Walking around Luodai Ancient Town evokes nostalgia in every visitor

? The plane takes off at night and there is still a whole day left. Searching Chengdu, the target is Luodai, an ancient Hakka town.

? Checked out early in the morning, put my shoulders on my back, took the subway from the hotel (Chunxi Road), and took almost an hour to Longquanyi. After getting off the bus and changing to the bus, it took almost an hour. The bus passed through the fields, and there was no one on either side. I thought I had stopped several times.

? Luodai is right on the side of the highway, just get off the car and walk a few steps.

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? Walking into the ancient town hidden on the roadside, you can see the main street at a glance, paved with one-meter-square bluestone slabs, with both sides of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The style of the old house instantly transports you into a hundred years ago.

? Nowadays, when talking about a certain place, most people have to trace back the history and go as far back as possible. Speaking of Luo Dai, at least it starts from the pre-Qin Dynasty. When the Qin Dynasty destroyed Shu and established Shu County, Luodai was placed under the jurisdiction of Chengdu County. From then until the early Tang Dynasty, Luodai had always been an important post station on the post road.

According to legend, Luodai had a street during the Three Kingdoms period, named "Wanfu Street", which benefited from Zhuge Liang's prosperity. The layout of one street and seven lanes in Luodai was formed during the Shu-Han period of the Three Kingdoms and has not changed for thousands of years.

? The original meaning of "Luo Dai" is "Luo Dai". It is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Chan, the prince of the Shu Han Dynasty, was playing in the town and accidentally dropped the jade belt into a well while trying to catch carp. The name "Luo Dai" came from this. , and later gradually evolved into Luo Dai.

? What really made Luodai famous was the immigration movement in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Sichuan’s population dropped sharply due to wars and famines. The Qing government's immigration to Sichuan formed the largest immigration movement in Chinese history, which lasted for more than a hundred years. As a result, Sichuan became one of the provinces with the largest number of Hakkas in mainland China. Luodai Ancient Town is the most complete ancient Hakka town near Chengdu, with rich Hakka culture.

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? The so-called "one street and seven lanes", this "one street" is the main street at your feet, consisting of upper street and lower street, with a length of more than one kilometer.

? The bluestone road is uneven, and the North Alley, Fengyi Alley, Huaishu Alley, Jiangxi Huiguan Alley, Chaishi Alley, Mancaoyan Alley and Fanshi Alley on both sides of the street are called "Seven Alleys". "Alleys" are criss-crossed with rich spatial changes. There are many shops and restaurants on the streets, and they are full of fireworks.

? The most famous buildings in the ancient town are the "Four Grand Halls" (Guangdong Hall, Huguang Hall, Jiangxi Hall, and Sichuan North Hall), all of which are national key cultural relics protection units.

Among the four major halls, the Guangdong Guild Hall (also known as "Nanhua Palace") is one of the largest and best-preserved guild halls in the country, covering a total area of ??3044.75 square meters. The guild hall faces south and has a symmetrical layout along the central axis. It was first built in the 10th year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1746) and rebuilt in the 9th year of Guangxu reign (1883). Its wind and fire wall architectural style is extremely unique and rare in Sichuan. The Cantonese who immigrated to the Chengdu Plain during the Qing Dynasty regarded this place as a contact point for entering Sichuan.

? In Chengdu, there is no shortage of places to drink tea. It was still early, and there was a teahouse in the large courtyard of the Guangdong Guild Hall, so I sat down to enjoy tea and meditate. This is an indispensable part of travel, because traveling is not about walking around in a hurry, nor is it about rushing to work. Only when you relax can you have a relaxed mind. If you feel sorry for the money for tea, you will lose a lot for a small amount of money.

? The Huguang Guild Hall (also known as the "Yu Palace") was built in the eighth year of Qianlong's reign (1743) in the Qing Dynasty. It was built with donations from immigrants from Huguang (Hunan, Hubei). It was destroyed by fire in the first year of the Republic of China (1912) and rebuilt the next year. The guild hall faces south and is slightly smaller than the Guangdong Guild Hall. The archway, ear tower, stage, middle and back halls, empty front yard and wing rooms on both sides, verandahs, east and west courtyards and backyards are all well preserved and decorated with gold. There is a Sichuan Hakka Museum in the Huguang Guild Hall, so it is not open on Mondays. The day I went happened to be a Monday, so I could only take a look at the exterior.

? The Jiangxi Guild Hall (also known as the "Wanshou Palace"), which was built in the 11th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1746, some say it was built in 1753), is much smaller, covering a total area of ??1185 square meters, but it is extremely large. Exquisite. The guild hall is a complex courtyard layout, consisting of a large stage, a residence, an archway, three front, middle and back halls, and a small stage. Especially the small stage protruding from the patio between the middle and back halls has a unique concept and is very popular among guild halls everywhere. Rare. The wooden components of each hall in the guild hall are exquisitely carved and unique.

There is an old banyan tree outside the back door of the guild hall, which was planted when the guild hall was built.

The four guild halls closely connect the Hakkas from Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and other places who have left their hometowns.

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In addition to the four grand halls, there are more than 50 Hakka exhibition halls, ancestral halls and many Hakka houses in Luodai Ancient Town, which can be called the "Grand View Garden" of ancient Chinese architecture. ".

? Among the existing Hakka residences in Luodai, the earliest and most complete one is the Wu Family Dafudi. This is a Guangdong Hakka-style residential mansion. The first owner is Wu Zuojiang, the second generation of the Wu family who came to Sichuan from Wuhua County, Meizhou, Guangdong. He was named Fengzhi Doctor by Emperor Jiaqing. He built this big house, so it is called "Da Fu Di".

? The Wu Family Palace was built from the Qianlong period to the early Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. It consists of large and small duplex courtyards, which are well-proportioned. The entire building complex is arranged symmetrically with the gate as the central axis. After entering the gate, there are the hall, the courtyard dam, the front, middle and back halls, the east and west flower halls, wing rooms, the street and halls, and then there is an attached small courtyard with small patios. With a large patio and a large courtyard connected to a small courtyard, it is very unique. In the past, there were bamboo groves and woods outside the gate, and the gate was covered in thick shade.

? Walking to Fengyi Lane, you will find a garden full of shade. This is a Hakka park built in 1928. It was built by Liu Hui'an, a Hakka from Meizhou, Guangdong, who invited Mr. ***, a squire from Luodai, to jointly fund the construction, covering an area of ??60 acres. Later, buildings such as the "June Teahouse" tea shed, Ningcui Building, and Eting were built in the park, which are still well preserved. There is a "women's tea house" in the tea shed for Hakka women to drink tea and chat. It is unique because it does not accept male guests. Hakka Park has always been a place for leisure and entertainment for town residents. In the tea shed, locals drink tea and chat leisurely.

? The place where Hakka people worship Buddha in the ancient town is Randen Temple. This is an ancient temple built in the Sui Dynasty and declined during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, with the large-scale migration of Hakka people, the practice of worshiping Buddha became popular, and the ancient temples were restored, repaired and rebuilt, making them large, solemn and majestic.

? The existing Shanmen (including the East Tower), Chuanzhu Hall, Bell and Drum Tower, Empress Hall, Main Hall (Luohan Hall), Guanyin Hall, Randen Ancient Buddha Hall, etc. in Randen Temple. Compared to Hakka Park, this place is much cleaner.

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? What brings together Hakka people from all over the world are the delicacies and various Hakka cultures that exude a strong sense of nostalgia.

? The most famous delicacy in Luodai Town is "smoked goose", which was created by the Hakka people who moved to Sichuan and passed down by the Hakka people in Luodai Town. The production process of scalded goose is quite complicated, including slaughtering, pickling, hanging, smoking, braised and deep-frying. It requires seven or eight steps and takes more than 10 hours.

? Swan eggs, a Hakka snack, are soaked in glutinous rice, ground and fermented for a certain period of time, wrapped in brown sugar or bean paste, deep-fried in a large iron pan, taken out and then wrapped Sesame and white sugar, burnt on the outside and waxy on the inside.

In the eyes of Hakka people, swans are auspicious and happy animals. Hakka people are worried that swan eggs will be stolen, so they eat "swan eggs" as a snack to protect wild swans.

? In Luodai, there are snack shops one after another in the streets and alleys, selling more than 20 kinds of Hakka delicacies such as scalded goose, swan eggs, sad jelly, noodle soup, etc. There are no two or three days when you can’t eat them all. .

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? Walking in the ancient streets and alleys of Luodai is like slowly opening a history of Hakka migration. So many Hakkas left their hometowns and gathered on the Chengdu Plain. , taking root and multiplying here, and inheriting Hakka culture, this is a miracle in itself.

? The ancestors of the residents of Luodai Ancient Town came from all over the world, so it is an exaggeration to say that tourists who come to Luodai, no matter where they come from, can find nostalgia here.