Hongqi Canal, Guabi Road, Hongshi Gorge, smooth travel in South Taihang Part 5: Xiyagou

After coming down from Wangmangling and returning to the farmhouse, the boss happened to be there, so he asked if he could take us to Xiyagou. He said yes, 200. It was a bit dark, so we got on his micro-face and headed to Xiyagou. Yagou.

Xiyagou Scenic Area is located in the deep valley with a drop of more than 1,000 meters around the southern end of Wangmangling Scenic Area. Xiyaguabi Road is known as a wonder of the world. The total area is about 15 square kilometers.

This is the stone pillar on the road into Xiyagou.

Since ancient times, the people in the ditch have been almost isolated from the outside world due to the dangerous terrain around them. In the 1960s, they refused to be isolated and declared war on the mountains. After 30 years of unremitting efforts, they finally carved a tunnel on the cliff. A 7.5-kilometer-long zigzag wall-mounted road.

Stop at the entrance of the tunnel to take photos. Parking and walking are not allowed in the tunnel.

From 1962 to 1992, they refused to be left behind and declared war on the mountains. In order to get out of the mountains, they relied on their own hands and worked hard for 30 years, using hammers and drills, and finally stood on the cliff. A 7.5-kilometer-long zigzag wall-mounted road was dug out.

Wall-hanging highways are dug out of cliffs. This type of project is extremely dangerous and difficult, and is rare in the history of road construction in China. In order to facilitate construction and obtain natural light after opening, wall-mounted roads are often cut close to the wall, with windows on one side more than ten meters apart. Viewed from a distance, this line of side windows outlines the direction of the tunnel.

Among the 800 miles of majestic Taihang, there are seven wall-mounted highways. Among them, the largest, longest and most spectacular one is the Xiyagou wall-mounted highway.

Looking at this miracle on earth, the shock in my heart is beyond words.

With such a spirit, all difficulties and hardships can be overcome, and all miracles in the world can be created.

Xiyagou Village is composed of 17 natural villages, with more than 200 households and more than 800 people. Their ancestors fled into the mountains during ancient times of war and famine. Here, there are four mountains, and there are cliffs all the way up and down the mountain. For thousands of years, they have lived like primitive people who fend for themselves, clearing wasteland, cultivating land, planting trees, grazing, and cutting firewood in ditches, just like a "paradise". After liberation, they also yearned for a new life, but the closed living environment prevented them from getting out of trouble. A large number of fruits rotted, and a large number of medicinal materials were soaked in manure and burned. The flocks of pigs and sheep could not be driven out of the mountains. People fell ill and died halfway through carrying them. Girls outside the mountains did not marry in, so they had to stay single except for marriage exchanges. In 1962, a deputy secretary of the county party committee came here to go to the countryside. He rode his horse to the top of the cliff and couldn't find the way down the mountain. The horse was frightened to death. After returning, he allocated 3,000 yuan to Xiyagou to build roads. From then on, they began a long and difficult road construction journey.

The first time a trail was carved out of the cliff, only the brave could walk. They tried to drive the pigs out of the mountain, but they drove 27 pigs out of the mountain and 13 of them fell to death after walking for more than a mile.

The second time, they changed the direction to build the road. Halfway through, they were unable to move forward. Instead, they attracted wolves from the mountains into the village, which was called the "Wolf Road".

The third time they built the road, they tried to dig a hole to get out, but they dug a hundred meters. The dirt was not easy to come out and the smoke could not be discharged. The technician from the Transportation Bureau said, "Based on your Xiyagou "The conditions cannot be solved in 80 years, and five generations will not benefit." As a result, the cave became a "sheep kiln."

Three ups and downs, the twenty years of struggle and exploration of the people of Xiyagou are the spiritual torture of hope and disappointment, the sweat and hard work. The three failures of road construction, Xiyagou The Gou people were not willing to give up, let alone give up. The spring breeze of reform and opening up has once again ignited the hope of Xiyagou people to leave the mountains. On January 1, 1982, the party branch once again raised the banner of road construction. They invited engineers to formulate a bold and innovative road construction plan of "following the mountain's situation, digging holes along the cliff, draining slag from skylights, and raising it with snails." In order to raise funds, they used their savings to get married, donated their dowry, donated the coffins they had prepared, and sold off their meager property. The village committee sold the collective's trees, cattle and sheep, breeding rooms, and even several offices as collateral for the loan. They are determined to fight to the death and fight to the death. They formed a party member attack team, a youth commando team, a bachelor's death team, and a women's front team. All men, women, and children in the village rushed to repair the road and created miracles on earth.

This photo shows clearly that the mountain road leads from the village and reaches the bottom of the cliff. The road was originally built to the left but failed. Later, engineers were invited and the road was built to the right.

While people marvel at the "Xiyagou spirit", they also find that this place is also a mythical paradise. In the large valley of Xiyagou, there are 17 natural villages distributed from north to south. There are many streets in the ditch, the climate is cool, chickens and dogs hear each other, and the people are simple. Houses, fences, water reels, and stone rollers all made of red stone slabs, the poetic pastoral scenery is fresh and pleasant. The magnificent mountains and rivers and the beautiful history and legends make people forget to leave.

The barrier of the mountains has also created a paradise. The valley bottom of this area is full of traffic, bridges and flowing water, green fields, simple folk customs, and beautiful natural scenery. There is a grand canyon running vertically from north to south in the village.

It is deep and long, with cliffs like screens and sandstones like vermilion.

A clear spring flows down from the wall, the sound of the waves is like thunder, the cold air is pressing up, and the clouds and mist are misty, which is spectacular.

After leaving Xiyagou, the hotel owner took us to the entrance of the Kunshan Tunnel. He said hello to the person on duty and asked us to walk in and take a look.

Go back.

After coming out of Kunshan Tunnel, I went back to the hotel to pack my luggage and go to Yuntai Mountain. Before this trip, I found on the Internet that there is a shortcut from Wangmangling to Yuntai Mountain. I consulted the hotel owner and got confirmation that it is from Xi Yagou passed through Tianjie Huilong Scenic Area and took us to the intersection to find the way. We came out of the hotel and drove to Xiyagou. We bought tickets and parking tickets at the gate of Tianjie Huilong Scenic Area and drove to Huilong Guabi Highway ( (There are no pictures to tell the truth)) We arrived at Yuntai Mountain in one hour and stayed at the foot of Yuntai Mountain that night. (When I was almost at the bottom of the mountain, I saw a wall-mounted road next to it, but I didn’t know which way it was).

In this way, of the seven hanging wall roads in Taihang Mountain, we took one by car, one on foot, one by car, and one we saw on the roadside.