Travel Notes in Bin County
I have been in Bin County for more than four years. What impressed me deeply are the signature stone sculptures of Gong Liu, the Jing River that runs diagonally across the north and south Sichuan plateaus from east to west, The Great Buddhist Temple is a tourist attraction known as the "Silk Road Buddha City" and a coalfield with rich coal resources. The most unforgettable ones are the leisure tour of several major Buddhist temples, the walk in Binta Square and the Bin County’s specialties: Royal Noodles, Tingkou Fried Noodles, and Guokui Yazi.
When you arrive in front of the Great Buddha Temple, the first thing that catches your eye is the two rows of green willow branches hanging down like golden threads on the roadside, and the ancient gatehouse with three large golden plaques inscribed with "Great Buddha Temple" . After purchasing the ticket, you enter the tour. There are some beautiful trees and green grass on the left and right sides in front of you. There is a large spiritual stone near the front, with the words "World Cultural Heritage Binxian Big Buddha Temple" carved in golden characters. Looking at the ancient temple marked "Mingjingtai" from a distance, the ancient temple pavilions stacked above are carved with the words "Qingshou Temple".
It is said that the grotto Buddhist niche carved into the cliff here was built by Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty to commemorate the fallen soldiers Yingfu in the battle against Xue Ju and Xue Rengao (Binzhou Qianshui Plateau). When Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty celebrated the birthday of his adoptive mother, Empress Dowager Liu, it was renamed "Qingshou Temple". It was commonly known as the Great Buddha Temple among the people because of its majestic Buddhist sculptures.
Continuing to move forward, you first pass through the gravel road paved by modern people on the right, and you will see several stone tablets of different sizes. The inscriptions above can clearly identify their content and age. Then walk to the right and approach the temple. The low-end stone cliff in front of the courtyard wall is engraved with various inscriptions on tourists from later generations written in red.
On the way back, after stepping up the stairs of the Mirror Terrace from the right, you can see the various Buddhist sculptures in the Doubi Grottoes. After entering the Thousand Buddha Cave, you will find that the Buddhist sculptures are very lifelike and exquisite. The only regret is that some of the Buddha body sculptures are damaged, with hands, arms, elbows, body, legs, and heads missing to varying degrees. We can't help but wonder whether some criminals stole the Buddha heads for personal gain.
Further up, you can see the largest Buddhist cave in the temple, three giant Buddhas carved from Tang Dynasty clay sculptures and paintings. The statue of Gautama Buddha in the middle is particularly magnificent. Kind and majestic, with two ears hanging down from the shoulders, a square face made of gold, a sapphire-blue bun to protect the top, kind eyebrows and kind eyes, thick red lips, and a cinnabar-white hair between the eyebrows to save all living beings. His left hand is on his knees, and his right hand is raised, with the palm facing outward and the ring finger slightly forward. When I looked closely, I found that his fingers were half higher than those of ordinary people. I couldn't help but think of the image of Sun Wukong doing somersaults and somersaults in the hands of Tathagata Buddha. Even my mobile phone couldn't take a picture of his whole body. He was wearing clothes with bare chest and a belt tied around his waist, sitting dignifiedly on the lotus platform. On the top, the entire shape is solemn, dignified, majestic and expressive, which can be said to be the ingenuity and uncanny workmanship of ancient skilled craftsmen.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva standing on the east and west sides of the Buddha are slightly less tall and majestic. They wear a crown on their head, a gorgeous necklace, and a large sheep's skirt. They look elegant and quiet. The statues in the Buddhist niches in the grottoes are of various shapes, large scale and exquisite carvings, giving people a sense of beauty and dizzying. The statues have low buns, round faces, and plump and thick bodies. Most of them have bare chests and abdomen, and they are elegant and flying, like a song. Like Dance also reveals the free and unrestrained customs and concepts of Datang culture.
After visiting the Great Buddha Temple, my colleague Xiao He and I went to the county town to find a restaurant. The interior was not very grand. As soon as we stepped into the door, we were greeted by the smiling and enthusiastic boss and sat down. He was very attentive. We asked politely what we wanted to eat. We saw that there were many people in the store. When we were hesitating, the boss quickly said, "Hurry up, it will be ready in a minute. Each of us ordered a bowl of Tingkou fried noodles, and then ordered a special imperial noodles and Vegetarian noodles mixed with cucumber and peanuts, and two bottles of beer. After a while, the vegetarian beer came.
After waiting for another ten minutes or more, the fried noodles smelled delicious. It smells hot and tastes strong, rich but not greasy, which is very suitable for the taste of me, an old Shaanxi Guanzhong kid. The milky white and soft imperial noodle slices are delicious when dipped in the cooking water. After eating a bowl of fried noodles and a plate of vegetarian food, I felt full and my belly was swollen. After drinking a bottle of ice-cold 9 degrees (a kind of beer), my stomach suddenly felt a little bloated and I had two burps. Beer burp, loose (same meaning as relaxed in Guanzhong dialect).
After dinner, we went for a walk in Kaiyuan Square. In the middle of the wide square, there is a famous ancient temple tower that is particularly conspicuous. The tower is more than fifty meters high, octagonal, seven-story, hollow, and is a pavilion-style brick tower. There are six arched holes on each floor of the tower, alternating with rectangular false doors, and their orientation changes from floor to floor. The eaves are stacked, and flat railings are placed on the waist eaves. The appearance is straight and beautiful. There are stairs inside the tower, which can be climbed up to get a distant view.
The Ziwei Mountain in the rear has been transformed into a steep staircase for visitors to exercise and express their emotions. At night, looking up from the square, the lanterns of vegetation and trees on the entire mountain are colorful and dazzling in red, yellow, blue, purple and light. The staircase lights on the tens of thousands of steps rotate and flash, and the "Silk Road Buddha City, Landscape and Breeze" at the top is red. The giant characters change and emit brilliant patterns of different colors.
Passing through the red lanterns and huge movie screens in the square, and from the edge of the basketball court to the first-level platform square, you can see the crowds of people blocking the way and the skilled folk craftsmen waving their iron whips in colorful patterns and making crackling sounds, which is spectacular and majestic. . Of course, there are also entertainment projects for physical exercise such as monkey hunting, spinning tops, and boxing exercises.
After climbing to the top, I was already sweating slightly. The evening breeze blew by, and I suddenly felt a bit of coolness. My eyes were wide and bright, and my whole body was released and relaxed. I looked down. Go and overlook the square paved with crushed bluestones, the strips divided by winding paths, the criss-crossing green felt lawns, the ridges and eaves of ancient temples and towers with mixed withered grass, the chirping of birds, and the clear sound of wind chimes, and the brightly lit and prosperous county town. panoramic.
Standing on a high place and looking at the dim lights of the county town, the curling smoke from cooking stoves, and the swarming crowds of hurried pedestrians, I can’t help but feel that I am looking at the fireworks and the sky of the world from outside the mortal world.