[Zhangzhou Yunshuiyao] Travel Notes on Nanjing Ancient Town

Issue 09 sharing about travel

C H U A N

 

Yunshui ballad, Yunshui ballad,

Beautiful, picturesque and enchanting,

In the high mountains and flowing water, the pastoral scenery is beautiful, with waterwheels around the river and earth buildings showing off.

Yunshui ballad, Yunshui ballad,

The breeze blows above my head, the green pines and bamboos are full of laughter,

The flowing water on the dam is howling, the big banyan tree is charming along the river, the lights are dawning in the film and television city, and the laughter is Xiaoxiao in the Huaiyuan Tower!

——"The Ballad of Clouds and Waters"

Xiao Han and I met on social media in 2019. As for how we met, I don’t remember now. He graduated from college in the same year as me. After graduation, he successfully returned to his hometown of Nanjing, Zhangzhou, passed the public institution examination, and entered the institutional work. He had invited me to travel with him many times before. But I let him go many times because of work.

This time I was also invited by him to come to Zhangzhou Yunshui Yao.

DAY1

That morning, I made a reservation for a taxi. Starting from Quanzhou, there were many traffic jams along the way, and finally arrived at Nanjing, Zhangzhou around 1 p.m. I sent him a WeChat message telling him my location. He said he would come to me right away.

The clock numbers on the phone kept beating. Xiao Han came out riding an electric bike. We had never seen each other before, but he recognized me from a distance, and of course I recognized him. He was wearing a small brown shirt and a dark short hat, with a bit of literary atmosphere. It seems a little different from what I imagined.

His car stopped accurately in front of me, and he didn't seem to need to exchange the connection code. He directly said, "Get in the car, let's go to the restaurant to eat, and then go to the station to take the bus after eating."

It seemed like an instant hit. I didn't say anything and got into his car.

Soon he found a small restaurant. We simply ordered three dishes and one soup. After lunch and a short rest, we set off to the station to catch the train.

He parked the electric car naturally at the entrance of the station. Then I had a few words with the convenience store owner in Zhangzhou dialect. As a Hokkien person, I have never been able to understand the Hokkien spoken in Zhangzhou. But the general meaning of these sentences should be to store the car here. I mean to come back and pick it up tomorrow night. It seems that Xiao Han is a frequent visitor here.

After putting the car away, he bought water and a ticket for the shuttle bus.

The shuttle buses to Yunshuiyao are all small shuttle buses. We waited for a while and got in the car. The parking space is very crowded. We both also carried two schoolbags. The journey was also bumpy and bumpy. Yunshuiyao is located in Shuyang Ancient Town. The shuttle bus shook all the way and it took about an hour and a half to arrive at the gate of Yunshuiyao.

Enter the scenic area. The most eye-catching thing is the earthen buildings scattered at the foot of the mountain, beside the stream bank and in the fields. Of course, the most famous earthen buildings are "Huaiyuan Building" and "Hegui Building", which are also the classic "four dishes and one soup" of the earthen buildings.

The first thing we arrived at was Huaiyuan Building. The large ring of Huaiyuan Building is the residence and the small ring is the school. The architecture is quite unique. It is said that Huaiyuan Building is also the architectural prototype of the movie "Big Fish and Begonia".

In addition to Huaiyuan Tower, the most spectacular thing in Yunshuiyao Scenic Area is Hegui Tower. With the successful application of Fujian Earth Buildings for World Heritage in 2003, Hegui Tower was also included in the World Heritage List.

Hegui Tower is different from Huaiyuan Tower in that it is not round but square. It was built in the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Hegui Building was built on a swamp and is called the "tallest" earth building. It is still strong and stable after more than 200 years. I am impressed by the architectural craftsmanship of the ancients.

When we came out of Hegui Building, it was already approaching evening. We decided to check in at Folk Hotel first. We stayed at the "Jingwei Minor" near the water wheel in the scenic area. It is said that when filming "The Ballad of Clouds and Waters", Vivian Hsu and Chen Kun also stayed at this B&B.

The accommodation environment of the inn is quiet and elegant, and the quaint farmhouse complements each other.

Living by this creek, you can see the farmhouses on the edge of the creek in front of you from a distance, with smoke rising from their cooking pots and the water wheel squeaking around. It seems to have some flavor.

After arranging our accommodation, we went to the town to find dinner.

We found a small restaurant in a small street behind the scenic spot. The specialty food here in Yunshuiyao is "light fish". Light fish is also called "thick scale" locally, and its scientific name is Chinese barb. It is a famous freshwater fish in Zhangzhou. The biggest feature of this fish is that even its scales are edible. I've never heard of this before.

However, this fish without scales is really uncomfortable to eat.

After dinner, we walked around the town and ate some other roadside snacks. I also bought a bubble machine to give to my "godson".

It was around eight o'clock in the evening and I was getting tired. We ordered a few bottles of beer and some barbecue at the tavern next to the waterwheel. While eating barbecue, drinking wine, and listening to the whirring of the water wheel.

We chatted about our past lives and enjoyed the night view of the scenic spot. The night view of Yunshuiyao is relatively simple, the ancient town is relatively small, and there are no bright lights. A few scattered lights. Tourists on the road are strolling leisurely, but it feels like strolling in the yard in front of their own homes, giving it a warm feeling.

The moonlight shines through the branches of the trees on the water, making the waves sparkle and be as gentle as water.

The business of the tavern is average. Seeing that we were the only two customers, the boss asked us if we wanted to sing. I didn't expect that this bistro also provides karaoke services. It was my first time to try outdoor karaoke.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Han can still sing, and he sings quite nicely.

The evening breeze is so gentle, the world is beautiful, the wind and the moon are both romantic.

Maybe this is the life I want. Simple and ordinary, peaceful and satisfying.

DAY2

The next day we got up early. We went to watch the sunrise at Yunshuiyao together.

We sat on the bank of the stream next to the watermill, watching the sun gradually climb up in the quiet town.

The creek is gurgling, and the distant mountains are like black daisy. The simple ancient town looks like a "paradise" under the sunshine.

The reflection of the ancient banyan tree is on the stream, and the small earthen buildings on both sides of the river will surround the stream. The stream water pulled up by the water wheel will play melodious notes on the keys of the ancient Longbu Bridge, slowly floating into the distance.

The earth is gradually waking up, and listening to the squeaking sound of the waterwheel is like a song. Maybe this is the origin of Yunshuiyao.

The day's plan begins in the morning, and the ancient town that is about to wake up calms down people's minds. This peace is mental, spiritual peace. It's like wandering in the sky, feeling at ease.

After a while, the scenic spot gradually became lively again. The coming and going of people broke the tranquility of the ancient town. We also plan to leave.

After returning to the B&B, I packed my luggage and took a ride out of the scenic spot.

In a hurry, looking at the flowers, life is probably such a process. But at least I had a comfortable and comfortable time. Maybe this is the meaning of travel. Working day after day brings a lot of emotions to people's hearts. Yun Shuiyao and his entourage make people temporarily forget the disturbing trivialities of work and life.

That's enough.

Open the door to distinguish the colors, the remaining stars shine on the water, and the city is full of good dreams.