China News Service, Guangzhou, September 28th: ​​The historical and cultural imprints continue the legend through the Millennium Nanling Corridor

  Reporter Cheng Jingwei

  The majestic Nanling, which lies between Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, runs from northeast to southwest and spreads for thousands of miles. It is the watershed between the Pearl River system and the Yangtze River system.

  In the long river of history, Nanling was the only place for Han people in the Central Plains to enter Lingnan and conduct business activities between the two sides.

Many ethnic groups migrated, flowed and merged here, and gradually formed the ancient roads into Guangdong, such as Xiaohe Ancient Road, Hunan-Guangdong Ancient Road, Qin-Han Ancient Road, Xijing Ancient Road, Meiguan Ancient Road, etc., and built a unique "Nanling Corridor". , becoming one of the three major ethnic corridors in China.

The Xijing Ancient Road winds and undulates in the Nanling Mountains.

Photo by Chen Jimin

  In recent years, Guangdong has actively promoted the establishment of Nanling National Park, and has investigated and sorted out the historical and human resources within its scope, clarifying the cultural context and historical connections.

The relevant person in charge of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Bureau pointed out that the area where Nanling National Park (to be built) is located is one of the origins of modern people in East Asia, and it is the symbolic boundary between Lingnan culture and Central Plains culture; In the core area of ​​Lingnan Corridor, there are a large number of nationally representative historical and cultural heritages such as ancient post roads, post stations and cliff stone carvings, as well as precious historical and cultural resources that blend the economy and culture of Lingnan and the Central Plains.

At present, the traditional settlements in this area are well-preserved and numerous, with great historical features and regional characteristics, and are an important material carrier of Lingnan's history and culture and minority culture.

  With the orderly progress of the construction of Nanling National Park, the historical and cultural resources here are bound to be more effectively protected and inherited, and scientifically activated and utilized, and the legend of the millennium will continue.

 Historical and Cultural Heritage: Connecting North and South across Mountains

  Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the Xijing Ancient Road has existed for more than 2,000 years, and has been silently hidden in the Nanling Mountains.

It is reported that "Xijing" refers to the ancient capital of China, Chang'an (now Xi'an), and the ancient Xijing Road was the passage to the capital and tribute payment in ancient Lingnan.

  Since 2016, in accordance with the relevant national deployment, Guangdong Province has creatively proposed to use the ancient post roads in Nanyue as the starting point to help rural revitalization and cultural heritage protection, adhere to the principle of "using the past to serve the present, and revitalizing the village with roads", and promoted the protection of more than 1,340 kilometers of ancient post roads in the province. The use of this product has achieved enthusiastic responses from all walks of life and has been fully recognized by relevant state departments.

Xijing Ancient Road is one of them to carry out protection and utilization.

  Xu Huapeng, an expert on the literature and history of Shaoguan Ruyuan, said that before the Meiguan Ancient Road was opened, the Xijing Ancient Road was a very important road for north-south traffic.

Qu Dajun, a literati in the Qing Dynasty, stated in "Guangdong Xinyu": "In the early days of Meiling, Xiaoling (referring to Laling in Ruyuan) was Xijing Kong Road".

Even after the Meiguan Ancient Road was opened, the Xijing Ancient Road was still in use.

  Crossing the Nanling Mountains is Lingnan.

For thousands of years, a large number of businessmen, literati, and demoted officials came to Guangdong from Nanling.

On the east side of the Nanling Mountains, a bluestone-paved trail winds from the mountains. This is the Monkey Ridge section of the Xijing Ancient Road.

On the top of Monkey Ridge Mountain, a stone pavilion stands, named "Xinhan Pavilion", and "Xinhan" means "Chonghan".

According to legend, Han Yu, one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, went to Guangdong three times and passed by this place when he passed the Xijing Ancient Road.

  The Tiyunling section on the north side of Nanshui Lake in Ruyuan is the most essential section of the Xijing Ancient Road.

The reporter saw that this ancient road was excavated from a rocky mountain on the edge of the cliff, and went up the stairs like a staircase.

The stone-level road has been worn by horses for many years, and it is very smooth.

  The Ruyuan section of the Xijing Ancient Road was listed as the eighth batch of cultural relics protection units in the country in 2019.

It is worth mentioning that the Xijing Ancient Road has promoted the rise of cultural education along the way. Only in Ruyuan Bridge Town, three academies have been built successively, namely "Stone Stream", "Buchan" and "Guanlan".

Among them, Guanlan Academy, built in the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, is still well preserved.

  In the long years, Nanling has produced a large number of historical and cultural heritages that span the mountains and connect the north and the south, from ancient post roads, post stations, post shops such as Xijing Ancient Road, to ancient bridges and pavilions such as Ruyuan Tongji Bridge and Languan Pavilion, and then Go to the surrounding buildings and ancient dwellings such as the Hakka house group in Yingde Jiangxi, and witness the prosperity and development of Lingnan culture and minority culture.

More than 20 natural relics show unique charm

  The Nanling Mountains are composed of mountains and peaks, and are naturally formed. The karst landforms and Danxia landforms have obvious characteristics, and the natural ecological and cultural resources are extremely rich.

  In the process of natural evolution and development, Nanling has formed many natural relics with specific cultural value, which itself is a historical museum with a collection of human resources.

So far, more than 20 natural relics have been discovered within the scope of Nanling National Park (to be built), which are distributed in strip and scattered spaces.

  A few days ago, the reporter climbed the highest peak in Guangdong Province, "Shikeng Kong", and encountered the magnificent spectacle of the sea of ​​clouds.

I saw the surrounding clouds and mist, towering mountains.

It is reported that Shikeng Kong was called "the first peak of Tiannan" in ancient times, also known as "Himalaya" and "Guangdong Roof" in Guangdong.

  In Ruyuan Grand Canyon, there are alpine meadows, strange peaks and cliffs, canyons and waterfalls, which can be called the "Northern Guangdong Geological Museum"; while in Qingyuan Yingde, in the southeast of Shimentai National Nature Reserve, Quaternary plant fossils, old Stone Age to Neolithic Paleoanthropic Sites...

Ruyuan Grand Canyon in Guangdong.

Photo by Chen Jimin

  Walking into Nanling, waterfalls and springs can be seen everywhere.

Among them, the waterfall group of Nanling National Nature Reserve in Guangdong is one of the largest natural waterfall groups in southern China. It descends in a deep valley with a drop of nearly 500 meters, forming nearly 100 large and small waterfalls.

The waterfalls often contain poems or calligraphy works left by literati and poets of past dynasties, adding more humanistic colors to Nanling.

Patio Mountain Waterfall.

Photo by Chen Jimin

  As one of the main streams of the Pearl River system, the Beijiang River originates from the Nanling Mountains.

The ancients lived by the water, hunted and lived on both sides of the Beijiang River, and left a large number of historical relics, forming the Beijiang River Basin Site Landscape Belt.

Qujiang Mabaren site, Shixia site, and unearthed stone tools and pottery pieces vividly and truly show the historical features of the production and life of ancient humans in the Beijiang River Basin.

  Today, in the land of Nanling, the water of the Beijiang River is still rolling day and night, and together with the geological landscape, natural customs and ancient buildings along the coast, it forms a beautiful landscape gallery, telling the world the legendary story of the fusion of Central Plains culture and South Vietnamese culture.

The birthplace of "Guoshan Yao" is rich in ethnic customs

  As the core area of ​​the "Nanling Corridor", Nanling National Park (to be built) has a rich variety of intangible cultural heritage. The culture of farming, nomadism, festivals, clothing, food, daily life, weddings and funerals here constitutes a strong And colorful ethnic customs.

  Nanling is the settlement of the Yao people's "Guoshan Yao" branch.

Bright national costumes and moving folk songs add a mysterious color to the mountains.

  Ruyuan Bibei Yao Village is the birthplace of "Guoshan Yao".

The "Census Report on Historical and Human Resources of Nanling National Park (Proposed)" shows that a cultural radiation belt of "crossing the mountain Yao" has been formed centered on the Bibei Yaozhai-Liangjia in the Nanling Mountains.

In 2006, the Panwang Festival of the Yao Nationality was included in the first batch of representative projects of national intangible cultural heritage.

In addition, folk festivals include the Nanhua Birthday Temple Fair, the October Dynasty, and the Social Day.

As for the traditional medicine of Ruyuan Yao nationality, it has also been included in the list of intangible cultural heritage projects in Shaoguan City.

  According to the list published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Shaoguan has 4 national-level non-genetic inheritors, 24 provincial-level non-genetic inheritors, and 74 municipal-level non-genetic inheritors, most of whom live in Nanling National Park (the proposed )In the range.

Ecological protection first, moderate activation and utilization

  The main purpose of national parks is to protect nationally representative natural ecosystems.

However, the construction of national parks is not a complete task. Without affecting its own ecosystem, the moderate development and utilization of natural landscapes, cultural landscapes and related resources are also within the allowable scope.

  Yang Rui, dean of the National Park Research Institute of Tsinghua University, pointed out that the primary goal of national parks is nature protection and ecological protection, and also has functions such as scientific research, education, and recreation.

National parks should realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature under the premise of ecological protection first.

  Yang Minggang, Dean of the Emerging Industry Research Institute of Shaoguan University, believes that the proposed Nanling National Park should attach great importance to the protection, inheritance, activation and utilization of historical and human resources, learn from the successful experiences and practices of national park construction in various countries in the world, and insist on Man and nature coexist in harmony, adhere to the equal emphasis on ecological protection and cultural inheritance, take a long-term perspective, implement scientific policies, and unswervingly take the road of sustainable development.

  In recent years, Guangdong has strengthened the protection, restoration and activation of Nanling's historical and cultural heritage.

For example, using the reuse of the historical relic space of the linear ancient post road as a carrier, improve and enhance the greening landscape along the ancient Xijing road, and hold a cultural tourism festival on the ancient road of Xijing; Tianjingshan has opened up an ecological corridor, established a natural science museum, and carried out natural education and forestry. Eco-tourism.

  According to the plan, Nanling National Park (to be built) will build an overall framework structure of "22478", namely two ecological service bases, two ecological development cores, four natural experience blocks, and seven recreational experience areas. , eight small towns outside the National Park, build a "recreation experience point-recreation experience route-recreation experience area-recreation experience network" model, form a network system of diverse natural and cultural experience, and achieve sustainable ecological education and natural experience in Nanling National Park develop.

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