How was this fairy town in Jiangsu made?

Jiulongkou, shrouded in clouds, is like a fairyland. Photography/Liu

-scenery-the treasure town of "Pearl of Kowloon"

I just heard the name of Jiulongkou, and I thought it was a military stronghold, facing a lonely desert. In fact, this domineering name refers to a small town between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Jiulong town, with an area of about 68 square kilometers, is still a secret place hidden in the boudoir of the whole country. Although it is located in the north of the Yangtze River, the scenery is no less than that of Jiangnan.

You can't imagine that thousands of years ago, the freshwater lake here was still a bay, and its plain was still below sea level; A big river from the north first struggled with the sea and then reconciled, forming a spectacle of Jiujiang meeting and "Kowloon holding pearls" in the west of Yancheng.

"Dragon Play Pearl" Landscape in Jiulongkou Wetland. Photo courtesy of jiulong town Municipal People's Government

How beautiful is Jiulongkou? The most vivid is the "Four Seasons Song" sung locally:

The "immortals" in the rivers and seas have become a "land of fish and rice"

I thought I would get some heat in the hot summer on the uncovered plain. Unexpectedly, there was a chill as soon as I entered the town, which was cooler than turning on the air conditioner indoors.

This hospitality "chill" comes from the pawnshop, which accounts for 40% of the total area of the town. Under the regulation of water body, Jiulongkou and its surrounding areas have formed a unique microclimate and a suitable summer resort.

Reed in Jiulongkou Wetland Park. Photography/Liu

Strictly speaking, from the geographical point of view, Jiulongkou, which has a Jiangnan style, is actually located in the north of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River Basin, belonging to Yancheng, the "largest city in Jiangsu" (the first administrative area in the province).

The birth of "Yancheng" is related to the famous Hongmen Banquet. In those days, Pei Gong Liu Bang, who was fearless in times of crisis, escaped the crisis under the cover of Xiang Bo. After he proclaimed himself emperor, Liu Bang remembered Xiang Bo's contribution to the rescue, named him Liu, named Sheyang Hou, and led the ancient Sheyang County, which is now the Yancheng area.

Yancheng is called "City of Hundred Rivers" because of its criss-crossing canals. Although Yancheng now faces the Yellow Sea in the east, the Yangtze River in the south and the Huaihe River in the north. We may not imagine that thousands of years ago, the land under our feet was still below sea level.

Changes of the old course of the Yellow River in past dynasties. Cartography/Chili powder

In the second year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1 128), the Yellow River seized the Huaihe River, and the original water system was disrupted, resulting in increasingly serious flooding. At the same time, a large amount of sediment brought by the Yellow River accelerated the extension of the coastline to the sea, and a huge delta was alluvial more than 70 years ago. It was not until the fifth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1855) that the Yellow River returned to the north, and this area gradually stabilized. The coastal area south of the Sheyang River estuary is still "reclaiming land from the sea" at the rate of 10 square kilometers per year.

The long history of transgression and regression has created Yancheng's coastal beaches, while the former coastline has become a land of fish and rice with rivers and lakes.

Yancheng-Ma Pingchuan, geographically belonging to Huanghuai, He Lixia and Binhai Plain, is one of the flattest areas in Jiangsu, and Jiulongkou is located in He Lixia Plain.

He Lixia Plain is located in the middle of Jiangsu Province. Cartography/Zhang Yunjin

It is named after the Li Canal in the west and the Chuanchang River in the east. In the vicissitudes of life, a large amount of sediment gradually accumulated and expanded in the shallow bay. With the transgression and regression, the shallow bay of the ancient Yellow Sea evolved into an ancient lagoon, and then under the constant scouring of rivers, the ancient lagoon evolved into a freshwater lake, of which the ancient Sheyang Lake was a part.

The change of Hufei Lake left sediment deposition and became a "sand village". The geographical location of Shacun makes it a distribution center for aquatic products and freshwater lakes, forming a market town. It was called "shaxi town" in the Ming Dynasty, and later called Shajiazhuang and Xiaoshazhuang. It was one of the twenty-seven towns in Yancheng during Guangxu period, living by the lake and reproducing from generation to generation. This environment makes Jiulongkou, located in the north of the Yangtze River, better than Jiangnan.

The rivers, wetlands, rice fields and villages in Jiulongkou are like natural oil paintings. Photography/bright sword cloudy day, picture/picture worm creativity

Collecting nine rivers, this "Dragon Ball" was summoned.

The densest water network is located in the southwest of Jiulongkou Town, where nine natural rivers meet in a lake called Beitang, forming the spectacle of "Dragon Play Pearl".

Because of its good environmental quality, Jiulongkou National Wetland Park, with a total area of about 1.32 hectares, has attracted the "Giant Panda among Birds" aurora and at least 60 other wild birds to settle here. There are seven rivers flowing into the upper reaches, four of which come from Baoying: Shanglin River, Qiangou River, Anfeng River and Xinshe River, and three from Huai 'an: Xihe River, Mohe River and Jianhe River. There are two outflow rivers downstream, namely Xianhe River and Hecheng River. The discharged water flows into the Yellow Sea through Sheyang River.

General situation of jiulong town. Cartography/Zhang Yunjin

Lake swing, grass beach and river network are intertwined, and Jiujiang Island forms the spectacle of "Dragon Play Pearl". From the air, it looks like an unfolded fan-the island is a fan nail, the seven rivers in the upper reaches are like fan bones, and the two rivers in the lower reaches are like ribbons. At the intersection of nine rivers, alluvial deposits form a sand island, just like a pearl swallowed by nine dragons, hence the name "Dragon Pearl Island".

Jade-like Dragon Ball Island is located at Jiulongkou. Photography/Liu

Shanglin River, connected to Daxi River and Wangsan River in the south and Jiulongkou in the north, is the main waterway for the north-south traffic in Shanglin Village. There are ancient bricks unearthed on the shore, engraved with the words "Ming Jiajing Huai 'an House, Yancheng County, Fengyi Dulin Shangzhuang". Qiangou River originates from Qiangou Village in the northeast of Baoying County. Zhengyu Guo, the son of Guo Shangshu, the minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty, and his younger brother Guo Youqi moved from Jiangxia to Dangqu in Huaidong to avoid the chaos in Chongzhen, and Guo Youqi settled in Qiangou Village.

Gulls in Jiulongkou Wetland. Photography/Liu

Anfeng River comes from the direction of Fengyan Town, Anbaoying, Xi. Liu Ying, the king of Wu, once stationed troops here to collect grain, which meant "peace" and "bumper harvest", so it was named Anfeng. Xihe River, also known as Daxi River, originated from Yangshan Canal and entered Yancheng City. According to county records, it has been dredged many times since Yongzheng. The legend of the "Three Officials Hall" in The Journey to the West happened in xihe town. Jian river also originated from the canal and entered Yancheng boundary, which has been treated many times since Wanli.

Phoenix pond in Fengshou village. Photography/Liu

Xinshe River, coming from the direction of Xinshe; Mohe comes from the direction of Mojiazhuang; He Chenghe flows from Jiulongkou to Fengshou Village. Xianhe, called Xiangou in ancient times, has many fairies in Hanoi, named after its products.

It is also worth mentioning that the Hengtang River, which draws water from Sheyang Lake, is the main river in Samui Village. Samui's name is related to Samui and Su Song, two brothers who came to settle here when Hongwu was driven away in the early Ming Dynasty. Don't think of it as Mishiro Jiangzuo in Nirvana in Fire. Today, "Su" is still the most popular name in the village. With picturesque scenery and pleasant environment, the house here is a comfortable place to live and has won the title of "the most beautiful village" for many times.

Harvest old streets. Photo courtesy of jiulong town Municipal People's Government

Jialiang River and Rose River are tributaries of Sheyang River when it passes through Fengshou Village, with a long history. In the late 1960s, several ancient tombs were discovered in Fengshou Village near Jialiang River. The brick is engraved with the words "King of the East China Sea" and "Three Years in Iraq (Iraq) Xi". According to textual research, the king of the East China Sea buried here may be Sima Zhangyan, a descendant of Sima Yi, who was attacked and sealed in the fourth year (400 years) of Jin 'an Emperor Longan.

Two years later, he was killed by the powerful minister Huan Xuan. A few years later, in the third year of Yixi (407), he chose to be buried here. 1In July, 1992, the People's Government of jianhu county built a pavilion and erected a monument here, giving this troubled prince the last place to live.

Jiulongkou, a water town, is full of fish. Photo courtesy of jiulong town Municipal People's Government

Jiulongkou has a vast water area and excellent water quality, which breeds rich animal and plant resources.

Follow the fishing boat into the lake and see what's new. Everything in front of me is green, and the splashed water drops fall on my face, crystal clear and refreshing. Birds are playing not far away. One second, they are jumping, and the next, they spread their wings and sweep across the water. Wild ducks swam about in droves.

Feng reminds you that animals here can't be caught indiscriminately. Yellow-billed egret, swan, small white goose, mandarin duck, little green snipe, red-horned falcon, sparrow hawk and striped owl are all national second-class protected wild animals.

The beautiful lake swings attracted a large number of wild animals to settle down. Photo courtesy of jiulong town Municipal People's Government

Nine treasures in Kowloon are better than eight immortals in water.

There is a famous landmark in Jiulongkou called Wugushu, whose scientific name is "Liu Xue". At first glance, its leaves look like elm leaves, and the resulting shape changes year after year: sometimes it looks like rice and wheat, sometimes it looks like sorghum, corn, millet, and even fish and shrimp.

People hope that the crops will be bumper and the weather will be good, so they call this big tree "Five Valley Tree", which is considered as a symbol of good luck: if the fruit is rice-shaped, it indicates a bumper harvest that year; If it is fish and shrimp-shaped, it means that there was plenty of rain that year.

Five-valley tree and its fish-shaped fruit regarded as "auspicious tree". Photography/Liu

The fruit looks like a small fish this year. No, it keeps raining. At this time, the local "nine fresh" is also the best season.

The famous "eight fresh" in the south of the Yangtze River are Oenanthe javanica, Pleurotus ostreatus, lotus root, water shield, Euryale ferox, Zizania caduciflora, water chestnut and water chestnut, all of which were collected in sequence at Jiulongkou. The difference is that there is also a crisp general dish here, so it is called "Jiulong Jiuxian".

Lotus root is widely planted in water towns, especially in Jiulongkou, and can be used as rice, food and medicine. If you want to calm your nerves, moisten dryness and help you sleep, you can have a cup of lotus root tea with rosy color and charming aroma.

Glutinous rice lotus root, Jiulongkou. Photography/Liu

Lotus root dumplings are a traditional snack in jianhu county, which is famous all over the world. It looks like glutinous rice balls, but it is made entirely of local high-grade lotus root starch. The color is brownish red, smooth and transparent, and the texture is soft and glutinous. The soup boiled with sweet osmanthus in sugar water is sweet. Mr. Fei Xiaotong called it a "treasure" and praised it like this: "Lotus root powder is round, shaped like a projectile, delicate and plump, and its color is like fresh litchi without shell."

Lotus root starch dumplings. Photography/Liu

Water chestnut, also known as horseshoe, is called chestnut locally. It tastes crisp and sweet, and can be eaten as a vegetable if eaten well. Has the effects of clearing away heat and toxic materials, cooling blood, promoting fluid production, promoting digestion and reducing swelling. Peel water chestnut, cut into pieces, and mix with minced meat to make water chestnut balls, which are fragrant and delicious. What I said above is the vegetarian "nine fresh", in addition to the "nine fresh animals" composed of stickleback, snakehead, crucian carp, silver carp, turtle, river crab, river snail, loach and crayfish.