Later, I heard that the location of Hibiscus Town was shot in the ancient city of Phoenix in western Hunan, which is the Hibiscus Town in the movie. Then later on, the friends who have been to Phoenix came back to me and said, Phoenix, that small mountain town, the stream is clear, hanging footstools standing, a variety of flavors; curved green stone streets, winding paths, ancient colors, beautiful. Strolling in it, or holding a small wooden row in the stream to view the picturesque scenery on both sides of the river, it is simply a fairy-like feeling.
A few years later, I had the honor to go to the ancient city of Phoenix. Phoenix is indeed beautiful, beautiful somewhat out of my expectation. However, I also found that Phoenix is not the location of "Hibiscus Town", it is not at all the same thing as the Hibiscus Town I saw in the movie.
Once, I accidentally saw the advertisement of Hibiscus Town on the Internet, and opened it to see that the filming place of the movie "Hibiscus Town" was Wang Village in Yongshun County, western Hunan. Due to the fame of "Hibiscus Town", the local tourism industry is booming under the impetus of the wave of tourists in our country, and Wang Village was renamed as Hibiscus Town in 2007. So, the idea of visiting Hibiscus Town in the field was born in my mind.
I thought about it, but because I was still working at the time, and the railroads and highways from my workplace to western Hunan were not very convenient, so I never made it. After retirement, Xiangxi passed the highway, if you drive to Furong Town is not very pleasant? When I said this idea with the family "leadership", she y agreed.
A clear day in mid-spring, we along the Baomao high-speed Xiangxi Jishou turn into S229 provincial highway to Furong town. After leaving Jishou, there is less traffic on the way, and the wide, smooth asphalt highway is like a black belt, floating in the emerald green mountains. Although the car does not run as fast as on the highway, but the highway on both sides of the green hills, beautiful scenery, the air is so fresh that there is a hint of sweetness, we are like running in the gallery without end. Highway side, from time to time there are Furong town, red stone forest large tourist advertisements, constantly provoking our curiosity and yearning for Furong town. After more than twenty kilometers of Guzhang, I saw a very beautiful white semi-circular arch bridge in front of me. According to the mileage shown on the navigation, I thought that might be the Youshui by Furong Town. Come to the front of the bridge, towering arch beams on the five big red letters in the eye: Furong Town Bridge!
Ah, the Furong Town I have long desired is right in front of me!
After the bridge, according to the navigation instructions, we turned right into a small street, not wide, and turned a few blocks to a triangular ping fork in the road. We slowly pull over and stop the car, want to inquire about the location of the Furong Town scenic spot. At this point, a few touts look like women came around and asked us if we wanted to stay.
I explained the intention, one of the thirty-something years old female touts grabbed me and said: "In front of the hibiscus town scenic area, my family's hotel is not far from the scenic area, into the scenic area can be free of tickets na."
We briefly discussed this, and asked the woman to get into the car. The first time I saw this, I was able to see the car, and I was able to see the car, and I was able to see the car, and I was able to see the car. Under the guidance of the woman, we walked about four or five hundred meters, the woman said to us: "Here, across the road is our hotel, please get off. My name is Li, call me Little Li."
Li took us into her hotel. There are a few pictures of Furong Town hanging in the hotel, and there are some text descriptions of Furong Town in the pictures. The hotel is small, clean and cozy. Guests were coming in and out in twos and threes. The customer service counter checked us in and told us, "You can enter the scenic street directly from the side door of the lobby. There is no ticket check for browsing the falls before 7am and after 6pm."
I looked at my watch and it was just a little after 4pm. We made an appointment with the hotel customer service and we came back for dinner around seven. So, we entered the scenic area through the side door of the lobby.
Out of the hotel down a dozen steps, we came to a six, seven meters wide, paved with green slate street, when the street stood a four-pillar stone pagoda, which must be the movie that five miles long green slate street. Passing through the stone pagoda, crossing a small stone bridge, there is a snack store on the right side of the street at the turning point, and the sign of the store reads "No. 113 Furong Town, Authentic Liu Xiaoqing Rice Bean Curd Shop", and there is a line of small characters on the left and right side of the sign, and on the right side of the sign, it reads "Movie "Furong Town", Liu Xiaoqing as Hu Yuying", and on the left side of the sign, it reads "Movie "Furong Town", Liu Xiaoqing as Hu Yuying". On the right is "Liu Xiaoqing as Hu Yuying in the movie Furong Town", and on the left is "Jiang Wen as Qin Shutian". I carefully scrutinized this small store, its storefront appearance, inside the structure, and my memory of the movie Hu Yuying rice tofu store is somewhat similar to the movie Hu Yuying selling rice tofu scene in my mind came to mind. A dozen steps ahead, on the right there is a two-story brick and wood structure of the relatively new house, the bottom is a clothing store, upstairs seems to be a home. In front of the house there is a stone monument with three big words "Hibiscus Town" and a few lines of small letters: "Hibiscus Town was originally known as Wang Village, due to the success of the movie "Hibiscus Town", henceforth named "Hibiscus Town". This building is the heroine of the play rice tofu shih tzu Hu Yuying - Liu Xiaoqing played, selling rice tofu hard work after getting rich by building a new house." I still vaguely remember the scene of Hu Yuying's house in the movie, which was similar to the brick house in front of me. The stone tablet should be written on the real.
As the evening approaches, there are not many pedestrians on the street, which seems leisurely and quiet. On both sides of the street, is a store next to a store, there are selling clothes, there are selling groceries, there are selling snacks, there are selling all kinds of tourist commodities, more is to sell the local specialties, such as preserved meat, miscellaneous grain poop, bamboo weaving products, all kinds of handicrafts, silver jewelry, and so on. The stores are not big, but they are decorated with antique colors, and the tone is very harmonious with the old stone street. There are still a few old shops on the street, such as the "Gu Han Street Tofu Workshop", which is no longer in business, but is preserved there, showing the long history of the street. On the left side of the street, there is another "authentic Liu Xiaoqing rice bean curd store" in front of a sign: "the movie "Hibiscus Town" scene shooting place, Hu Ji rice bean curd", the sign also specially noted "Liu Xiaoqing as Hu Yuying ". This store is wider than the Liu Xiaoqing Rice Bean Curd Shop just now, and can probably accommodate 20 to 30 people. However, there were few customers at this time, and the waiters were playing cards and bragging. We walked in, the innermost part of the store is a row of railings, outside the railings is a very high cliff, stretching his head to the bottom of the cliff to see feel a little dizzy, Hibiscus Town's famous waterfalls hanging in front of. A small stream flows here from north to south, and suddenly there are two cliffs more than 40 meters wide, the first one is more than 20 meters high, the second one is more than 30 meters high. The stream suddenly fell down from the first cliff, splashing water all over the sky, and then fell down the second higher cliff, forming an extremely spectacular successive waterfalls, the sound of water is like thunder, flying mist all over the sky. In the strong sunlight, waterfalls and water mist white silver dazzling. I suddenly thought, no wonder some people say that Hibiscus Town is a thousand-year-old town hanging on the waterfall, it is really true to its name. I have been to see the China-Vietnam border Detian cross-country waterfalls, also went to see the so-called Asia's largest Guizhou Huangguoshu waterfalls. Compared with them, Furong Town Waterfalls, although not as magnificent as they are, but on the momentum and ornamental, not inferior to them, its biggest feature is that the waterfall in Furong Town, waterfalls and small towns as one, complementing each other, the waterfalls on both sides of the building in the cliffs and cliffs cascading with strong Tujia color and cultural flavor of the footstool, and the waterfalls reflect each other, composed of a great huge excellent Landscape painting. This is the first time in my travel experience that I have been able to enjoy such a beautiful view while sitting in a rice tofu store.
After a long time of viewing, we returned to the counter of the store and asked for two bowls of rice tofu. The first time I came to Furong Town, this "Liu Xiaocheng rice tofu" is a must eat'. Perhaps to suit the tastes of tourists from the north and south, the rice tofu does not have the unique flavor of Hunan's hot and sour, but the texture is good. In eating rice tofu, I asked the waiter: "Furong Town, how so many Liu Xiaoqing rice tofu store ah, not afraid of the same?"
The little girl smiled and said with a big smile, "This is Liu Xiaoqing gave us Furong town's gold business card, we all like to use it."
"Oh, such a cheap advertisement of course can not let go. Then we have to thank Liu Xiaoqing properly." I nodded my head and said yes.
"Who says otherwise!" The little girl laughed even more happily.
Out of the rice tofu store, not much farther, is a video store specializing in some of the film and television works played by Liu Xiaoqing. Liu Xiaoqing played Hu Yuying sell rice tofu or other roles of large stills, hanging all four walls of the store, the big screen TV is showing the movie "Hibiscus Town". I remembered the words of the waiter at the rice tofu store, Liu Xiaoqing, has really become the business card of the people of Furong Town.
Diagonally across from the audio-visual store is a larger brick Guanyin Pavilion, which also looks a bit old. Due to the narrow streets, its door and other places are not the same, small and exquisite, exquisite carving of the lion, two front feet on the door when the body backward, back feet stirrups on the wall. Guanyin Pavilion above the door, symmetrically set with a number of flowers, plants, animals in fine relief. Guanyin Pavilion, showing people the perfect fusion of Chinese and Western cultures here.
The green slate street, in the right side of the creek curved, has been down dozens of steps, and went forward more than two miles, the end of the street there is a city gate-style platform. Through the central arched door of the platform, a wide river across the front, this is from the northwest to come, turned a corner here, and to the southeast hurriedly to go to the water of the You. There is a pair of couplets on the platform gate, the first line is "Xiang E ancient road horse gangs whip over the mountain streams across the Wuling even three counties", the second line is "Chu Shu Tongjin oars competing to break the reefs and split the waves of the Pan Groupe Youshui the first pass", the horizontal line is "Wangcun ", still in the people who came to browse the former described the prosperity and prosperity of this place. The second floor of the platform, built with flying eaves pavilion, hanging under the eaves of the pavilion, a large plaque, inscribed "Furong Town" three words, and Xie Jin's signature. In front of the platform is a semicircular pier, more than twenty steps straight to the Youshui Bay, a few small boats, leisurely docked at the shore of the pier, probably used for people to play it. Due to the development of modern transportation, this ancient key place has lost its original significance, and only retains the value of tourism and nostalgia. Looking at the green water of the smoky river and the buildings perched on the horse's head, my mind vaguely recalls the splendor of Furong Town that has already gone away. Here was once the Western Han Youyang County seat, because of the You water oars convenience, on the Sichuan-Guizhou, down to the dongting, since ancient times for the Yongshun port of commerce, known as "Chu Shu Tongjin", enjoying the majestic town of Youyang, western Hunan, "the four great towns", "little Nanjing," the reputation. Nanjing". On the other side of the cliff, the famous painter of the Ming Dynasty, literary Tang Bohu's cliff carving "Chu Shu Tongjin" four red characters are still clear, eye-catching, showing the majesty of this place.
Along the narrow street along the shore of the pier, we walked towards the waterfall. One or two hundred meters from the waterfall, there is a small viewing platform, from which to look at the past, the wide and vast curtain of water from the sky, people shocked to feel very small. The waterfall in the Youshui Bay rushed out of a very deep pool, a paved with green stone path, from the waterfall through the side, it is said that this is the ancient trestle, is an important passage to and from Hunan, Guizhou, Shu. Walking inside, rain and fog, cool and deep, the water curtain down the huge impact of the sound of each other speak difficult to hear, let a person thrilling.
Behind the waterfall, there is a cavern, which is the site of the early cave of the indigenous people, which is molded with a few primitive natives labor statues, indicating that very early in the activities of human beings here. I was thinking, this is not the "Journey to the West" in the Waterfall Cave? Where is that magical Qi Tian Da Sheng?
Through the waterfall, I turned around from the bottom to the top again examined the waterfall falling from the sky, just now we eat rice tofu that cliffs on the one next to the other hanging feet, as if floating above the waterfall, high in the air, seems to be flying in the air. That high hanging feet, y rooted in the rock crevice of the cliff, they hold up, not just a building, but the whole Furong Town mystery. Cliffs, full of vine vegetation, from the top of the cliffs high down, as if the green veil swaying in the wind. Blue sky and white clouds in the air, the head of the waterfall cascading, that through the magic and thrill, is really breathtaking.
A stone path leads straight up the mountain along the wall. The road sign indicates that the Tusi Palace is above.
Tusi Palace and we just ate rice tofu "Liu Xiaoqing rice tofu store" corresponds to the side of the cliffs, the palace in front of the long-flowing streams, waterfalls, waterfalls, the momentum, the following is the Youshui River deep pool. Here, there is almost no foot of flat land, the house is relying on the support of the foot of the mountain and built, layer upon layer, high eaves, like flying geese spread their wings. I was y impressed by the rich imagination of the Tujia people and the superb architectural art.
Climbing and looking, associated with the content of those advertisements seen in the hotel, this Tujia Palace brings me not only intuitive magic, and endless mystery. In 910 A.D., Peng Shixiu established the Tusi dynasty, set the capital at Wangcun, Xizhou, and built the "Sheikyang Palace", which governed more than 20 states in Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou. After the Tusi King moved the capital in 1135 AD, "Sheikyang Palace" became the summer residence of successive Tusi Kings. This is the longest minority Tusi dynasty in Chinese history, which lasted for 818 years and was succeeded by 35 Tusi kings in 28 generations. It is in this small cliff, but also interpreted the thousands of years of horrifying history.
Out of the Tusi Palace, we walked along a stone path to the stream upstream of the waterfall. The water in the creek is very shallow, and there are concrete jumping stirrups in the creek to facilitate the movement of people on both sides of the river. We crossed the stream from here and returned to the hotel.
At dinner, the waiter who served us asked us with a smile, "How did you feel about seeing Furong Town?"
The "leader" of the fast-mouthed, blurted out: "very good, I can not imagine that the hibiscus town is so beautiful, so magical!
The waiter asked, "Did you go to see the big copper pillar in Xizhou?"
"What Xizhou copper pillar?" I asked curiously in return.
"It's right next to the scenic square. If you guys are interested in the history of western Hunan, that's a must-see."
"If you hadn't said that, we wouldn't have known. That's a must see!"
After dinner, without resting, we rushed into the scenic area from the triangular ping where we stopped to ask for directions.
At the entrance of the scenic area, there is a flying roof, above which hangs Xie Jin's signature "Furong Town" three big words of the plaque, the left side of the plaque on a stone, engraved with the red "Wang Village" two words, showing that the Furong Town since ancient times since the history of the unusual. I feel that in Furong Town, the movie "Furong Town" has penetrated into every corner here, and even all aspects of the life of Furong Town people, everywhere, such as highway bridges, pagodas, store names, product packaging, snacks, and even the language of the people and so on.
Into the scenic square, the left side of the earth is the King's ancestral temple, right in front of a three-story warped eaves of the stage, the stage has a plaque, inscribed "swinging hands of the Hall" three words. Obviously is a theater, why is it called Pendulum Hall? We asked the locals to learn, because the Tujia people are popular to dance a dance called the pendulum dance, so, where the Tujia people live, most of the theater or public **** party with the pendulum hall.
From the right front of the swinging hand hall out of the square, see the right side of the ancient warrior statues of several hand-held swords, the center is wearing a robe, wearing a crown in the head of the king, is wrapped in a turban with a long cloak of the folk chief in conversation with what. Flags fluttered around them, and a square octagonal copper pillar stood behind them, inscribed with dense writing. That must be the copper pillar of Xizhou.
I carefully read the description on the side, it was 202 BC, Han Gaozu set up Youyang County, the county seat is here. In 910 AD, King Ma Yin of Chu took Peng Congwei as the Xizhou Assassin, and his children and grandchildren inherited the Xizhou Assassin, and the state's rule was also here. In 940 A.D., the king of Chu, Ma Xi Fan and Xizhou prick Peng Shi Chou for this piece of feng shui land and many years of war, Peng Shi Chou defeated and the king of Chu to make peace, to conclude the alliance, the border and the metallurgy, the casting of copper pillars as evidence. Copper column weighs five thousand pounds, ten feet high two feet, into the earth six heart, shaped as an eight-sided, the end of the column covered with copper top, inscribed oath-like on the copper column. This copper column, is a symbol of the ancient Chinese different nationalities and mutual harmony, but also a symbol of peace, and therefore is regarded by the Tujia people as a sacred object.
This history tells me that more than 2,000 years ago, this place was a major town in western Hunan. In a long period of time, this place as a fortress of land and water transportation, has been the golden port of commerce, daily mules and horses more than a thousand, merchants gathered, a prosperous scene, was once the political and cultural center of western Hunan. Therefore, Furong Town is not only a long history, there is a heavy political and cultural precipitation, its ancient, not the general ancient town can be compared.
After seeing the copper pillar, we crossed the Tuwang Bridge and strolled along the mountain path on the opposite bank of the stream. At this time, the sky darkened, the lights of the mountain town shining, so that people can not tell which is the light, which is the stars. Suddenly, there was a pleasant music coming from down the hill and the sound of a programmer's commentary, as if someone was performing there. We followed the sound and found a stage in a hollow, filled with a crowd of people. We tiptoed around the audience and found a seat, and enjoyed the program with interest.
Although Hibiscus Town is small, the performance level of the program is not low, very professional. The program, mostly reflecting the history of Xiangxi, Tujia customs and the current civilian life, with songs, dances, raps and juggling. A performance of the Tujia folk barefoot on the fire, mouth flames, branding iron branding arm masterpiece kung fu just finished, followed by a reflect the Tujia wedding customs and audience interaction program. The host from the audience randomly invited four audience members to play the groom on stage, said the rules of interaction, teach them how to wear the kind of wide Tujia convenient pants. This kind of pants, do not tie the belt, wear a round and tie. Then, the host designated four actresses to play the bride, asked the "groom" to "bride" to send love gifts, and then worship heaven and earth, back the bride into the "cave". One of the "groom" from Wuhan, Hubei, in the back of the "bride", that convenient pants are always tied to fall down, causing the audience to laugh. Finally, only one hand to carry pants, a hand to help the back of the "bride" in a mess into the "bridal chamber". These performances, funny and not vulgar, the audience in the understanding of the customs of the Tujia people at the same time, but also get happy. Listening to the accent, the audience sitting next to me is a local. He told me that this performance every week, is a scenic spot from time to time a tourist activity, free for tourists and local residents to enjoy, today you can see, is also considered to have luck.
After a day of bumpy cars, in the scenic area and browse two, three hours, more or less feel a little tired, did not watch the show we returned to the hotel to rest. The night of the town without the hustle and bustle of the big city, quiet and extremely peaceful. Lying in bed, but long failed to sleep, thoughts always in history and reality back and forth shuttle, the ancient battlefield fighting, the movie Hu Yuying's rice tofu, Chu Shu key punch unceasingly busy horse gangs, the Tusi Palace of the wine and liquor, the mysterious quiet green stone streets, from the sky cascading down the magnificent waterfalls ......
More than two thousand years of Hibiscus Town, so in my mind from ancient to modern, one scene after another, the movie style constantly staged, so, unconsciously, in the underworld, I entered another mysterious and colorful and illusory ethereal Hibiscus Town ......