It's only 3 hours' drive from Guangzhou, but there is a "Shangri-La, Guangdong" hidden here?

We all know that there is a Shangri-La in Diqing, Yunnan.

But most people may not know that there is another "Shangri-La" in Guangdong Province, and that is Xinfeng County.

Where is Xinfeng County? Maybe everyone can't react at once, but if you mention Xinfengjiang Reservoir, it is estimated that you will be suddenly enlightened.

The neighbors of the reservoir are Xinfeng County, all by the Xinfeng River, so there is the word "Xinfeng" in their names.

Xinfeng county belongs to Shaoguan city, which is located in the north of central Guangdong province. With superior geographical position, Shaoguan is the only county bordering the Pearl River Delta.

The most striking thing about this county is that when the Nanyue ancient post road project was in full swing, Xinfeng County also found an ancient post road that had been baptized for thousands of years in Shijiao.

When it comes to ancient roads, the first thing that comes to mind are ancient roads, thin horses in the west wind, heartbroken people in the end of the world, and martial arts dramas.

Those narrow paths hidden in the mountains.

The ancient post road, also known as official road and postal road, is the main channel of ancient land transportation in China and one of the important military facilities. It is mainly used to transport military grain and grass materials and convey military orders and military information.

As early as the Neolithic Age, this land was inhabited by human ancestors. In the first year of Yongming in the Southern Qi Dynasty (483), Longchuan split and established a new county, named Xinfeng County, which meant "rich in products" and was then under the jurisdiction of Nanhai County in Guangzhou.

Xinfeng county has dangerous terrain, numerous peaks and criss-crossing mountains, which makes road traffic very inconvenient. According to historical records, due to traffic jams, Longchuan County is beyond its management scope.

In the thirty-third year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1554), Li Yayuan and Zhu Tingfu, leaders of the People's Army, gathered more than 10,000 people in the 18th cave of Changji. First of all, they stopped the rich people's grain ships from leaving the country to help the local hungry people survive the famine.

Later, the situation became more and more serious, brewing into a riot, which directly looted the barn, so that Emperor Sejong was furious and sent Yu, the commander of the company commanders, to lead 80,000 officers and men, and wiped out more than 20,000 people.

In the third year of Qin Long (1569), Changning County was set up in parts of Heyuan, Wengyuan and Yingde counties, and a postal shop was set up in the same year, with four post stations under its jurisdiction. * * * has eight soldiers who are responsible for taking official documents.

This is the earliest record of setting up an ancient post road in Xinfeng County.

The setting of ancient post roads in Ming and Qing Dynasties not only facilitated local people to obtain political and economic news, but also facilitated them to take and deliver official documents. After that, the people in Changning (Xinfeng) County lived a harmonious life of "peace and stability" for a long time.

At that time, some local agricultural and sideline products and handicraft products were continuously transported to Heyuan, Huizhou, Guangzhou and other coastal areas for sale, and the returned foreign oil, matches, salt and other items just met the daily needs of the people in Changning City.

From then on, the villagers changed into comfortable cotton-padded clothes from their own "yellow linen" and put on foreign oil lamps (also called "fire water lamps") at night.

It's just that the past will eventually turn into a wisp of smoke, and now only this ancient post road continues to this day.

"Nine mountains, half water and half fields" is synonymous with Xinfeng County, a hilly terrace in China. In addition to the official opening of the ancient post road, for a long time, the local people's transportation has been dominated by water transport, such as well-off households and rich people riding horses in sedan chairs, and water transport includes wooden boats, rafts and bamboo rafts.

Since the Ming Dynasty, Changning County has successively opened three navigation channels: Xinfeng River, Daxi, Qinglong Lake and Longjie Street in Lianping County.

In case of rapid current, wooden boats and bamboo rafts will dock on the shore and then be transported to their destinations by manpower. In the 19th year of Qing Daoguang, there were as many as five ferries in Xinfeng.

However, time flies. Due to the completion of Xinfengjiang Reservoir and the change of natural hydrological conditions, the only existing Shuixi Wharf in Xinfeng County is Tianyuan Town, which has a history of more than 500 years. ,

There is also an ancient Shuixi Street near the ancient pier, named after it was built in Shuixi Village. At that time, there were dozens of small shops and several inns on this street, providing accommodation for merchants coming and going from the West Pier.

However, after liberation, buildings in this area were demolished and grain depots were built on the original site.

At this point, the prosperity of Shuixi Ancient Street no longer exists, and only Shuixi Wharf still maintains the mottled mark left by navigation capacity and time.

Xinfeng is a typical mountainous county, with a high terrain in the north-central part and a little lower in the east and west. At first glance, it looks like a small basin.

Therefore, when crossing this Millennium ancient road, we can see that there is the first peak in the Pearl River Delta and ancient buildings with unique styles all over the country.

Overlooking the distant mountain peak, the bare rock peak looks a bit like the bun of ancient women, so it is called Ji Yun.

This is a peak 1422 meters, full of primitive and quaint charm. The original ecological environment in the mountains is rarely polluted, and the clear streams in the mountains flow downwards.

In Ji Yun, you can see the Great Waterfall, which is called the source of Xinfeng River. It is said that all the mountain spring water flows into Xinfeng River, then flows through Xinfeng, Li Anping and Dongyuan, and finally flows into Dongjiang at Heyuan.

Because of its special geographical location and climate, some people say that Ji Yun is cool and beautiful in summer. Climbing up the mountain stream and water source, the mountain wind blows gently, and the clouds in the sky are blown, and the blue sky and white clouds are matched with yellowish reeds, which is beautiful.

Some people think that the most beautiful season should be 1 1 mid-to-late month, with a large red maple leaf growing on the mountain. Others say that Ji Yun is beautiful all year round. "Enjoy mountain flowers in spring, explore the wind in summer, see maple leaves in autumn, and step on ice and snow in winter."

Although the scenery of Jiyun Mountain can't be compared with Shangri-La, birds can be seen everywhere, and the air is fresh and pleasant. It can really be called Shangri-La in Guangdong.

At the foot of Ji Yun Mountain, antique buildings seem to let people go through the Millennium. This small town has gathered ancient buildings of different schools all over the country, including Huizhou School, Minnan CuO Style, Guangfu, Hakka and minority areas around Shaoguan.

Architects carefully removed the bricks, tiles, trees and stones of these ancient buildings from the ancestral land, carefully repaired them and transported them to the foot of Ji Yun Mountain, and rebuilt them according to the mountain structure, thus rebuilding this "brand-new" ancient town of Ji Yun.

It's really the first time I heard that the "ancient town" was built like this. The ancient town of Ji Yun is located in deep forests and deep valleys. The reason why it is said to be "ancient" is because it bears the cultural accumulation of years and contains many old dreams.

Although there are still traces of repair, it can't cover up the vicissitudes of life over the years. Maybe one day, when the villagers in these ancient towns are nostalgic, they will come all the way to see it.

Hakka people have traveled all over the world. Eighteen Wells on the ninth floor is the largest Hakka enclosed house in Xinfeng County. It was built in the early years of Zhao Kang in Qing Dynasty (1660) to the sixth year of Jiaqing (18 18), and it took 158. The craftsmen who built it have been four generations, and the degree of care for the building can be seen.

The whole building covers an area of about 5 hectares, with a quadrangle layout and three courtyards. Because it is a building with three horizontal and three vertical, it is multiplied by nine buildings. There are six patios in every three courtyards, which add up to eighteen wells, so it is also called "Jiufu Eighteen Wells" and locally called "Xingchangwei".

There is a very open courtyard in the 18th well on the ninth floor, which is a typical Hakka enclosure design to solve the problem of people's domestic water use in the enclosure.

Although the house is obviously in disrepair, you can still see the exquisiteness and luxury of that year, but the objects scattered here all reveal the coldness and helplessness here.

This Hakka paddock is basically in a semi-abandoned state, most of which are abandoned and occasionally used to pile up some sundries. The residents of the whole paddock have moved out one after another, but sweet well water can be drilled from the well.

In Xinfeng county, we have to mention the Hakka Shijiao tofu with local characteristics. Hakka cuisine is as famous as Guangfu cuisine and Chaoshan cuisine. Xinfeng Shijiao is a mountainous area. Originally, it was a poor mountain, but even if it was poor, the water quality was very delicate, and the tofu made was particularly tender and delicious.

Stuffed tofu is a snack that Hakka people often eat in their lives. This dish was considered the best a long time ago. Yao Min said, "Madam Gong, you're a beancurd flower." Comparing the stone corner tofu flower with the big lady in the palace is simply high praise.

The fry in the Fengjiang River, there are countless streams at the source of Xinfeng River, all of which flow out from small ditches in the deep mountains. The stream is clear and pollution-free, and the river fish growing in clear water is as sweet as frying, frying, roasting and boiling, and many people who have eaten it call it a boutique.

Fingered citron, a key vegetable product in Xinfeng County, is not only an excellent health-care vegetable, but also a real pollution-free vegetable. First, this kind of melon is not prone to pests and diseases, and it is located in the alpine mountain area. From flowering to fruiting, no pesticides are used to kill insects. Second, use original ecological fertilizer.

The years are quiet and the mountains and rivers are interdependent. Xinfeng county has a long history, beautiful scenery and rich culture. Many people like to stay away from the city in their spare time. This is the best place to escape from the hustle and bustle of big cities.

There is no waste gas and annoying noise in the city, but only trivial things of daily necessities.

Source/WeChat official account: self-driving geography of China.