Yulong Old Street: A good place in the ancient town with deep bamboo forests

Original link: https://macin.org/2023/05/22/yulong/

Chopsticks found another very good hiking route!

In the southeast of Dazu District, at the foot of Xishan Forest Farm, adjacent to Yongchuan, there is Yulong Town. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1796), when the site was built, it was named Yulong Old Street after the initials of “Yufeng Temple” and “Longtouyan” in the territory.

Yulong Old Street

But navigating “Yulong Old Street” is fruitless. Navigating “Yufeng Community Health Station” is the starting point of the old street, about 4km away from the current town government.

The location of the navigation can be parked without charge. Along the gentle slope, gradually entering the boundary of the old street, Yulong Old Street is built along the mountain depression, starting from Chengmen Cave in the west and ending at Xizi Pavilion in the east, with a length of about 1 kilometer.

Different from Dazu Yongxi Old Street, Youting Old Street and Tieshan Old Street that I have been to before, Yulong Old Street is more three-dimensional. Just like many old streets, you can only observe it from the perspective of history, and these places will be quite dry; on the contrary, Yulong can be observed from the perspective of forests and religions, and it suddenly becomes rich and three-dimensional.

Just looking at these scenery, after the seasons change and the time changes, even if I just look at it with my hands, I can be in it or stand by. As long as you are willing, you can enter an immersive performance with your legs.

The Yulong Old Street, which is two or three meters wide, is separated from the noisy main road by several rows of houses. When you step on the Qingshiban Street, you can look up at the Yulong Mountain, a branch of Bayue Mountain. Breathe down. As the only way to Yongchuan, this place used to be lively. This is what I heard from a younger uncle among the few remaining residents in the old street. When he was young, if it was noon, everyone would take a rest under the eaves, and spread the mat on the stone slab to have a dream.

Later, when the town government moved to Liushui more than ten years ago, it was not so lively here. I saw the houses collapsed, the tiles fell, and the people were decadent. Uncle said that he didn’t know why the town government moved to other places and built another high-rise building. Wouldn’t it be good to help the residents of Laojie to repair their houses if they have free time? After finishing speaking, he lowered his head and continued to watch the noisy short videos. The birds he fed were chirping, as if the place was still as lively as before.

The bucket-style tile-roofed houses of black bricks are the main architectural form of the old street, such as Datie Street, Water Alley, Eighteen Staircases, Yaoye Temple, Lime Alley, Main Street… Old Street is our abbreviation of the two words, where the prosperity There used to be so many place names. Xinhua Bookstore, post office, theater, the past prosperity here is obvious, but the decline is also well known.

Passing by a few houses that were about to collapse, the portraits of the old people hung on the fragile bamboo walls, black and white, looking coldly at the ruins of the house. At that moment, many pictures emerged to me, just like watching “Coco” before, the soul always exists, but no one can perceive it.

Fortunately, the old street is still very clean. It is beautiful without powder and daisy. The red bricks and blue bricks complement each other, the red flowers and green plants set off each other, and the bluestone slabs and red lanterns form a frame of their own. It has a sense of presence that slowly disappears. It will be lively for a while when someone thinks of it, and after a while, everything will return to normal, caught in the tide of time passing.

At the junction of Qingshiban Road and Cement Road, I met an enthusiastic mother-in-law and a talkative grandfather. They took out a small bench for us to sit on and asked us if we had eaten.

My mother-in-law told us that the owner of the house that is being renovated opposite is in Dazu City, and they plan to retire here after two years. Grandpa said that he used to be an employee of the glass factory in Yulong Town. The factory went bankrupt in 1999 and he worked in the factory for 25 years. There used to be paper mills and coal mines in the town. At most, there were more than 300 households and more than 2,000 people in the old street. It was very lively.

The daughter of the grandparents works in Zhejiang. Although the old couple also have a house in Dazu City, they prefer to live in the place where they grew up. They can grow their own vegetables and be self-sufficient. Grandma told me very proudly that neither of them has been infected with the new crown until now, and she also wishes the old man good health.

Leaving the old man’s house and walking forward, the layers of the old street I saw became more and more distinct. There are industries along the street, and there is a certain amount of commerce in a street a little further inside, and there are households walking further inside. There are also childhood sweethearts boys and girls riding bicycles, dogs and insects playing and frolicking. You can tell me that this scene is in the 1970s and it will not be awkward.

At the end of the street is an old man with a broom made of bamboo sticks. A broom retails for 8 yuan, and the wholesale is sold to the sanitation company. And we accidentally discovered that there is a hexagonal stele in their “broom warehouse”, the lettering is already very blurred, and the old man with the broom told me that this place used to be a temple.

Samcheong-dong

From the old street, there is a country road across the street, which can be passed on one side, about two kilometers. Navigate “Sanqingdong” along the way, you can walk or drive, if you walk, you can get there in half an hour.

Drive to a suspected radio relay station. The road ahead is still a yellow mud road and is blocked. If you still want to drive, you have to call the mountain at the forest fire checkpoint before going up the mountain, otherwise you can only climb on two legs go up. Although the road is not long, about a few hundred meters, but the slope is steep, if it is raining, it should be more difficult to climb up. The moss along the way and the steep slopes on both sides make the mountain feel like a blade. After a few times when I felt that I couldn’t hold on anymore, I finally saw the gate of the village from a distance and wrote “Quiet Gate”.

Sanqing Cave (Sanxian Cave), also known as Baoji Temple Village, has four gates and is a site of the Qing Dynasty. The tomb at the foot of the mountain is also clearly written during the Guangxu period, indicating that this view was at least before Guangxu.

The main body of the Taoist temple is located in the cave, and the appearance is basically well preserved, but many statues of Bodhisattvas have disappeared, and the new statues are always not quite right. A total of more than a dozen couplets have been carved inside and outside the cave, in various fonts, covering various aspects such as religion, scenery, and persuasion.

An old man surnamed Leng said that he had guarded the temple for 7 years, and the gods named him “Tianzun”, so he was ordered to guard it here. Regardless of other things, people moved so many stools from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain to let climbers rest, which is also a good deed.

At the gate of the cave, there was originally a cultural monument erected by the government of Yulong Town, Dazu District, but it was smashed to pieces. “Tianzun” told us that it was Dazu and Yongchuan who were fighting for the ownership of this place.

I would like to add that Sanqing Cave was also smashed during the catastrophe, and the cave was used for radar communication activities, so the signal tower seen at the parking place is the relic of that time.

Tanzi stone

Down the mountain from Sanqing Cave, because of the unfamiliar road, it took a detour for nearly three kilometers, but fortunately, the bamboo forest along the way was refreshing, and it was a bit mysterious in the “Oriental Hogwarts” cave. The dim sun in May is not too harsh, I only regret not bringing two more bottles of water.

After going down the mountain, walk about 2 kilometers in the direction of Yongchuan, passing the martyrs memorial relief, there is a road up the mountain on the right, and there is also a forest fire prevention station for inspection, which will remind you to prohibit fireworks. This section of road should belong to the road section maintained by the forest farm, not paved road. If you want to drive, pay attention, the car up the mountain is a test of the level, non-veteran drivers should not try it, the gravel road is equipped with huge potholes, it is a bit expensive.

This is a good road for hiking friends. The bamboo forests on both sides are deep, and the dead bamboo leaves are falling under the feet. It is uncomfortable to step on it. The sound of the wind in the mountains and the smell of green bamboo reminded me of a recent purchase called “Bamboo Forest Listening to the Rain”. How can not imitate the taste of nature.

In May Bamboo Forest, there is a path up to the top of the mountain, leading to the “Tanzi Stone”. When the weather is fine, you can stand in the distance to take pictures, or use a drone to take pictures of the brave temperament.

The entire route has a part that can be driven and a part that can be hiked. The number of kilometers on foot ranges from 5 to 20 kilometers.

In the process of hiking in the mountains, we also accidentally discovered that the exposed coal seam here is really a living fossil of geological movement. It is very exciting to see this with our own eyes!

route recommendation

If you have seen the present and are interested in this place, then Little Chopsticks recommends a route for readers:

Day1: Main city of Chongqing – Yulong, eat bean curd rice in Yulong New Town at noon, then hike Yulong Old Street, Sanqing Cave, and Tanzishi for dinner, eat crucian carp at night, go to Longshui Lake to soak in hot springs and have a good night’s sleep

Day 2: Sleep in Longshui Lake, row a boat, ride a horse by the lake, eat bamboo shoots and fried bacon at noon, and drive back to the city

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Past travel notes

This article is transferred from: https://macin.org/2023/05/22/yulong/
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