The “Potala Palace” in northern Shaanxi—Chiniuquan

Chiniupo

Chiniupo is a natural village in Keng Town, Jiaxian County, deep in the mountains 40 kilometers south of Jiaxian County. The village is in a mountain nest shaped like a lotus, and the cave dwellings are formed in a small circle along the mountain wall like lotus petals. The village is extremely small, small and exquisite.

The ancient folk cave dwellings in Chiniuquan are built on a cliff protruding south of the mouth of the ditch. The cliff is called Niuling. The ancestors of Chiniupuo took advantage of the mountain and built a group of cave dwellings that are stacked on top of each other and shaped like a honeycomb. The cave dwellings are shaped like wedges, wedged firmly on the mouth of Niuling Mountain. With the increasing population and the great improvement of living standards, modern villagers have successively built layers and layers of new cave dwellings around the cliffs of the mountain nests. The new cave dwelling is spacious and bright, while the old cave dwelling is simple and compact. The new residence and the ancient residence are closely surrounded and integrated into one.

In recent years, in order to build a folk village, villagers have filled in the ditch in the center of the village and created a small flat land. The east side of the flat land is backed by a mountain. Due to the mountain's influence, a large performing arts stage and an ornamental pool were built. The west side of the flat land is adjacent to the mouth of the ditch. The terrain is relatively wide and flat, and it is built as a square. The small square can be used as a place for daily leisure, entertainment and exercise for villagers. During holidays when the number of tourists increases, it can also be used for villagers to set up stalls and sell specialties. The road in the village is to the south of the square. There is a very wide flood diversion channel on the roadside. The flood diversion channel is covered with a vault. It is probably for decoration and for the convenience of dredging. A short section of open channel is left beside the square stand. Two exquisite and elegant jade arch bridges were built on the canal, embellishment of the small square with a western style and handsomeness.

Walking into Niuling Scenic Area, you will find that the architecture of Niuling Ancient Residence is very strange.

First of all, the location is odd. Niuling Ancient Residence is built on a cliff facing the sky on three sides and connected to the mountain on one side. The cliff facing the sky looks like the head of an old turtle sticking out, and the layers of buildings are like a pile of gold coins carried by the old turtle. Perhaps the ancestors of Chiniugao took a fancy to this geomantic treasure land, which symbolized longevity and longevity, so they worked hard to build layers of cave dwellings on this steep cliff, where they settled down and thrived.

Secondly, the ancient cave dwellings are densely built, which is beyond imagination. Only the top of a small hill in Niuling is densely packed with more than 300 cave dwellings. The cave dwellings are densely packed but not crowded, neat and orderly but not chaotic. Moreover, there is an exquisite and elegant small garden pavilion built on the top of the mountain, which decorates the entire Niuling. It looks like a palace, so it is often affectionately praised by tourists as the "Potala Palace in northern Shaanxi".

The third is the wonderful architectural design. All cave dwellings are stacked on the cliff at the top of the mountain, with a height of six stories, and the functions of the cave dwellings are also different. The sunny side and the first floor are mostly residential, and the cave dwellings are built high and deep. The back side is shady, and the second and third floors are mostly storage rooms for daily necessities. The building is slightly shallower and lower. The upper level is the livestock breeding and farm tool storage room. The building is even shallower and lower, and can only allow people to enter with their heads lowered. The uppermost level is It is a spacious and bright room for grain storage and processing.

The fourth is the odd design of the doors and windows of the residential cave dwellings. The residential cave dwelling is designed with two doors, inside and outside. The first door is the outer door, which is connected to the window and the door. The interior is empty without furniture or daily necessities. There is a passage between the legs of the kiln. All the cave dwellings are connected to each other, just like the corridors of wealthy people. The second gate is also a door with a window, which is the same as the first gate, dividing the inside and outside into two rooms. The inner room has a kang, a stove, a pot table, furniture, stoves, and daily utensils. The caves inside are also connected by aisles, and the rooms are connected.

The fifth is the wonderful idea of ??cave dwelling construction. After exiting the first floor and going up to the second floor, each floor is connected to the left and right, and the top and bottom are connected, like a maze world. You can enter from any door, follow the aisle inside, or straighten your back or cat Bend your waist and walk slowly step by step. You don't need to look back or go out. You can reach the top floor without anyone noticing.

Sixth, the overall building drainage design is amazing. Rainwater from all buildings in Niuling Ancient Residence can be drained on outdoor ramps. The outdoor ramp is very steep, with two corners on each floor. There is a circular drainage hole at the corner of each floor. The drainage hole goes vertically downwards and leads directly to the square flood diversion channel. There is rarely any open water on the ground. The drainage holes and openings are built to be large enough to accommodate people, which can prevent debris from blocking and allow smooth drainage of extremely large flash floods.

Perhaps it is because of such smooth drainage facilities that this ancient building has been able to avoid being washed away by rain for hundreds of years and stand intact on the cliff.

Walk slowly through the cave dwellings in Niuling Scenic Area, quietly admire the wonderful architecture, and savor the musty smell of the cave dwellings. You will be surprised to find that the cave dwellings in Niuling There are many little-known touching stories hidden deep in the mottled walls, or lying quietly on the old window lattice. Listen quietly and chew carefully, these stories have the fragrance of being old-fashioned and have the vicissitudes of time. They are thought-provoking and deeply touching.

The terrain of Chiniuqiao is amazing. Chiniupuo is composed of the mouths of two mountains. Ancient buildings are built on the cliffs hanging in the south. The ancient road into the village climbs up from the cliffs of the deep ditch. The plateau on the top of the mountain is within easy reach. The advantage of this choice of housing is that it not only reduces the labor intensity of farming in the mountains to the greatest extent, but also prevents the intrusion of bandits to the greatest extent. Legend has it that the ancient residence of Chiniugao was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and has a history of nearly 600 years. Personnel has changed several times, and wars have ignited across the land of northern Shaanxi countless times, but these buildings are still intact as before. One cannot help but admire the superhuman vision and wisdom of the people who chose this Feng Shui treasure land at that time.

The folk custom exhibits in Chiniuqo Folk Village are very rich. The Folk Village has three exhibition areas, each with a different theme. A large exhibition area, many exhibition rooms, rich display content, and a considerable number of exhibits are another feature of Chiniupuo Folk Village.

The theme of the first exhibition area is "Fireworks for People". This exhibition area is closely adjacent to Niuling Scenic Area. In the recessed area to the east of Niuling, the overall architectural style imitates the ancient residence of Niuling, with up to four floors and a tall and spacious cave dwelling. What is mainly shown here is the daily life scenes of people in mountainous areas, such as steaming steamed buns and drying noodles, twisting threads and weaving, spring planting and autumn harvest, and drying and drying crops. Common crops cultivated by people in mountainous areas are also displayed here, such as red dates, hemp, millet, millet, grain, etc. Here you can feel the fiery life of farming families in the mountainous areas and people's diligent pursuit and yearning for a better and happy life.

The second exhibition area is the "Museum". The "museum" is built on Beishanzui opposite Niuling Scenic Area. This exhibition area has three floors, each floor has more than ten cave dwellings, and most of the items on display are the daily life and labor supplies of farmers. Entering the exhibition room, the cave is deep and wide, and the rooms are connected. The exhibits piled up are complex and numerous, old and rare, such as farming tools, hunting tools, handmade workshop tools, and daily necessities. The types are rich and comprehensive. It is said that there are as many as More than 30,000 pieces. It is indeed not easy for a mountainous rural area to collect such a rich collection of old objects.

The third exhibition area is located on the flat land at the foot of Beishan. It consists of seven-hole cave dwellings and mainly displays seven types of handicraft workshop life of mountain people. Through the orderly placement of old objects, the exhibition room three-dimensionally presents the various technological processes of handicraft workshops in mountainous areas in the old days, such as vinegar making, printing and dyeing, papermaking, felt rolling, transportation vehicle making, etc.

After visiting Chiniuqua Folk Village, I couldn’t help but admire the Chiniuqua Folk Village’s unique architecture, unique location, and rich exhibits. I also admired the diligence and wisdom of the ancient ancestors of Chiniuqua. I also appreciate the fighting spirit of the descendants of Chi Niugao for not forgetting their ancestors, carrying on the past and forging ahead, and forging ahead. It is precisely because of the Chinese nation's spirit of carrying forward the past and forging ahead into the future, of tenacious struggle and hard work from generation to generation that the five thousand years of civilization can continue to this day and the Chinese dream can come true.

Goodbye, Chiniuqo.

Goodbye, the "Potala Palace" in northern Shaanxi, I hope your tomorrow will be more beautiful and better.