When I grew up, I learned that Yeerqiang's short name was Yecheng, which was named after the Yeerqiang River. It was called "Xiye Country" and "Hezi Country" in ancient times, with a history of more than 2 100 years. Since the Western Han Dynasty, it has been the southern town of the ancient Silk Road.
Nowadays, Yecheng has become a dazzling pearl under the Kunlun Mountain, enjoying the reputation of "the hometown of walnuts in China", "the hometown of pomegranate", "the hometown of jade" and "the hometown of singing and dancing". After visiting Yecheng, Yu Xiansheng, a famous Chinese cultural scholar, happily wrote an inscription: "Heaven is zero kilometers, and Kunlun is the first city."
Tuyecheng
Drive down from Pamirs and go straight to Yecheng. The first thing I saw was the Yecheng Tower, which was in the shape of "1", meaning "the first city in Kunlun". The bowls at the top of the tower are full and countless; The four sides of the tower are engraved with the words "hometown of walnuts in China", "hometown of pomegranate", "hometown of jade" and "hometown of singing and dancing". It stands at the gate of the thoroughfare, making people clear at a glance, reminding people that Yecheng has arrived, and I hope people will remember Yecheng.
In order to hurry, I haven't eaten seriously all day. In Yecheng, it was already night, so the first time was to solve the gastrointestinal problem. I searched the top brand Milang Restaurant in Yecheng on the Internet and decided to treat myself here.
However, I don't want the small volume to almost miss it.
Although the frontispiece is not big, but on the second floor, I found that there is a new world. I really didn't expect that there is such a Turkish-style restaurant in this small county, even a little more luxurious than we thought.
The decoration style is very similar to that of a western restaurant, but it is an authentic ethnic restaurant, very exotic and beautiful.
The big restaurant was packed, and our tables were all Han Chinese. The waiters in the restaurant only spoke simple Chinese, and almost all the people around us were talking in Uighur, which made us feel like we were in a foreign country.
Despite the decoration of the western restaurant, the food is typical of xinjiang cuisine, with excellent taste. The price is higher locally, but the serving speed is extremely slow.
While waiting for the food, I slowly tasted the delicious food, and I began to wonder why the consumption in such a small county is equivalent to the level of the mainland metropolis. Later, I learned that Xinjiang people have higher income than us, and their houses are super cheap. As long as they have a fixed job, there is almost no pressure in life.
Because we only stay in Yecheng for one night, we can only use the time after dinner and before going to bed to feel the familiar Yecheng that we have never been to. Looking at the brightly lit world outside the window, I actually have a long-lost feeling.
Yecheng is located at the intersection of Xinjiang, Tibet, Kashgar, Hotan and Ali, and national highways 2 19 and 3 15 pass through the city.
There are many places called "Zero Kilometers" all over the country. As far as the roads into Tibet are concerned, there are Sichuan-Tibet Highway with a starting point of zero kilometers, Qinghai-Tibet Highway with zero kilometers and Xinzang Highway with zero kilometers, but it is Xinzang Highway with zero kilometers that is famous all over the country.
With a total length of 2,342 kilometers, Xinzang Highway is one of the highways with the highest altitude, the most complex terrain, the most natural disasters and the most dangerous in the world. The zero kilometer of this heavenly road of the New Tibet Highway is in Yecheng, with a starting point of "0" kilometers, marking the beginning of the New Tibet Line.
From a distance, at the starting point of zero kilometers, a colorful Tianlu Gate was built, spanning Xueda Avenue, and there were six lanes in the doorway. The beam of the gate is flat, like a floating ship. The center of the beam is inlaid with the golden Arabic numeral "0". The north side of the beam is engraved with Tibetan-style patterns from Yecheng to Ali, and the south side is engraved with Uighur-style patterns from Ali to Yecheng.
The pillars on both sides of the color gate are engraved with the golden couplets of "Zero kilometers in the sky, the first city in Kunlun", written by a famous scholar Yu. Zero kilometer in Yecheng is not only a geographical coordinate, but also a cultural symbol.
This is the most convenient passage to Tibet, and the plateau scenery is steep from then on. From Yecheng to Ali, it is necessary to climb five mountains over 5000 meters, 16 icebergs and 44 glaciers, and cross hundreds of kilometers of no-man's land. This became the beginning of the roof of the world, and it also connected higher and farther.
The next morning, in order to see Ye again, we drove around the city and didn't want to see them again.
20 10 Kashi-Hotan railway was completed, and a station was set up in Yecheng. A statue was built in the square in front of the station. The heroes of the statue are Amir and Guranda in the movie The Visitor on the Iceberg.
Visit the city of Sitia
Before I came to Yecheng, I knew there was a magical ancient city-the lost city of West Tia. We decided to go there to find out.
Although this is not my first visit to the ruins of the ancient city in the western regions, every time I see such a scene, I can't help but imagine what this land was like when the ancient Silk Road flourished thousands of years ago. With these questions, unconsciously, I have arrived in the lost city of Sidia.
The sandcastle stands in the desert. Outside the gate made of yellow mud, there stands a stone tablet inscribed with the words "The Lost City of Sitia".
The lost city of Sitia, also known as the ancient city of Sitia, was called "the lost city" by the local people because it did not leave any historical records and archaeological experts failed to get any results after many field trips.
"Sitiya" translated into Chinese means "eternal cliff", which means never falling or going out. What kind of momentum this is, but in the end, the situation changes and is still swallowed up by the dust of history into piles of loess.
What turned it into a cup of loess? This became the mystery of the ancient city of Sitia.
Today, in Sitiya, even if the distant years cannot be retrieved, the glory of the ancient city is still faintly visible through the ruins eroded by wind and rain.
Walking along the steps and up the two-story city wall, you can see a dome bunker above the lost city gate, which is an important defense line of the whole ancient city.
Through the hole in the wall, I saw an "enigmatic" ancient desert city and the rebuilt Sitiya Palace.
The Sitiya site, which has been silent for thousands of years, is now full of new vitality. Some buildings in the scenic area have been restored, and the ancient city civilization of thousands of years ago has reappeared.
Standing on the bunker overlooking the ancient city, it is not difficult to find many buildings in the ancient city and several watchtowers outside.
Some experts believe that the ancient city of Sitiya was built at the end of 1 1 century, and it was a Khan city during the Karahan Dynasty. It was destroyed in 12 18 when Genghis Khan went west. However, at present, it can only be speculated that the site of the ancient city of Sitiya was in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the exact age remains to be verified.
But this is a speculation after all. The mystery of the city of Sitia is filled with thick clouds, and it is difficult to completely solve it so far. Therefore, it also highlights the word "mystery" of the lost city of Thea.
There is also a sacrificial altar and an ancient tomb area. In particular, the magical and bizarre sacrificial platform gives people a profound and mysterious feeling.
There is not only a site protection area in the scenic spot, but also a restoration and construction area between the ruins, which makes the desolate site glow with new vitality and present its mysterious past to people today.
The rebuilt Sitiya Palace is a typical adobe building with ethnic customs in the western regions, which reproduces the prosperity of the past and presents the heavy atmosphere of the ancient city.
The lost city of Sitiya is a regional ancient city landscape integrating the Silk Road culture, Kunlun culture and the ancient culture of the western regions, and it is the first restored earth architectural art group in Xinjiang.
The market in front of the palace restored the old scene of the main block of the ancient city of Sitiya, and reappeared the elegant demeanor of the Millennium ancient city.
Streets and alleys, high-hanging shops, simple and humble. At first glance, they have the illusion of crossing the Millennium. They are magical, profound, magical and secretive, beyond words.
Low adobe houses, after years of weathering, always exude a quaint atmosphere.
On both sides of the avenue are houses built of loess, flags are flying in the air, and the words "Silk Road Station" are written on them. It seems to be in the ancient Silk Road town thousands of years ago. At that time, the bustling and noisy picture seemed to be in front of us.
Sitiya is a transit point for Xinjiang to outland. No matter when Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions or in peacetime, it was like a post station.
Now the place to apply for the Xinzang Highway Pass is in the scenic spot. You can see people who enter Tibet by various means of transportation here. Countless young people riding motorcycles rest here, repair vehicles, stay and enjoy the ancient city of Sitia.
Walking on this street, looking at the doors and windows here, stroking the mottled walls and big wine characters, I don't know why, I always think of Longmen Inn, and I always feel that there is a warrior or killer hidden behind any window or door, and a blood shed is about to strike. ...
In the lost city, crude statues lurk on high mounds and stick to the main road leading to the palace.
Step by step towards the palace and get closer to it. To tell the truth, whether the design of this palace eventually becomes history or is over-interpreted, it always gives me a comic feeling, which suddenly eclipses the old scenic spots.
I don't know whether my disrespect angered heaven or coincidence. Suddenly, a demon wind blew and the sand covered the sun and my eyes. ...
The lost city of Thea, an ancient city that has been sleeping in the sand for thousands of years, is still difficult to escape the threat of desertification.
Today, although the desolate Sitiya site has long lost its former glory, its heavy atmosphere still exists.
For thousands of years, years and wars have eroded the grandiose sculptures of the ancient city, faded the proud civilization of the ancient city, collapsed sections of high walls and scattered broken porcelain all over the place. There is no trace of it, only the surrounding poplars and sand dunes.
After the dust passed by, I looked around intently. There were many bunkers around the palace, which were heavily guarded.
Here, you can't find a bustling face, the only thing you can witness is the broken walls and swaying branches. ...
In this atmosphere, the ruins of the lost city are becoming more and more desolate and quiet.
Walking into the ancient city of Sitia with this magic is like walking into a mysterious palace. I always feel that there will be surprises at any time. Under every pile of muddy yellow sand, there may be a mysterious cave
Thousands of years of ruins, dilapidated cities and mottled city walls have left us with too much confusion.
It shines with warm gold and attracts countless people to explore, hoping to reveal its mysterious life story layer by layer!
I really want to ignite the smoke of time and space, return to that sonorous era, and look for a scene of lost in the Millennium. Even if you can't recover the distant years, you can vaguely see the past glory of the ancient city through the ruins eroded by wind and rain.
Here, I was attracted by the word "dream back to the western regions". I went in through the small door and saw a dark passage ahead.
With the deepening of the flow of people, the eyes gradually brightened up, and a huge stone statue was carved on the left and right walls. The head of the stone statue is particularly large, with heavy eyebrows, high nose and thick lips, and the words "Kunlun Guardian" are written on the forehead.
This image is the role that archaeologists restored according to the unearthed relics when excavating the site of Sitiya. It is said that the remains are about two meters high and are real "giants".
The steps gradually descended, and some incomprehensible words were written on the stone walls on the left and right sides along the way. These characters are also found on this website, but their actual meaning seems to be difficult to decipher.
On the stone wall, there is still half a wooden wheel, and the other half has been buried by thick sand. It silently tells the hardships of the ancient Silk Road.
There is also the secret of "Thirty-six Plans for the Western Regions". With our advancement, the "Thirty-six Strategies for the Western Regions" are presented one by one in the order from near to far from the Central Plains.
The concept of "country" in Thirty-six Plans for the Western Regions is different from modern countries with strict political significance, and it distinguishes some tribes or city-states by oasis or grassland. At that time, it was difficult to verify the customs of various countries, but the buildings, figures and legends left behind, such as the legend of Loulan beauty, the ancient city of Jingjue and the Yue family, are still stories that people relish.
You can see a huge portrait of Liu Fu from a distance. They are the promoters of the understanding and integration of culture, religion and human feelings between the Central Plains and the western regions in China. Among them, Princess You Jie was the person who was mentioned many times when we crossed the first stop in Xinjiang-Tekes.
From the "underground palace", at the corner of the street, camels occasionally appear, and the rich customs of the ancient Silk Road emerge spontaneously, which also brings the ancient city in ruins to life.
Not far from the watchtower downstairs, Gesang flowers are blooming tenaciously like the ancient city of Sitia. She is beautiful but not delicate and charming, weak but tall and straight, pinning the feelings of Yecheng people looking forward to happiness and auspiciousness.
talk to oneself
The ancient city of Sitia is the area where 36 countries in the Western Regions and the United States are located. After more than two thousand years, the road has not changed, and it is still so far. What has changed is the means of transportation on the road and the thinking of people coming and going. The cycle of the alternation of the sun and the moon has not changed, and it is time that goes far. The long years have smoothed away the vicissitudes and prosperity in history.
Special geographical coordinates and a long history have built a distant, vicissitudes and mottled mark on this mountain. Now, I pick up a moment of 36 countries in the western regions and analyze the fragmented dream of the city of Sitia.
Yu, a cultural scholar, once said when commenting on Yecheng: "This is a necessary classroom for studying Chinese civilization and world civilization. Even if the mountain is high and the road is far, you must arrive again and again. " .
Yecheng, this vast land, the remains of the ancient Silk Road and the fusion of multi-ethnic cultures are all worth measuring with your feet and feeling with your body and mind.
These feelings are just the brilliant tip of Yecheng, and there are endless good places. As an important town south of the ancient Silk Road, it has a silent watch and profound connotation, which can make your heart throb and you can't help but experience it personally and feel its dreamlike past lives.
To be continued, please look forward to colorful Xinjiang crossing the sea of death (the eighth stop).
Looking back: