No matter what kind of high technology we have today, no matter what kind of skyscrapers we build, we are still in awe of the magnificent buildings that were built thousands of years ago.
From the Great Wall of China to the Forbidden City in Beijing, from the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang to the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, from the ancient architectural complex in Wudang Mountain to the historical complex in Potala Palace in Lhasa, from the summer resort in Chengde to the ancient city of Pingyao, from the Three Confucius in Qufu to the classical gardens in Suzhou ...... every Chinese civilization that has been named "World Cultural Heritage" makes us feel proud.
Since the time of Fuxi, the land of China has begun a long progress of civilization. In that profound history, with the continuous great integration of peoples, the Chinese civilization has become more and more rich, inclusive, wonderful and complete. To this day, we are still in awe of it.
Chunqiu Zhai: Gathering the Aura of Heaven and Earth｜Machu Picchu of Asia
Located in the territory of Lu Ping Village, Dong Gong Town, Nan Zhang County, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, is a valuable legacy of this long river.
This is the most completely preserved ancient fortress in Hubei, the first ancient fortress in Xiangyang, the second largest ancient fortress group in Asia (also said to be the largest in Asia), and is known as the "Machu Picchu of Asia".
According to legend, this is the Spring and Autumn period of the five hegemonic Chu to defend the invasion of foreign enemies and built, Guan Yu also read "Spring and Autumn" here at night. The ancient Spring and Autumn fortress then set off a storm for Nanzhang in the long history.
The widely celebrated historical stories of Bianhe offering jade, Sima recommending sage, Guan Yu collecting Zhou Cang and Guan Yu reading "Spring and Autumn" at night all happened here.
Located at the eastern foot of the Jing Mountain Range, Nanzhang County is like a dusty history book, which is one of the birthplaces of Chu culture and the source of the Three Kingdoms story. Everyone who comes in will inadvertently go deeper into it and be shocked by the low-key, yet amazing Spring and Autumn Cottage.
The hundreds of years of retrospection from "Spring and Autumn" to Guan Yu reading "Spring and Autumn" led to the naming of the fortress "Spring and Autumn" and the building of a statue of Guan Gong on the cliff of the opposite mountain.
The statue of Guan Gong, solemn and solemn, stands at the top of Wang Yue Mountain as he gazes at the ancient fortress, as if history is also meandering. However, the existing site should be from the Ming and Qing dynasties, probably rebuilt by the local people to escape from the war.
Some scholars, based on the study of the residual inscriptions of the Chunqiu fortress and local county records, believe that it was probably built by the local Deng family to guard against bandits during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty.
The preserved sites include the Spring and Autumn Building, the Sentinel Building, the City Gate, etc. and 153 stone houses. Among them, Chunqiu Building is the largest place for praying to the God of Wealth in Xiangyang area.
Taiji pattern of two mountains sandwiching one water
The Spring and Autumn Walled City is located on top of the ridge of Liyu Mountain and is built in a roundabout way according to the mountain trend, surrounded by water on three sides and facing the mountain on one side.
Under the aerial photography, the exquisite architectural art and the ingenious design focusing on feng shui of the ancestors of the Chu region are amazing and quite mysterious.
The blue water of Maoping River has a thousand turns, and the deep forest and valley on both sides are treacherous. The Taiji pattern of "negative yin holding yang" and "two mountains sandwiching one water" is formed between the building and the mountain and water, creating a pattern that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, giving the ancient cottage a deep cultural deposit.
When the drone ascended nearly 500 meters in a straight line, the clouds were so thick that Carp Mountain looked like it had been brought to life. The beautiful water and cliffs, the old fortress of the enemy building, are hidden and beautiful, and it is one of the "100 new discoveries" in China.
The whole Chunqiu Village resembles a section of the Great Wall across the top of the mountain, with a strip-shaped layout from south to north, 490 meters long from north to south and 30 to 50 meters wide from east to west, centrally embodying the settlement form of defense and residence as a whole, which is hailed by experts as "above the Tianjie of Mount Tai and the North Peak of Mount Hua", and even called it "the most beautiful ancient mountain fortress in China and the world".
Nanzhang may add another World Heritage Site
The Chang Canal, Dujiangyan, Jiang Xiyan and Ling Canal were included in the World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List at the World Irrigation Engineering Heritage Review Conference held in Canada on August 14, 2018.
Among them, the Long Canal (also known as Baiqi Canal) is located in Nanzhang County, Xiangyang City, and is known as the "First Canal of China".
Along with the successful inscription of the Long Canal, the inscription of the Spring and Autumn Walled City is also on the agenda. In order to better excavate the ancient cottage culture and inherit the culture of Chu and the Three Kingdoms, the Nanzhang County Government set up the inscription office in 2020 to prepare for the declaration of the ancient cottage in Nanzhang as a world cultural heritage.
As the birthplace of Chu culture, the source of the Three Kingdoms story of Nanzhang, not only a spring and autumn cottage.
During the third national cultural relics census between 2007 and 2008, archaeologists found a total of thousands of ancient cottages in Nanzhang. Among them, 392 were included in the cultural relics department, 16 ancient cottages were listed in Hubei Province as key cultural relics protection units, and 6 were listed in the national key cultural relics protection units.
Nanzhang Ancient Cottage has also been named as the "Hometown of Ancient Cottage Culture in China". Among them, the most influential one is the Spring and Autumn Cottage, which is also a typical representative of the ancient cottage site in Nanzhang. It has been reported in detail by National Geographic, unveiling its mystery.
Address: Luping Village, Donggong Town, Xiang Yang City, Hubei Province
Scenic spots: Chunqiu Fortress, Chunqiu Building, Guan Gong statue, ropeway, Guan Gong night reading site, barracks school grounds, etc.
Opening hours 8:30-17:30
Accommodation: Nanzhang Ancient Walled City Inn (within the scenic spot)
