The ancient town that was founded because of salt 1: Zizhong Luoquan

One year I went to Zizhong County, Sichuan to see an old friend, and when I came back I went to Luoquan Ancient Town.

I chose to go to Luoquan because I read an article published in the 2011 issue 3 of National Geographic: A city born of salt - the crystallization of salt civilization. In one section, "Luocheng and Luoquan - a city inspired by salt," in addition to mentioning Luocheng, a boat-shaped ancient town located in the southeast of Leshan City, Sichuan, it also mentions Luoquan, which is known as the "No. 1 Dragon Town in Central Sichuan" . Originally I wanted to go to Luocheng, but decided to go to Zizhong, and finally chose to go to Luoquan because of the opportunity.

There are several reasons: one is that my ancestors made their fortune in salt wells, and the other is that my first job was to go to Xinjiang to collect and transport industrial salt for Sichuan (originally at the Chengdu Salt Industry Shipping and marketing station work). What’s more, these two ancient towns that were named after salt actually have the same surname as me! And it is the right time to go to Dragon Town in the Year of the Dragon.

Okay, without further ado, here are the pictures and stories I took and wrote during my trip to Luoquan Ancient Town. I want to use the lens to interpret the parts and details of the ancient town, so that bloggers can have a different feeling. :

1. A regrettable encounter that I have to mention here is: from the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway to Luoquan Town, there are two intersections where you can get off the expressway, one is from the direction of Chengdu to the foot of Qiuxi River , 22 kilometers to Luoquan Town; the other is from Chongqing to Zizhong to Yuxixia, 11 kilometers from Zizhong, and 39 kilometers from Longjie Town to Luoquan Town. The road from Yuxi Town to Longjie Town and then to Luoquan Town is difficult to describe; from Luoquan Town to Qiuxi Town, the road is so bad that it is deeply disgusting. Especially in the main towns of Longjie Town and Yuxi Town, the main roads are all bad. The road block in the middle is like a fish scale, and the sides are sunken. There is mud and water everywhere, making it difficult for cars to pass. Fortunately, my car is a quasi-off-road vehicle with a high chassis, but it bumps and jumps a lot. Sometimes I have to use first gear to drive, and it shakes like a boat, and the steering wheel shakes violently. What I fear most is that the wheel will get stuck or punctured or the car will be damaged and break down. This makes my wife worried and makes me panic after experiencing the excitement of off-roading for the first time. It is said that heavy trucks (such as those from a cement factory) crushed the road surface, and it has never been repaired. It seems that this area was relatively backward at that time, and in such an environment, there would be no investment. The ancient town has not been well developed and does not look like what is advertised on the Internet (of course, if you have special purposes and complexes, that is another matter).

However, I have another self-comfort and sincere words: I have experienced a real off-road! This gave me the pleasure of conquest and the achievement of control. value!

Of course, it is a pity to "experience" off-roading on rural roads in China's villages and towns...

2. Luoquan Ancient Town is located in Renshou, Weiyuan and Zizhong, Sichuan Hidden in the deep hills at the junction of the three counties is the Zhuxi River, a tributary of the Tuojiang River.

3. It is famous for the discovery of salt wells in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Luoquan Town was crowded with merchants and extremely lively. But now there is only one well-preserved Salt Temple left, revealing the desolation of ancient times. 4. Zizhong Luoquan Town is one of the 100 thousand-year-old ancient towns in the country and a famous historical and cultural town in Sichuan Province. Luoquan is also known as "Luoquan Well". According to the "Zizhong County Chronicle", the ancient town of Luoquan has a history of more than 1,700 years.

5. It is 50 kilometers west of Zizhong City and 17 kilometers away from Qiuxi Station of Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway. Shuttle buses are convenient to come and go, and driving in and out is quick.

6. The rise of Luoquan is inseparable from the salt mining industry in Luoquan. According to the "Salt Law Chronicles", "Zizhou Luoquan Well is an ancient factory and was founded in Qin." It can be seen from this that Luoquan The town has a very long history. After expansion in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, Luoquan Town had begun to take shape during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. In the eighth year of Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Luoquan branch of Zizhou was established.

7. The origin of Luoquan Town.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Kong Ming, the Prime Minister of Shu, set up camp in Luoquan Town during his southern expedition. Due to continuous drought and no rain, water sources on the mountain were extremely scarce. Kong Ming then sent troops to dig wells on the banks of the Zhuxi River to collect water. It only took a few days. , the well was dug successfully, and spring water gushes from the bottom of the well.

Kong Ming was overjoyed when he received the report of the soldiers. He went to the well to inspect it in person and saw that the water in the well was clear and transparent. He immediately ordered Wei Gong to get some water and try it out. After Wei Gong drank the water, he felt very good. It was presented to Kongming for tasting. After Kongming drank it, he became spiritually inspired. He saw spring water gushing out of the well, which was as big as a basket, so he named the well Luoquan Well. Later, in the Qing Dynasty, a government official named Luo was dissatisfied with the fact that a state official named Zhu in Zizhou was more senior than him and was weighing down on him, so he removed the bamboo head on the basket, shortened it to "Luo", and named "Luo Quanjing" as "Luo Quanjing". The place name was used, and later the word "well" was removed, and it was commonly known as Luoquan. At that time, Kong Mingjun dug four large wells at one time. Namely; Osmanthus Well (opposite Luoquan Primary School), Dam Well (under Lianxin Bridge), Huayuan Well (above Aizi Bridge), Guanyin Well (opposite Guanyin Tuo).

8. Kong Ming’s troops had been stationed on Yingpan Mountain for more than two years and needed to purchase a large amount of daily necessities, but there was no market. Kong Ming once sent troops in turns to help the people build markets. At first, only about 50 households moved into the market. Later, during the boom period, there were more than 100 households. People named this market "Luo Quanjing".

9. China’s only Salt Temple is located in Luoquan Town, Zizhong County, a provincial-level historical and cultural city in Sichuan. Walk into the five-mile long street paved with bluestones, cross the antique Zilai Bridge, and turn the corner to the Salt Temple located on Hedong Street. The Salt Temple is the only temple in China used to commemorate and worship the Salt God. As early as the Qin Dynasty, there were many derricks and salt stoves at the bottom of the mountain stream in Luoquan Town, becoming one of the bases for salt production in the "Land of Abundance".

10. Its history of salt production is more than 500 years earlier than that of the salt capital Zigong. The development of salt industry in Luoquan Town has gone through the Han, Three Kingdoms, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. Keep evolving. By the Qing Dynasty, the development of the salt industry in Luoquan Town reached its peak. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there were 1,515 salt wells in Luoquan Town. The salt produced in Luoquan Town won the gold medal at the Paris World Expo in 1925, and its quality was known throughout the world. First. At that time, Luoquan merchants gathered together, horses neighed and mules barked, and it was very lively. The local Salt Temple is the best witness.

11. More than ten thick wooden pillars support the ancient temple.

12. The Salt Temple covers an area of ??more than 2,700 square meters. It was built in the seventh year of Yongzheng reign in the Qing Dynasty. The main hall was built in Taoist style. The stage was built in the seventh year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty and was built in Buddhist style. The box house is built in Confucian style. The Salt Temple combines three architectural styles. It is currently the most well-protected temple. In the center of the Salt Temple is a theater dam of more than 600 square meters, all paved with bluestone slabs, which can accommodate thousands of people watching the opera. From the big theater dam to the main hall, there are 13 Stepping up the stone stairs, these mottled stone stairs still record the former glory of the Salt Temple.

13. In the main hall of the temple, Guan Zhong is worshiped as the God of Salt, while Guan Yu and the God of Fire accompany Guan Zhong as his assistants. The entire Salt Temple has three levels of double eaves, high wing angles, double dragons playing with pearls, or golden phoenixes playing with phoenixes, all of which are carved and painted; the temple hall, the flowered windows of the wooden floor, or the vertical and horizontal beams are all uncanny workmanship. The roof of the main hall is the highlight of the whole temple and has the "finishing point" effect. Four giant colorful dragons, each ten meters long, are wrapped around the main ridge. The two colorful dragons in the middle stretch out their beards, their eyes wide open, and their mouths open like basins as they rush towards the treasure gourd.

14. The front of the main spine is densely covered with warped corners, and there is a bell hanging on each corner. The wind blows all night, and the ringing sound is melodious, like a sweet and moving piece of music, attracting the ridge. Many dragons, phoenixes, tigers, leopards and other birds and beasts of different shapes stopped and listened. The entire temple top seemed like a paradise for good animals and birds, like a paradise for birds and beasts to celebrate spring. The wing corners are raised high, and the dragons on the roof of the main hall are playing and grabbing the treasure map. They are still lifelike even after a hundred years of wind and rain.

15. The Salt Temple was built in the seventh year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1868 AD). The Salt Temple is an important symbol of the ancient town's former glory.

16. The Salt Temple, with three levels of double eaves and high wing angles, is a large courtyard layout covering an area of ??1,964 square meters and a construction area of ??2,700 square meters. The wild grass on the eaves swaying in the wind seems to tell the long history of the ancient town.

17. After entering the temple, you pass the old stage and arrive at the empty square in front of the temple. The surrounding turrets, side rooms, and corridors have lost their former color after the erosion of time.

18. Nowadays, the Salt Temple has become a gathering place for people in the ancient town. People sit lazily on the stone steps of the Salt Temple hall and bask in the sun.

19. Climb up the steps to the main hall. Through the courtyard of the main hall, you can clearly see the white clouds floating in the blue sky.

20. Wanshou Palace is located on Laojiezi Street.

21. It was built in the Qing Dynasty with a construction area of ??710 square meters. It is composed of theater building, wing rooms and main hall.

22. In order to build a house with a wooden structure, I made hollow carvings for the interior. The workmanship is exquisite and the carving content is rich and colorful. Present but now intact.

23. Zi Lai Qiao. There is a dragon at the head of the bridge located on Laojiezi Street. It was built in the Ming Dynasty and is 50 meters long. It is a stone arch bridge. The dragon head and Pixiu symbolize good luck and peace. To the east of "Zilai Bridge" is the Salt Temple and to the west is the Chenghuang Temple. There was no "Zilai Bridge" before, and the access road connecting the two sides of the Zhuxi River was just a simple "water-stepping bridge". The "Treading Water Bridge" was built in the 42nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1564 AD). Later, due to the large number of merchants coming and going, mules, horses, merchants, and porters had to wade across the bridge and stumble. Horses and porters traveling here in a hurry often get seriously ill if they step on water and cross the bridge.

24. At that time, Zhang Shaomu, the official of the Luoquanjing Salt Farm, realized the sufferings of the people and thought about the strategy of rebuilding the Tashui Bridge. Because the cost of rebuilding the bridge was huge, it was difficult for the lawsuit government to allocate enough silver, so Zhang Shaomu convened salt merchants and stove workers to discuss. The rich contributed money and the powerful contributed. The general raised more than 3,000 taels of silver and more than 5,000 workers. It took half a year to build a 40-meter-long and 12-meter-wide castle. Large stone bridge. When the stone bridge was completed, Zhang Shaomu invited people from the Zhao palace in Zizhou to come and step on the bridge (i.e. cut the ribbon). When Zhao received the invitation, his wife was full-term pregnant. That night, he dreamed that his wife had given birth to a chubby son. The next day, Zhao officials came When Luo Quan stepped on the bridge, he named the stone bridge "Zilai Bridge". This day is AD 1796, the 13th day of the twelfth lunar month.

25. In 1985, due to the rise of the river bed and the large and dense piers of the "Zilai Bridge", which prevented the river from overflowing, Luoquan Well was often flooded. In addition, due to the perennial erosion of the river, the bridge foundation was ruined and the stone was damaged. The bridge is in danger of collapsing. To this end, Luoquan Town demolished the old bridge and rebuilt a new one. While repairing the Jiuzilai Bridge, we were preparing to hoist up the dragon heads (lions and unicorns) that fell into the river during the floods in 1934. The blue sky, white clouds, and clear sky suddenly suddenly changed. Suddenly there was thunder and lightning, and heavy rain poured down. . A stream of green smoke emerged from Shilong's head. According to legend, the dragon spirit who guarded the bridge went to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor, and with approval he continued to guard the Zi Lai Bridge. After receiving the imperial edict, Lao Long is still sitting faithfully at both ends of the "Zilai Bridge". He carefully looks at the creatures coming and going from north to south.

26. Luoquan Conference Site.

(The same below)

The years are long and the years are fleeting. The former site of the Luoquanjing Conference, which has been recorded in the annals of history and immortalized in history, remains unchanged and has become a historic site for the world to appreciate and remember the past. It has been designated as a "provincial cultural relic protection unit" by the Sichuan Provincial People's Government.

27. Hu Fanqu Academy. Located on Laojiezi Street 1, it was built in the Qing Dynasty and has a construction area of ??900 square meters.

28. Typical courtyard style, one floor and one bottom structure. There are shops in the front, bell tower and library in the middle, and residences in the back. Now well preserved.

29. The old man who guards the academy. Due to poor tourism development in the ancient town, almost all "attractions" are closed to visitors, and the academy is no exception. When we first entered through a narrow passage after being directed by someone, we met an old man coming out of the cupboard holding a steaming steaming cake. We asked him to sell some to us, but he said, "No. You can take it and eat it." We were very hungry, so we were very grateful to him. The leaf cake is very fragrant, and there is old wax meat in it. Seeing that we really wanted to go in and see the academy, we went to get the key, but we couldn't find it. Finally, I went to find Tie Zhan and a hammer and tried to break the lock, but it still didn't work. We couldn't bear this and asked Big Brother to stop. He felt a little ashamed and took the initiative to take us to the "Luoquan Conference Site" and opened the door for us.

30. Luoquan Ancient Town has a five-mile long street with ten bends and nine twists. It looks like a dragon lying beside the river, so it has the reputation of "the first dragon town in Sichuan".

Women like to busy themselves with their needlework in intimate chats. Old people drink tea and listen to operas, and the warm sunshine shines on their contented faces.

31. There are more than a dozen teahouses on the five-mile-long old street alone, and business is quite prosperous. In any teahouse here, you can drink bowl-covered tea while setting up the dragon gate array. Listen to the old people talking about the glorious yesterday of the ancient town in authentic Tianfu dialect.

32. Walk through the ancient streets and temples of the ancient town, and enter the leisurely atmosphere of the ancient town in the winding green-tiled wooden rooms.

33. You will feel that the people of Luoquan who have gone through vicissitudes of life are hardworking, simple, honest and generous.

Later I went to Luoquan Ancient Town again. The scene was about the same. The difference was that in order to develop tourism in the ancient town, the old streets were being renovated and all roads were paved with stone strips.

The residents of Luoquan Old Town in Zizhong live a peaceful life.

I was very curious about that old thing called the oven basket, and I stretched out my hand to see if it was warm.

The old woman said embarrassedly: "Don't laugh at me."

Because no one uses this now, and the neighbors all use electric heaters!

(The following pictures have been photoshopped into old photos since the second one)

(Some emoticons come from the Internet and scenic spot introductions)