Zhejiang Zouma, 5. Yantou Town of Nanxi River

5. Yantou Town of Nanxi River

Yantou Town is the tourist distribution center of Nanxi River Scenic Area. The Nanxi River flows through the east side of the town. There is a Lishui Ancient Street in the town. There are several famous ancient villages around it, such as Cangpo Village, Furong Village, etc., and Shiweiyan, Daruoyan, Several major attractions such as Yongjia Academy are also around Yantou Town. There are multiple shuttle buses to various scenic spots in the town every day.

According to the advance plan, I was going to stay in Yantou Town for one night. Only in this way can my travel plan in Nanxi River Scenic Area be completed. In the plan, in addition to Lishui Street, Cangpo Village, and Furong Village in Yantou Town, I also want to visit at least two of the three scenic spots: Shiweiyan, Daruoyan, and Yongjia Academy. So, tonight, I have to rush to Yantou Town no matter what.

Take the free bus to the train station at the Yandang Mountain Tourist Distribution Center. Following the driver's instructions, we got off the bus at an intersection and boarded a bus bound for Yueqing County.

Chatting with the driver in the car, I asked him a very confusing question: Yandang Mountain Scenic Area and Nanxi River Scenic Area both belong to Wenzhou City, why are there no direct buses between them?

The driver said: The road between Yandang Mountain and Nanxi River has been repaired long ago. Most of the people on this road are self-driving tourists. The intersection we just passed is the entrance to Yannan Highway. If you take Didi from there to Nanxi River, you'll be there in one hour. It is said that Wenzhou City has been considering opening a bus between Yandang Mountain and Nanxi River, but has not implemented it. Maybe there is no demand. Local residents rarely travel between Yandang Mountain and Nanxi River. And tourists from other places basically drive by themselves. There are very few people like you who carry a backpack and take public transportation.

What about the students? When students go out to play during the holidays, don’t they always carry a backpack and take the bus? I said.

The driver looked back at me: The students have plenty of time. After they visit Yandang Mountain, they can easily return to Wenzhou. The next day we went from Wenzhou to Nanxi River.

When the bus arrived in Yueqing, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon. The earliest shuttle bus from Yueqing Bus Station to Oubei is at 4:30, and the fare is 16 yuan.

Ask the ticket seller at Yueqing Bus Station: It is about 20 kilometers from Yueqing to Oubei. Can I catch the bus from Oubei to Nanxijiang by taking the 4:30 bus?

Reply: The bus from Oubei to Nanxijiang should stop at 5:30. At this time, there was heavy traffic jam on the road from Yueqing to Oubei. Under normal circumstances, you should not be able to catch the bus from Oubei to Nanxijiang.

After hearing this, my whole body immediately felt like a deflated ball and wilted. what to do? We could only stay in Oubei and leave early the next morning.

As the ticket seller expected, there was a traffic jam all the way from Yueqing to Yongjia and Oubei. When we arrived in Oubei, it was almost 7pm and it was already dark.

No way. Carrying a bag alone, I walked around Oubei Bus Station, had dinner, and found an inn to stay.

Although I have been walking for a day, I am already tired. But maybe it was too early and I couldn't sleep. I had no choice but to get under the covers, turn on my phone, and study the environment and traffic conditions of Oubei and Yantou Town in detail on the Gaode map.

Oubei is a town under the jurisdiction of Yongjia County, separated from Wenzhou City by the Oujiang River. Cars from Yongjia County to surrounding villages and towns, as well as other counties and cities all start here. The drive from Oubei to Yantou Town takes about an hour, and the ticket is eight yuan.

In Yantou Town, a short walk after getting off the bus is Lishui Ancient Street. After visiting Lishui Ancient Street, you can take a Jingjiao bus that costs 2 yuan per person to go to Cangpo Ancient Village. After visiting Cangpo Ancient Village, take the Jingjiao bus directly to Furong Ancient Village. After visiting Furong Ancient Village, the bus to Shiweiyan leaves next to the village.

One night I was thinking about charging my mobile phone and power bank. I got up at six o'clock in the morning, had breakfast at the door, and went to the bus station to ask. The bus to Yantou Town would not leave until seven o'clock.

After buying the ticket, we took the bus and waited. I didn't seem to sleep well last night. I closed my eyes unconsciously while sitting in the car.

I squinted and huffed, only to feel the car start, swaying all the way, suddenly stopping, Yantou Town had arrived.

I got out of the car and saw that the time was not yet eight o'clock. Walking forward to the Lishui Street entrance, I saw that no one was working at the ticket sales area, and all the checkpoints entering and exiting the street were open. So, I was secretly happy, haha, I saved the ticket money!

The most important building on Lishui Street is a 300-meter-long stretch of two- or three-story old houses along the river. The side facing the water is all covered with wooden corridors, and there are beautiful people on the corridor. Damn, it’s very convenient and comfortable for tourists to rest and enjoy the scenery. Both sides of the river are entirely made of pebbles. In the gaps between the pebbles, the osmanthus trees leaning towards the water are blooming with clusters of yellow flowers, and the rich fragrance penetrates the hearts of tourists. It is said that this wooden promenade of more than 300 meters along the water was rebuilt in previous years. In the past, Yantou Town did have such a promenade on the shore of Lishui, but it was long ago and completely destroyed.

At the end of the corridor, there is a wooden courtyard, the East Ancestral Hall. There is a description on the wall of this East Ancestral Hall that at that time, more than 20 Red Army soldiers were fired upon by government troops with machine guns in this courtyard. Now, this East Ancestral Hall is regarded as a revolutionary monument.

On the shore of Lishui, there are pavilions, old trees with moss-covered trunks, people fishing, and village women washing themselves by the river. On the other side, a man pushed a cart across the stone bridge. The Lishui River flows quietly, and the waterwheel on the riverside squeaks and turns. A yellow dog hurries over, stops, barks at the river twice, then turns and runs away...

There are several vegetable fields beside the river, and beside the vegetable fields are several farmhouses. The courtyard walls are made of large pebbles, the walls of the houses are also painted with white ash, and the roofs are made of dark tiles. There is an orange tree sticking out from the short pebble wall, and the branches are covered with big yellow oranges.

Isn't this what Tao Yuanming wrote about "a square house with more than ten acres and eight or nine thatched houses. The back eaves are shaded by elms and willows, and the peach and plum blossoms are in front of the hall. The distant village is warm and the smoke is in the ruins. The dog barks deep in the alley. Is it the scene of roosters crowing on the top of the mulberry trees?

At the end of the pebbled Lishui River, there is a two-story small building with cornices built on a high pebble embankment. There is a plaque on the small building: Xishan No. 1 Library. Next to this small building is a courtyard gate with high stone steps. There are three words "Wen Zai Zi" on the forehead, and there are couplets on both sides: Renshan is half Guoxiu, and Zhishui is clear in a pool. On the hill behind the small building, there is also an exquisite pagoda, Wenfeng Pagoda.

The people living here should all be practitioners of the ideal pastoral life of ancient Chinese Confucianism! It is said that farming and reading will last for a long time, and poetry and books will last for a long time. When can I live here for a few years?

This Lishui Street Scenic Area is actually very small, covering only the two sides of the 300-meter-long Lishui River. Even if you walk slowly and look carefully, it won't take you an hour. Coincidentally, at this time, a Jingjiao bus drove over, got on, and the next stop was Cangpo Ancient Village.