Each city has its own ancient villages and towns, which are the epitome of its history and the precipitation of its culture, regardless of its size, prosperity and decline. Sanmenxia City, known as “five mountains, four mountains and one river” since ancient times, borders Guanzhong in the west, Sanjin in the north, and the Central Plains in the east. It is a traffic fortress. With a long history, it is an important birthplace of Chinese culture, and Hangu Pass stands in the territory. After thousands of years of elegant bathing, countless beautiful ancient villages and towns are still scattered in it, with unique stories and beautiful scenery. Today I will introduce the ancient village of Zhaogou to you. Different customs will make you linger.
Zhaogou Ancient Village is located in the deep mountains of Mianchi County, Sanmenxia. There is only one channel called “Xiaolongmen” in Mianchi Shimengou. The ancient village has beautiful scenery, and has the reputation of “the first ancient mountain village in the Central Plains, the living fossil of the Yellow River settlement”. Zhaogou Village has a long history, which can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. It is said that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou came here to seek refuge and recuperate. There are still some sites in the village, such as King Wen Cave, Wenquhe, caves of fighters garrison, Dianjiang Terrace, etc.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the descendants of Prime Minister Zhao Pu led their clansmen to move to this place, build fields around houses and multiply in order to avoid the war. The ancient houses in the village are built along the mountain. The stone alleys and stone roads in the village are crisscross, and the stone houses and stone walls are arranged in an orderly manner. It is like walking into a “stone labyrinth”, so there is also the saying of “stone city in the Central Plains, deep mountain and small labyrinth”.
The ancient village is about 280 meters long and 70 meters wide. There are more complete quadrangles and sanheyuan in the Qing Dynasty in the village, including 10 quadrangles, 6 single houses, 26 stone houses, 16 ancient gatehouses with brick and wood structure, 8 stone streets, and 1 ancient temple, ancient ancestral hall, and 1 theater. These buildings have the architectural style of the Central Plains, and are magnificent, simple and dignified. Some ancient houses also use multi-storey curved stone slabs as the vault of the door opening. Each layer of stone slabs is carved with patterns, which is very beautiful. However, some ancient buildings are dilapidated and in urgent need of protection because of their brick and wood structure and their disrepair.
The most famous tree in the village is the ancient locust tree, which is called the “divine tree”. It is said that this tree has been 2500 years old, has a height of more than 20 meters, a crown of 30 meters, and a circumference of 4.5 meters. Only four people can embrace it, and it is still luxuriant. Local villagers will go to worship on the first and fifteenth day of the new year. In addition to this ancient tree, there are more than 80 thousand-year-old trees in the village, and more than a hundred years old trees.
Because the traffic in the village is relatively closed, the villagers’ lives are relatively peaceful and quiet. The villagers still live a traditional way of life, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, carrying water and farming, collecting firewood and cooking, and carrying goods by donkey cart. From time to time, we can see them driving donkey carts and pulling mountain goods, slowly and leisurely towards the outside of the village. In the country path, around the courtyard, you can see free-range local chickens everywhere. Their eggs and meat taste delicious because they never feed chickens. You can eat, live and play for a day at 100 yuan here, which is very close to the people.
It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with lush vegetation, strange peaks and rocks, and deep valleys. The simple stone houses, thick culture, simple folk customs, as well as the fresh air and sweet spring water here, people who come here will often be moved by its quiet and simple temperament. So, have you ever been to Sanmenxia in Henan? What’s your impression of Sanmenxia? Do you know that there is such a low-key original ecological village in Sanmenxia? If you have a chance in the future, do you want to come here and have a look?