There is a place in Guangdong called "Venice", which is "Gulao Water Town". Gulao is a town in Heshan City, located in the northwest of Heshan City. "Gulao Water Town" customarily refers to Shengping, Shuangqiao, Xinxing, Poshan and other "Weidun" areas, where there are fish ponds and cultivated land totaling more than 14,300 mu, with a population of 15,000, which is a typical wetland ecological landform. "Gulao silver needle" green tea, marketed at home and abroad, the traditional sauce "Gulao noodles" made in the home sauce garden, is also well-known in the province, Hong Kong, Macao. It also has a Venetian-like water town scenery. The fish ponds at the mouths, the "piers" one after another, and the large and small rivers that are densely packed like spider webs constitute a picturesque landscape that is simply fascinating and intoxicating.
How did the "Gulao Water Town" come into being? It has to do with the geography here. Gulao is located on the banks of the Xijiang River, the mighty Xijiang River flows from the upper reaches to here, the river surface becomes wide, a large amount of sediment deposited, becoming a sandbar, forming an alluvial beach. Since the Ming Dynasty, people have successively built large-scale embankments on the edge of the Xijiang River to prevent floods, and have successively built Dajunwei, Changlewei, Qianjiangwei, Dujiangwei and so on. In the alluvial beach in the embankment, people excavated a mouth of fish ponds, and small mounds were formed between the fish ponds. Fish ponds are mainly fish farming, and mulberry cane is planted on small mounds, and some houses are built. Customarily, the large embankment on the west side of the river is called "wai", and the small mound between the fish ponds in the dike is called "wai mound".
The water network in Gulao Causeway crisscrosses, small boats run through like shuttles, banana forests on both sides of the strait sway, 10,000 acres of fish ponds are like mirrors, thousands of acres of mulberry land are turning over the waves, and the green fields are like exquisitely carved emeralds, and the beautiful scenery of the southern water town is beautiful. Due to the crisscrossing of the river, in the past, villagers liked to go out in small boats.
Banyan trees are also a scene of water town. Those ancient banyan trees with a century-old history, with deep roots and lush leaves, green leaves, graceful and colorful, and the small bridges and flowing water people's homes shine together, dotting the water town into a small oasis, which is really unique. The ancient banyan tree at the mouth of the village is hundreds of years old, and its canopy covers an area of more than 700 square meters, which is covered with red ribbons, which are left by tourists and villagers to pray for blessings.
Gulao Water Town people are brilliant, Ip Man this movie should be a household name. Ip Man's martial art is "Wing Chun", and Ip Man's master Ryazan is the grandmaster of Wing Chun, he is a Gulao. After Ip Man, the former residence of Ryazan also became popular, and many tourists came to visit. Ryazan's former residence is a century-old house made of green bricks, which looks ordinary, but the difference is that there are wooden stakes for wing chun practice in the courtyard of the house.
As a member of Lingnan Ancient Town, Gulao naturally left many ancestral halls, temples and residential buildings with Lingnan characteristics, including a building called "Eight", whose unique architectural model has attracted many domestic and foreign architectural experts to explore. This ancient building is formed by the construction of eight brick and wood bungalows, which are staggered, and there are a large number of characteristic wood carvings on the eaves doors, which are very exquisite and fully reflect the charm of Lingnan traditional cultural architecture.
If you are a photography enthusiast, you can go to Gulao to "work", and you will definitely be able to take a "beautiful photo" in your heart. Such as the East Slope Pavilion, the direction of the East Slope Pavilion looking at the river is the west side, there is a rocky beach in front of it as a foreground for shooting, small fishing boats in the river slowly sailing, the sunset reflected on the river, there is a kind of fishing boat late singing poetry. Shuangqiao Village, a village with a quaint atmosphere, is home to the museum of Gulao Water Town, where visitors can see the culture of the water and have a large number of photographic materials for you to use. There is also the world of lotus flowers in the waves of the sea, the endless scenery of the water town is really pleasant, the lake reflects the blue sky, and the whole person's mood is suddenly cheerful.