[Jingzhou, Hubei] The charming ancient city of Jingzhou is the Millennium Chu capital under the blue sky.

Millennium Chu Du Tu/Wenxilan under the blue sky in Jingzhou, Hubei Province

Jingzhou, a small town hidden in the central region, is not as spicy as Chongqing, sexy as Shanghai, charming as Hangzhou and affectionate as Guangzhou. The life of Jingzhou, a city, is like a trickle in a river. With the precipitation of history, it flows slowly in the days we live.

The ancient city of Jingzhou in the morning light is simple and quiet, as if awakened from a distant memory. In the ancient city of Jingzhou, the imprint of history can be found everywhere. Every brick and tile, every wall, is telling the story of the past. Walking on the bluestone road, the coolness in the shade is long and quiet, and suddenly there is a feeling of crossing. If you climb the city wall and overlook the moat and the whole ancient city of Jingzhou, it will be very pleasant!

Jingzhou city, also known as Jiangling city, is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the hinterland of Jianghan Plain. It is the center of Chu culture. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the State of Chu established its capital in Jinan, an ancient city 5 kilometers north of Jingzhou, for 4 1 1 year, leaving a profound historical and cultural heritage. Jingzhou is one of the first 24 famous historical and cultural cities in China announced by the State Council 1982. 1996 Jingzhou city wall was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

The history of Jingzhou can be traced back to ancient times. When Dayu was in charge of water control, Jingzhou was one of its Kyushu. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the 20th generation of Chu kings established their capital in Yingcheng, where the splendid Chu culture originated. In 278 BC, Qin will establish Nanjun in Jingzhou. In the fifth year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (BC 106), Jingzhou became one of the thirteen states in the Western Han Dynasty ... However, the Three Kingdoms are the most widely known in Jingzhou, but they are just a high wave in the long history of Jingzhou.

Go along Kowloon Bridge, and you will reach the ancient city building. On the other side of the river, I saw two golden characters in Jingzhou from a distance. In the early morning, there are few pedestrians on the bridge, and occasionally there are cars coming and going.

Kowloon Bridge, across the moat. It has beautiful shape, exquisite design and solid structure, and many Chinese and foreign tourists stop here to watch and linger. If you are lucky, you can see that there is a stone faucet in the middle of each stone arch, and the gurgling water pours out from Longkou and flows into the moat.

On the Kowloon Bridge, it is also a good place to enjoy the scenery. The whole moat has a panoramic view. In the blue sky and clear water, you can see cruise ships and Yangtze University in the distance, surrounded by willows and green trees. Ancient and modern, nature and humanity are closely combined in this city, which set each other off and become interesting.

I have to mention here that this special street lamp is a chime form in the Warring States period, which is too Chu culture. Chimes arranged along both sides of the Kowloon Bridge, like majestic soldiers, silently guard every inch of the city. This is definitely invisible in a modern city.

Give this group of chime street lamps a big close-up and give a big compliment to the chief designer with such special creativity.

Walking across the river, a few minutes away, there is a feeling of crossing from modern times to ancient times. The ancient city wall of Jingzhou is perhaps the most important historical and civilized relic of this city.

There are six original city gates around Jingzhou City Wall, namely East Gate, Xiaodongmen (also known as Gongan Gate), North Gate, Xiaobeimen, West Gate and South Gate. Each city gate has an urn, forming a "double insurance" for the front and rear doors. These six gates were originally built with towers. Dongmen Tower is named Binyang Tower, Xiaodongmen Tower is named Wangjiang Tower, Ximen Tower is named Jiuyang Tower, Nanmen Tower is named Qujiang Tower, and Xiaobeimen Tower is named Chaozong Tower. At present, only the East Gate and the North Gate have towers.

Turn right into the ancient city, and you can go directly to the East Gate, which is the gate to greet envoys and guests, also called the "Welcome Gate", and build a tower called "Binyang Tower".

An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. Early this morning, an aunt danced Tai Chi outside Binyang Building. Skillful movements, attentive expression and enjoyable attitude add a bit of a different flavor to the ancient city of Jingzhou.

Under Binyang Gate, Wei Zihua is in full bloom. A bunch of white crape myrtle hangs playfully, which seems to crown the tower.

Binyang Building, built in Ming Dynasty, has been rebuilt at 1988. Walking into the archway, you can see several golden characters hanging high on the roof of Binyang Building. Boarding the tower and overlooking, you can best appreciate the majestic posture of Weizhen, the ancient city. There are not many pedestrians coming and going in the city, and they look leisurely, as if they are aware of the surrounding environment, and most of them are local residents.

Looking at Binyang Building from the semicircle arch, I like this angle very much. At this moment, the sky is just right.

The towers under the blue sky are even more magnificent. The tower adopts a large wooden frame structure, which is magnificent and unique in shape, maintaining the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty. The three golden characters of "Binyang Building" were inscribed by Zhao Puchu.

The sun shines through the arch, and the half-bright and half-dark walls project the imprint of history, which is in sharp contrast with the modern high-rise buildings outside the door.

From this perspective, maybe you will have a direct understanding of Wengcheng. As one of the main defense facilities in ancient cities, the urn can strengthen the defense of castles or passes, while the semi-circular or square gatekeeper towns built outside the city gates (with some exceptions inside the city gates) are part of the ancient city walls of China. The appearance of the idiom "Catch a turtle in an urn" must be inseparable from this urn.

The stairs on the left are the location of the tower. Walking on the steps of the ancient city, you can climb the Jingzhou Ancient Pagoda step by step. Jianghan plain, fertile land, water network; By the moat, green willows are towering, the city walls are towering, and the scene in the water is reflected in front of you.

On the battlements of the ancient city wall, there are five-color battle flags. In the corridor of the city, there is a colorful Terracotta Warriors and Horses more than ten steps apart. Its modeling proportion is equivalent to that of real people and horses, and it is colored glazed pottery. Judging from the costumes of the Terracotta Warriors, they seem to be warriors in the Three Kingdoms period.

At this time, the clouds are just right. There seems to be many war scenes in front of us, and there have been waves of earth-shattering battles. The so-called "swords and shadows, drums and horns contend, and fresh faces are flying in front of us." But after all, it is "the Yangtze River is rolling eastward, the waves are scouring the heroes ... the green hills are still there, and the sunset glow is red several times."

Guan Yu's dragon crescent moon blade stands on the right side of the tower. Song Yue said, "Raise your sword and decide Han. Who dares to be a million Cao soldiers? Oblique shadows cross the clouds and the moon, and the dragon sword is chinese odyssey. " The people of Sri Lanka have gone, but Guan Gong's image of loyalty, justice and courage will always remain in people's hearts. The light of the dragon crescent moon blade shines to this day.

On one side of the tower, the towering cypress trees are firm and upright, facing the building and leaning slightly towards the ancient city building, which should accompany the ancient city for many years. The blue sky connects buildings with trees, as if the sky is closer to you.

Brick city is tall and straight, complete and solid. Walking along the ancient city wall for a while and touching this ancient brick wall with both hands is like turning over ancient books. The grass is lush, a bird stops in the middle of the road without fear, and the sun casts a little light through the dense jungle. The whole road seems quiet and deep, as if taking us to the source of history to find out.

Opposite the gatehouse, there is Jingzhou Women's Handicraft Art Exhibition Hall. It may be a little early. The exhibition hall is not open yet. I guess most of them are hand-embroidered by skilled and flexible women.

At eight o'clock, a ray of sunshine shone on Binyang Building, and the sky turned white. From this perspective, I always think of many TV drama scenes. The people guarding the city stand tall on the tower, sitting calmly on one side, guarding their own city. Or siege people prepare bows and arrows, ladders and torches to compete with the defenders and realize their plans. Or the city guard took the initiative to hand over a paper surrender to keep the people safe.

Behind Binyang Building is a market full of shops and unevenly distributed residential areas. The brand-new high-rise building faces this Binyang building across the street, where modern prosperity and ancient civilization meet and blend.

Walking along the ancient wall of Jingzhou, you can see the antique Zhang's former residence, standing here quietly. Considering the next trip and the rising sun, I saved time and didn't go in again. But I deeply remember the couplet in front of the front door of my former residence, "the second best scholar is the second best."

Walking on the tree-lined path between Zhang's former residence and the ancient city wall, the sun began to warm up, and many citizens who got up early for a walk and morning exercise began to walk back or rest on stone benches. The trees are mottled, occasionally the wind blows, and it is not too hot in the morning. I don't want to leave regrets, but I still want to stick to this road.

Cheshire cat's persistence is accompanied by all the way forward.

The early bird catches the worm, and soon they came to the side door of the ancient city wall. My uncles and aunts are playing Tai Chi neatly and skillfully in front of the door, revealing their leisure and calmness. I can see that they are enjoying this time. I feel that Tai Chi is really suitable for this era and shows the calmness of this era to the fullest. Inexplicably reminiscent of a sentence, although it is not so appropriate here: "The elderly are rising, the middle-aged are awakening, and the teenagers are sleeping."

I don't know who practiced the sword, standing by the wall. It is conceivable how seriously they take life and how much they cherish this precious time.

On the city wall, many unknown plants and small red fruits grow. Hanging down against the wall, let this ancient city wall glow with vitality.

Looking up, young saplings actually grew in the gap between the ancient city walls and straddled between them. I don't know how many years it took to get this natural masterpiece.

Go through a door, there is another door, and there is still a lot of space between the two doors. Here, you will have a deeper understanding of Wengcheng.

This clearing is a good place to close the door and beat dogs. The remains of the ancient city are not only silent historical relics, but also the crystallization of the labor and wisdom of our ancestors in that war-torn era.

Jingzhou ancient city is divided into three layers, with Shuicheng outside, brick city in the middle and Tucheng inside. The urban construction is very strong. It is said that in order to prevent the city wall from sinking due to floods and corrosion, the footings of the city wall are all made of stones, and the brick walls are all filled with lime glutinous rice slurry. The two drainage holes under the city wall are made of stone, and two people can walk side by side in the holes; There is a moat around the city. Jingzhou city is easy to defend but difficult to attack, so there is a saying that Jingzhou is hit with iron.

It's another day to get out of the urn. Outside this ancient city wall, there is a moat with a width of 30 meters to 100 meters and a depth of 3 meters, which rises and falls along the city wall and extends in a winding way, closely surrounding the whole Jingzhou city, forming a magnificent and beautiful scenery.

Facing the morning sun, stepping on the stone road and bathing in the breeze under the blue sky, I feel very comfortable.

I saw this huge statue from the distance across the river, but I couldn't get close enough to see it. This whole area is a newly-built Guan Yi Park. The theme of Guan Yi Park is "Justice", which vividly shows Guan Gong's life in America.

Guan Yu was also the first "mayor" of Jingzhou. This bronze statue of Guan Yu, the largest in the world, stands tall at the bow. Under the command of Guan Yu, his right hand holds a knife in front and his left hand holds clothes majestically. It is a 58-meter giant bronze statue and a 70-meter dragon crescent moon blade. It is the largest statue of Guan Yu in the world, created by Han Meilin, an influential contemporary artist in China.

The bridge in front of us is the passage from Jingzhou Ancient City to Guan Yi Park.

I'm thinking about going across the street to see the true face of Guan Gong's statue. My uncle, who was selling water by the roadside, began to talk to us. He told us that the statue here used to belong to Qu Yuan. After the completion of Xinguanyi Park, it was demolished. Now the park is also under construction, and there are no complete facilities in it, except the statue of Guan Gong, which is a bright spot. You have to buy a ticket to cross the bridge, which is not cost-effective. He sincerely suggested that we needn't go there.

After listening to uncle selling water, it is not bad to stand on the other side and enjoy the scenery. In fact, I found the scenery in this section really beautiful. Small bridges and flowing water, green trees and cool breeze, patchwork houses, plus such a beautiful day, are a natural picture of a water town.

I asked my uncle, who sells water under the city wall, if the sun will shine on the city wall soon. He told us that when the sun shines here at ten o'clock, they will call it a day and go home.

Beside the uncle who sells water, there are all kinds of exquisite shell crafts. I can't resist the temptation of this cute baby. Even if you don't buy a few to take home, you should put them in your own camera and take them back to enjoy them slowly. Look at these handicrafts, how warm and loving.

A cat under the wall, dozing lazily, changing its movements from time to time, perhaps awakened by my candid camera, simply sat up and licked its hair in circles. It looks like you are enjoying the time under the city wall. Maybe it's quiet here most of the time.

Looking back at the moat, the water waves are slightly excited and integrated with the sky, and everything around them seems calm and beautiful. The smoke of war has long gone, and what we see in front of us is the continuous development of a city.

Back to the other side of the moat, the towering Roman column stands proudly under the blue sky, which is spectacular!

The mighty dragon roared into the sky as if to roar through it.

From these pieces of old blue bricks and pages of old rubble, I read the bonfire in the Spring and Autumn Period, the smoke in Qin and Han Dynasties, the vicissitudes of Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the decline of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Through the cracks in the masonry, I saw my ancestors manipulating the tiller and waving swords. I heard them roar away the Yu Yun in Wushan with coarse mines and thick horns, wake up the sun in the East China Sea, roar the sediment of the Yangtze River for thousands of years, and rush into the splendid Jianghan Plain civilization.