However, this province, known as the "green corridor" of China, is a quiet and serene "Xanadu", where there are beautiful green hills, lush and green, and it is not lost anywhere.
Between these beautiful scenery, there is a "mysterious valley" far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, that is Yelang Valley. Everything in this magical valley with beautiful scenery is mostly made of stone.
The most amazing thing is that such a picturesque scenic spot turned out to be an old man in his 80s. It took more than 20 years and a loan of more than 3 million yuan to build it.
Who is this old man and why did he build such a valley?
It all goes back to an "adventure" ...
Song Peilun, 1940, a native of Meitan County, Guizhou Province.
Perhaps because of talent, or influenced by local culture, Song Peilun showed amazing artistic talent from an early age.
As an ancient town with a long history, Meitan County has many ancient buildings.
In Song Peilun's eyes, these mottled buildings that have experienced wind and rain have their own unique temperature and life:
The bricks and tiles on it, even every piece of moss, represent the changes of the years, which fascinated Song Peilun.
When his peers were still playing games such as "playing house" and throwing clay tablets, Song Peilun began to study the corners and patterns of various ancient buildings after school every day.
I even want to describe them one by one.
At first, Song Peilun, who was hard up at home, couldn't afford painting tools, so he had to practice in the mud with a wooden stick.
And his persistence and persistence finally touched his parents.
After trying his best to save money, Song Peilun finally embarked on the road of art as he wished.
He quickly showed the relevant talents:
/kloc-at the age of 0/7, Song Peilun began to publish his works frequently in major newspapers and magazines.
And in the following years, he won many awards in the comic book industry one after another, which made him famous.
1985, Song Peilun obtained the national patent of China for inventing wood thermal engraving technology.
Later, his works were exhibited in Guiyang, Beijing, Shenzhen and other parts of the country, and some of his paintings were collected by China Art Museum.
For an artist, these achievements are enough for Song Peilun to live a wonderful and stable life.
But on 1993, Song Peilun was invited to participate in an American art activity called "splendid china".
It was in this activity that Song Peilun saw an "adventure" that changed the rest of his life.
That's an American sculpture of "Crazy Horse Singing and Dancing Xiushan". Painted by the famous sculptor Cayzac, carving started around 1948 and is still under construction.
When Song Peilun saw that an ordinary sculptor had spent the rest of his life for such a huge mountain, even his descendants were inheriting this unfinished carving career, his inner shock was self-evident.
It was also at that moment that Song Peilun suddenly understood what he wanted to pursue in his life: he also hoped to leave a huge landscape art work for his hometown and future generations.
At that time, Song Peilun had entered middle age, had his own art studio and had a stable and well-paid job as a university professor.
Faced with his lofty aspirations, many people don't quite understand him, and even advise him not to "take risks": why not retire immediately and spend a leisurely life at home?
However, among many objections, Song Peilun got his wife's understanding and support.
In this way, the husband and wife spent all their savings, bought more than 300 acres of land in the Huaxi Grand Canyon in Guizhou, and began to build their own "ideal kingdom".
In fact, before the final location of Guizhou, Song Peilun also tried to build a characteristic village with cultural heritage in other places;
Unfortunately, for various reasons, those villages eventually died at the beginning.
As he grew older, Song Peilun's desire to build a "secluded place" away from the noise became stronger and stronger.
So, after returning home, when Song Peilun saw the beautiful mountains and rivers and villages full of ethnic customs in his hometown, the artist suddenly had a wonderful inspiration:
He used his artistic conception to create a quiet and leisurely old-age sanctuary in the local area.
Mention the word "Yelang", many people will think of an idiom, that is "Yelang is arrogant"-in fact, Song Peilun's Yelang Valley is also based on this story:
Sima Qian's Historical Records Biography of Southwest Yi mentioned that there was a king named Yelangguo, and because he didn't know the vastness outside, he said arrogantly to the messenger sent by the Han Dynasty, "Who is bigger than me?"
This question has left an idiom that has been passed down through the ages.
However, in the long river of history, the ancient Yelang country is not as small as people think:
During the Warring States Period, Yelang was the first country established by the ancestors of southwest ethnic minorities.
It first appeared in China's ancient records because King Xiang of Chu sent troops to attack.
In addition, the culture of Yelang Kingdom once had moderns, which is as famous as Guloulan and other countries.
In historical research, the geographical location of Yelang ancient country is now in Guizhou.
Song Peilun used this history for reference, thus putting his ideal "seclusion place" in Guizhou.
But because of his location in the suburbs, it takes Song Peilun four hours from home to Yelang Valley every day.
For him, this is just the first difficulty on the road of "chasing dreams".
In order to build this ideal castle, Song Peilun hired many local residents to take charge of chores and maintenance.
And he personally went into battle, looking for available stones in Yelang Valley.
Not only that, Song Peilun also cut the bluestone into what he needed, and then combined with other materials to piece together a portrait.
In this process, just grinding each stone into the desired shape, Song Peilun's hands grinded out countless blood bubbles.
When the stone is finished, Song Peilun needs to integrate these huge figures with the local scenery one by one, so that the environment and manpower can be naturally connected and become a brand-new world;
In addition to these, when severe weather such as lightning storms comes, Song Peilun has to worry about whether his statue can withstand the heavy tests of nature.
Even in 1998, Huaxi Grand Canyon encountered a rare snow closure.
In order to keep his art, Song Peilun was also "shut" in Yelang Valley.
At that time, there was no water and electricity in the valley, so Ye Peilun had to cut wood and make a fire himself. When he was hungry, he cooked the wild mushrooms dug up in the field and ate them. When you are thirsty, melt the snow on the mountain and drink it.
However, although life seems to have returned to ancient society, Song Peilun did not feel bitter at all, and even felt "full of joy".
In his view, all these things he did voluntarily brought happiness, and even difficulties became a kind of happiness.
However, what he didn't expect was that the bigger problem was still behind.
Not long after Yelang Valley started construction, Song Peilun suddenly received a notice that the road leading to Yelang Valley needed to be interrupted due to the construction of a university town nearby.
Without transport vehicles, the construction of Yelang Valley had to be at a standstill.
Although the construction has stopped, the completed part of Yelang Valley needs regular maintenance.
Song Peilun also needs to pay the wages of the villagers in charge of chores as usual.
These expenses, which amount to hundreds of thousands every year, quickly hollowed out Song Peilun's property.
In order to stick to this dream, Song Peilun had to start borrowing money from relatives and friends.
He even mortgaged the house he built in Yelang Valley in exchange for capital turnover.
However, as long as Yelanggu doesn't start work, Song Peilun can't afford to pay back the money.
In this way, Yelang Valley was shut down for six years because of traffic problems.
In the past six years, Song Peilun has borrowed more than three million from relatives and friends.
In addition to these financial pressures, Song Peilun has to face the incomprehension and ridicule of the outside world.
All this puts him under great psychological pressure.
No one knows whether the great artist regretted his decision for a moment when he came back at midnight.
However, it may be that the bridge will cross when it comes to it, or it may be that the future is bright.
Under the investigation and coordination of the government, the traffic road problem leading to Yelang Valley has finally been solved.
The construction project that has been stagnant for several years has finally started slowly again. ...
After 22 years of hard work, Yelang Valley has finally taken shape.
For Song Peilun, the other half of Yelang Valley, which is not yet perfect, prefers to "leave a suspense".
It is not only to leave this half of the "blank" to future generations to play freely, but also to hope that art can "grow wantonly" with the passage of time and fill the blank with time.
When Yelang Valley was just built, Song Peilun chose to open Yelang Valley to the outside world under the persuasion of others.
Let more people experience the quiet pleasure brought by the unique culture of Yelang ancient country.
Naturally, Yelang Valley is full of its unique and wonderful charm, whether from the artistic point of view or simply from the tourist point of view:
A large forest completely isolates Yelang Valley from the noisy city.
In this paradise-like place, plants and running water have dyed everything green, which makes people involuntarily want to stop and savor this unique scenery.
Because all the buildings, sculptures and decorations in the valley are mostly made of various stones, which are mixed with some ceramics and wood.
Therefore, under the irradiation of sunlight, these tempered objects present a wonderful harmony.
They were combined into a portrait with unique charm by the builders in a unique way.
These portraits with different shapes constitute an interesting and mysterious stone castle as a whole-that is, the main building of Yelang Valley.
This stone castle is actually not big, and the average person can walk to the end in 20 minutes.
In this castle, there is only one family, that is, the Song Peilun couple who are responsible for building it and living in seclusion here.
For more than 20 years, he and his wife, Wu Ping, lived in a stone castle and lived a life of isolation like a fairy couple.
But with the development of the city, high-rise buildings began to be built around Yelang Valley.
In order to protect the "original flavor" of Yelang Valley, Song Peilun tried his best and even planned to control the passenger flow to protect the simplicity of Yelang Valley.
However, the more integrated with nature, the more attractive it is to "relax".
After 20 17, many people noticed this place, and the ticket revenue reached 7 million in just one year.
Song Peilun's previous investments were all earned back, and Song Peilun became a billionaire.
Unexpectedly, however, when Yelang Valley was so famous, Song Peilun made an amazing decision:
Around 2020, Song Peilun signed an intention agreement with Guizhou University of Finance and Economics to donate Yelang Valley to Guizhou University of Finance and Economics.
And the follow-up will be jointly managed by the Alumni Association of the University of Finance and Economics and the Education Fund Development Association.
When it comes to the reasons for donations, Song Peilun said:
At the same time, he also hopes to create another work of art in the remaining years, leaving more memories for the future.
In May of 20021,Song Peilun even broadcast live on CCTV with the help of her daughter.
Talking about donating Yelang Valley, daughter Song Yu expressed her support and understanding for her father's donation decision.
"The management of scenic spots is a very complicated job, and I still hope to put more energy into artistic creation."
Nowadays, the annual ticket price of Yelang Valley can reach 78 million yuan, and the scenic spot has changed from the initial rocky desertification to today's stone culture.
The persistence and dedication of Song Peilun and local farmers for more than 20 years not only solved the development problem of the park itself, but also indirectly promoted the employment and eating problems of more than 300 local people.
After leaving Yelang Valley, Song Peilun joined hands with the villagers in Ayizhai Village, Anshun City, Guizhou Province, and once again created a "Fujia Valley" with local flavor.
This "Rattan Valley" is more like a companion piece of Yelang Valley.
However, in addition to the stone statues with different shapes, there are many Fu Jia soldiers with different looks in Fujia Mountain Valley, and Fujia culture in the Three Kingdoms is all on display.
For most modern people, Song Peilun's behavior of not seeking fame and fortune is unimaginable.
However, in today's impetuous society, countless people have lost themselves on the road of pursuing fame and profit, and how many people can still remember and still insist on the initial "initial heart"?
Just like this, Song Peilun seems to be a "clean stream" in this world, and this persistent pursuit of dreams may be a mentality that we are particularly lacking now.
When we live in this fast-paced era, while running, we may occasionally slow down, listen to our inner voice and think about why we are standing here.