the site of Beichuan Middle School, a mother insisted on writing letters to her son who was buried in the rubble for 15 years. /Weibo @Chen Qiuwen
On one wall of the memorial hall, countless school bags that students did not have time to take away, clocks with frozen hands, and shoes stained with dust...
If the Beichuan earthquake site brought people back to the county town frozen in the disaster, the ordinary objects in the memorial hall tell the sorrow of each family in the small county.
△ The clock is stacked high, and the hands are frozen at the moment of the earthquake and will not move again. / Little Red Book @Moi & Toi Globe
An earthquake changed the fate of a county and countless individuals. Between the old Beichuan and the new Beichuan, there is always a bond between the past and the future, with memories to the north and the future to the south.
Between mountains and rivers, the world
"One of the counties hardest hit by the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake" is the public's collective impression of Beichuan after 2008.
Many people do not know that this secret place of Qiangcheng, which wanders between the mountains in northwest Sichuan, hides beautiful natural scenery and unique cultural customs.
△The misty Beichuan Jiuhuang Mountain Scenic Area. /Figureworm Creative
Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, subordinate to Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, is located at the junction of Mianyang and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and is also in the transition zone between the Northwest Sichuan Plateau and the Chengdu Plain.
Therefore, the mountainous area under the jurisdiction of Beichuan is as high as 98.8%, the forest coverage rate is 63.22%, and the complete alpine meadow landscape resources are preserved for more than 100,000 mu, and there are two national nature reserves in Xiaozhaizigou and Qianfoshan.
Because of such rich forest resources, rare animals such as pandas, golden monkeys, and antelopes are all "resident residents" in Beichuan Prefecture.
△ The golden snub-nosed monkey in the Xiaozhaizigou Scenic Area of Beichuan "opens for eating and broadcasting". /@四川观察
Starting from Yongchang Town, where Beichuan County is located, all the way north, a three-dimensional landscape painting will slowly unfold before your eyes.
Nine Emperors Mountain, Dragon Hunting Mountain, Medicine King Valley... The five rivers of Beichuan rush in mountain streams, nourishing this magical land.
△In addition to the mountains in the clouds, there is another underground secret hidden under the mountains - gravel karst caves. / Little Red Book @ Silkworm Mulberry Leaf
People who have lived in cities for a long time will always have an inexplicable desire and awe for the mountains. While we are still relying on the weather forecast on our mobile phones to sense seasonal changes, the peaks and ravines of Beichuan have already announced the rotation of the seasons with Xinyi flowers full of branches.
△Beichuan has tens of thousands of acres of Xinyi flower landscape, and the local Xinyi flower festival is held in March every year. /Visual China
The mountains are quiet, the world in the mountains belongs to thousands of creatures in nature, and the bustle of the Qiang village below the mountain is shared by visitors from all directions.
The Beichuan Qiang have a long history, and as early as the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Beichuan County was established because of the Beichuan City in the northwest. Passed down for thousands of years, Beichuan has preserved many ancient Qiang villages, cultural relics and customs, and is also the "hometown of Chinese Qiang embroidery".
△ Located in Beichuan Pinggu Town, Jina Qiang Village is also the filming location of the plot of the movie "Our New Life" unit. /Video screenshot
During the construction of the new city, architectural experts combined the characteristic style of the Qiang ethnic group to design and plan the Qiang Folk Museum, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, the characteristic pedestrian street and other buildings.
Banacha Commercial Street, the largest Qiang characteristic folk street, is one of the core attractions of New Beichuan, and after more than ten years of development, it has become a distribution center for foreign tourists.
△ "Banacha" means "place to do business" in the Qiang language, and the entire commercial block consists of watchtowers, covered bridges, squares and Qiang houses. / Little Red Book @ Wang Gui's Wonderful Journey
Beichuan specialties such as Beichuan bacon, ancient Qiang black and white tea, and buckwheat products can almost be purchased here. In addition to shopping, eating, and during the New Year festival, there will be cultural performances with Qiang characteristics on the square of the commercial street for tourists to enjoy.
Yuwang Bridge, not far from Banacha Commercial Street, is suitable for ordering a cup of tea to pass the afternoon leisurely. This three-section bridge named after Dayu is also quite characteristic of the Qiang people, and the Anchang River flows endlessly under the bridge, looking into the distance and green mountains.
△ According to legend, Dayu was born in Shiniu, Western Qiang, which is now Shiniu Village, Yuli Town, Beichuan County. There are also attractions in Beichuan Prefecture such as Yu Cave Monuments and Yuwang Palace. /@北川文旅
As the sun sets, there are many local residents walking and dancing along the square and embankment of the Anchang River, and the commercial street and its surroundings are not only a shopping paradise for tourists, but also a leisure meeting place for Beichuan people.
The houses are scattered and the streets are clean and tidy, so if you're not in a hurry to leave, be sure to feel the evening breeze blowing by the Beichuan River.
△Riverfront Street, not far from Banachia, is a casual meeting place for locals. /@H_ narrative-
Walking along the river, the Qiang aunts stretching out in song, the old people chatting with tea under the trees, the toddlers, and the cats and dogs huddled by the flower beds will become the scenery that breaks into your eyes.
The tenacity and beauty of Beichuan are in the mountains and rivers, but also in the world.
Today's author Azhen
Today's Topic Do you remember Kitagawa ?