Along the banks of the Yongding River and through the rolling mountains, the thousand-year-old Jingxi Ancient Road will simultaneously open a variety of cultural and tourism activities to welcome tourists during the "May Day" holiday.
On May 1, the reporter saw in Shuiyuzui Village, Miaofengshan Town, Mentougou District, that people beat drums, put on ancient costumes, strolled on the bluestone ancient road full of hooves, and shuttled between the vast mountains and the ancient city gates.
It is reported that throughout the "May Day" holiday, Mentougou District launched 6 ancient road theme tour routes, and set up a number of ancient NPCs, performing arts spaces, check-in points, and national style immersive experiences along the road, reproducing the grand scene of the Jingxi Ancient Road Market.
On May 1, the entrance of the Jingxi Ancient Road behind Shuiyuzui Village, Mentougou District. Photo by Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong
Tourists can receive the "customs clearance document" and travel through the thousand-year-old road
The Jingxi Ancient Road is a transportation artery connecting the Central Plains and Saiwai in ancient times, with a history of thousands of years. Starting from Beijing, all the way to the west, people open up roads in the mountains of western Beijing, connecting the north and the south, and there are many market villages and pass walls along the way.
In Shuiyuzui Village, at the foot of Miaofeng Mountain, a villager told reporters that decades ago, villagers were still using the ancient road to transport produce from the mountains out of the mountains on pack horses.
According to reports, the ancient road used to be all over the mountains of western Beijing, forming a transportation network extending in all directions, and now there are still thousands of miles of basically intact preserved.
Tourists stroll along the Jingxi Ancient Road. Photo by Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong
On the back mountain of Shuiyuzui, a section of about two kilometers of bluestone ancient road is well preserved, and there is also a gate city called Niujiaoling Guancheng, which was an important pass on the ancient road in western Beijing.
Early on the morning of May 1, volunteers from the village and nearby dressed up in ancient costumes and beat drums and danced dragons and lions at the entrance of the ancient road to welcome visitors. Visitors can pick up a "customs clearance document" at the entrance, enter the ancient road, and stroll among the mountains, while volunteers in ancient costumes stamped the "customs clearance document" along the way.
The ancient road of about two kilometers, it takes about half an hour to 1 hour to complete, the ancient road is full of bluestones, many bluestones are sharpened into smooth pebbles by wind and rain, and there are deep hoof sockets on the stone face, which is the traces left by the passage of mules and horses for thousands of years. The reporter saw that many tourists walked and stopped on the ancient road, and there were tourists who traveled back and forth, just to feel the afterglow of the thousand-year-old road.
Costumed characters played by volunteers are active on the ancient road. Photo by Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong
It is reported that in addition to Shuiyuzui, the theme tour routes launched this time also include the section from Zhaibai Road to Tianjin Guan, the hiking section of Jietai Temple, the ancient road section of Liuliqu Village, the section of the ancient commercial road around Jiuyuan Village and the section of the ancient road of Baihua Mountain.
A number of special cultural and tourism activities have been launched to experience the folk customs of western Beijing in early summer
The reporter learned that from April to the end of May, Mentougou District will successively launch a number of special cultural and tourism activities.
From April 13th to May 20th, the 27th Lilac Tourism and Cultural Season was held in Jietai Temple, where tourists can wear Hanfu, enjoy the ancient style, embrace the fragrance of flowers, and taste fragrant tea.
From May 1st to May 3rd, the "Five Flowers and Picturesque Poetry" and "May Day" small long holiday theme activities will be held in the Zhubai Scenic Area, where you can experience new scenes such as "small courtyard opera", Baiyu Night Market, archery and so on.
From April 4th to May 5th, the Pear Blossom Festival will be held in Gushan Village, where visitors can enjoy pear blossoms, experience traditional farming, experience exciting glass water slides and mountain all-terrain off-road vehicles.
From May 8th to May 22nd, the traditional folk temple fair of Miaofeng Mountain will be opened, and visitors can enjoy a variety of folk flower festivals, opera performances, and experience lively and prosperous market activities.
In addition, during the "May Day" period, activities such as the "Small Courtyard Opera" of Dongma Mountain Homestay, Wang Pingshan Fun and Ancient Road Creative Gathering will also be held successively, and tourists can check in the creative collection and enjoy the characteristic Kunqu Opera, as well as many cultural and tourism enterprises such as Tangu Slow Flash Park, Jinyu Liuli Cultural Industrial Park, Baoshun Mansion, Baihuashan Scenic Area, Baihuashan Community Homestay, etc.
According to reports, in order to further strengthen the IP construction of "Jingxi Ancient Road", Mentougou District will launch promotional videos, promotional leaflets, VI identification system (Logo), ancient road explanations, etc., and will also carry out a series of publicity activities such as "Talent Tour Ancient Road", "Hanfu Ancient Road" and "Jingxi Ancient Road Micro Short Drama". In terms of infrastructure construction, Mentougou District will speed up the layout of the Jingxi Ancient Road Guidance and Signage System and the improvement of surrounding supporting facilities, improve the management and operation and maintenance system of the Jingxi Ancient Road, and improve the brand image and safety and convenience of the Jingxi Ancient Road. In terms of service supply, Mentougou will carry out the brand release and resource docking of "Jingxi Ancient Road", increase investment attraction, introduce social capital to participate in the integration and utilization of key resources and follow-up operation of Jingxi Ancient Road, and promote the healthy development of the "Jingxi Ancient Road" cultural brand.
Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong
Edited by Zhang Lei and proofread by Liu Baoqing