Luoshan in Ningxia: an "oasis" in the dry sea

1936, when Si Nuo was interviewed in Tongxin County, Ningxia, he took this photo of the trumpeter named "Voice of the Anti-Japanese War" at Yu Wang Fort at the eastern foot of Luoshan. Bright pictures/vision china

Cover of Red Star over China published by Sanlian Bookstore 1979. Information picture

The site of dismounted Guancheng at the eastern foot of Luoshan Mountain. Li Peng photo/bright picture

The ancient desert at the foot of Luoshan Mountain has now turned into ten thousand mu of fertile land. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of Hongsibu District Committee

Beef cattle breeding has become a pillar industry in Hongsibu District at the west foot of Luoshan Mountain. The picture shows Hai Xiaorong, a villager in Hongde Village, Hongsibao District, feeding cattle. Our reporter Wang Jianhong photo/bright picture

Qiao Wensheng runs a vineyard at the foot of Luoshan Mountain. Our reporter Wang Jianhong photo/bright picture

Staff of Luoshan National Nature Reserve carried out monitoring and investigation of germplasm resources. Photo courtesy of Luoshan National Nature Reserve

The strange scenery of "Luoshan wearing a hat". Photo by Ding Bannong/Bright Picture

The land of China has numerous peaks and peaks. There are several under the name of "Luoshan", and their popularity is not high.

In the arid area of central Ningxia, there is also a low-key and introverted "Luoshan".

Luoshan, Helan Mountain and Liupanshan Mountain are also called "Three Mountains", but even in Ningxia, few people have really been to Luoshan and know it. This is related to Luoshan being a nature reserve.

To the east of Helan Mountain, Zhongning, Tongxin and Yanchi in the middle of Ningxia have gentle terrain and few mountains. If you happen to see an upside-down "shell" like a mountain, it is Luoshan.

From the perspective of volume alone, Luoshan is a "reduced version". It consists of Mount Rhoda and Mount Luoxiao. Rhoda Mountain is north-south long 16 km, and east-west wide 7.5 km. Its main peak is 2624.5 meters above sea level, 20 kilometers long from northwest to southeast and 8 kilometers wide from northeast to southwest. Its main peak height is 220 1 m.

"Small" and "big" have always been dialectical, but this small body of Luoshan is not light.

The warm and humid air from the southeast traveled westward along the gentle slope hills and Gobi Desert, and met a mountain that suddenly appeared like a snail. The airflow rises rapidly 1.065 m, condenses when it meets cold, and the microclimate formed by lush trees leads to the meteorological wonder of "72 trips a year".

"Luoshan wears a hat, heavy rain comes, and long-term workers sleep." In the local folk proverb, "Luoshan wearing a hat" refers to a scene surrounded by clouds and mountains-this is extremely rare in the arid sea area surrounded by three deserts.

In the middle of Ningxia, the average annual rainfall is only 200mm, while the rainfall in Luoshan is twice as much.

It can be said that Luoshan is a basin for collecting rain on the thirsty land in northwest China, capturing the water vapor on the ocean thousands of kilometers away. Most of the precipitation was added to the bedrock cracks in the mountains and gushed out in some places, forming 45 springs.

From the satellite map, Luoshan looks like a green "big footprint" on the brown northwest land. As an important ecological landmark, Luoshan is not only a natural "green island", but also an "ark" of life at the same latitude, activating and inheriting the genetic genes of 4 18 species of higher plants, 22 1 species of vertebrates and 1008 species of invertebrates, which is unique in the study of regional ecological succession.

With the elevation gradient rising, alluvial fan desert grassland, shrub grassland, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, mountain forest, pure coniferous forest and alpine meadow are rich plant resources, making "Luoshan Diecui" a famous landscape in Ningxia since ancient times.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the sixteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, built a "Cuilou" on the south gate city of Wang Fu at the foot of Luoshan Mountain in order to appreciate the beautiful scenery of "Cuishan". Fan Wang, who lived in Ningxia from 16, lived in Weizhou City at the foot of the mountain for 9 years and was ordered to move to Ningxia City (now Yinchuan). Zhu Fang has been unable to give up Luoshan. He has repeatedly written to the emperor asking to move back to Weizhou, but he was not allowed. He was only allowed to stay at the foot of the mountain every summer.

"The pavilion is high in the ancient city with many mountains. Gao Qi is surrounded by porch windows, and you can see the river for thousands of miles. Draw a building with a bead curtain and spread a text with gold to seek peace. I remember it rained in the past, and I often sat opposite the western hills. " Zhu Fang has a soft spot for Luoshan, so much so that he chose his final resting place at the foot of Luoshan. Sleeping with him in the tomb of Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty, there are also kings and concubines such as Prince Kang Wang IX, King Zhenning and King Anhua. There are 72 original "tombs" in the tombs, but most of them have been destroyed.

In the Ming Dynasty, Luoshan area was the confrontation zone between the remnants of the Ming Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. Xiamaguan, an important pass in Guyuan Town, one of the "Nine Realms" in the Ming Dynasty, was built in the fifth year of Wanli. General commanders Fu and Guyuan of Ningxia often rest here when they go to the Tongxin area to relieve their guard, hence the name "Dismounting Pass".

1In August, 936, edgar snow ended his interview with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other leaders in northern Shaanxi and went to Xiamaguan to interview officers and men of the Red Army in the Western Expedition. During his one-month visit here, he finished nearly one-third of the content of Red Star over China, and took a classic photo on the cover of this documentary literature-The Trumpet (Trumpet) on the wall of Prewang Castle.

In June, 2002 1 year, systematic investigation by archaeologists advanced the history of human activities in Luoshan area to1ten thousand years ago.

However, with the continuous improvement of the natural energy level of human transformation, human activities have brought great influence to the ecology around Luoshan. In modern times, the western foot of Luoshan is already a desert Gobi.

Before 2000, Qiao Wensheng lived in Guankou Village at the foot of Luoshan Mountain. "At that time, it was too difficult. Dig some wild licorice to earn some money, dig for one month in spring and one month in autumn. Either raise sheep or raise more than 200 at most. " In the eyes of this ordinary farmer, "the past lifestyle is a kind of destruction to the ecology."

Since the new century, with the construction of Hongsibao ex situ poverty alleviation immigrant development zone, Qiao Wensheng and the villagers have moved to Zhongjuantang Village, which is about 10 km away from Luoshan. Under the guidance and support of the government, wine grapes were planted with the Yellow River water brought by the Yellow River Diversion Project.

"Grapes cherish wine, and alfalfa is born in the field." The scenery described in the poem Lingzhou by Ma Zuchang, a poet in Yuan Dynasty, can be reproduced.

Nowadays, at the western foot of Luoshan Mountain, a large area of Gobi wasteland has become beautiful homeland with 230,000 immigrants, and 6,543.8+10,000 mu of wine grapes have become a part of the green barrier in the northwest.

Qiao Wensheng moved away from Luoshan, and his sheepfold and manor returned to nature, becoming a part of Luoshan National Nature Reserve.

In recent years, it has become an important mission of Ningxia to build a pioneering area for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. As an important part of the ecosystem of the Yellow River Basin, the "Three Mountains", including Luoshan, have always been highly valued for their position and role in building an ecological security barrier in northwest China, north China and even the whole country.

According to the goal that Luoshan ecological region extends to the periphery, Ningxia has formulated a special plan for ecological protection and restoration. In addition to nature reserves, it has also set up ecological association zones and ecological extension zones.

Maybe not far away. When we look at the satellite map again, the green "big footprint" is already "green and fat".