Yuanling
Twenty years ago, I visited Yuanling from Changde. The Wuqiangxi Reservoir had not yet been built, and Yuanling still stood by the river, retaining an antique charm. Houses built against the hills appeared layered and well-arranged amid green trees. By the South Gate ferry dock, the river was emerald green and boats gathered, while a riverside street bustled with activity.
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Twenty years ago, I once went to Yuanling from the direction of Changde. At that time, the Wuqiangxi Reservoir had not yet begun construction, and Yuanling City still sat by the river, preserving a kind of antique beauty. The various houses built against the mountain appeared clearly layered and well arranged amid the screening green trees. By the South Gate ferry crossing, the river water was emerald green, boats gathered in crowds, and a riverside street was bustling and lively. At that time, the whole of Yuanling gave people the feeling of a very beautiful landscape city scene.
One day in the early winter of 2001, I came to Yuanling again. This time I came from Chenxi County. When I arrived at Yuanling, I did not take a ferry across but directly took a car over the bridge across the Yuan River and arrived in Yuanling City. After getting off, I looked east and west and found that my old impressions had completely changed. By the river there was only a flat lake, and the South Gate ferry crossing and the bustling riverside street had all vanished without a trace. It turned out that with the completion of the Wuqiangxi Reservoir, the old Yuanling ancient city had been submerged, and the new county seat had moved to the former back mountain. That hilltop had been leveled, and the new urban area appeared flat and fully visible at a glance. Although the streets were spacious and beautiful, and various buildings were densely packed with a strong modern trendy atmosphere, it felt as if something was missing, and it seemed to have little difference from county towns seen in other plains areas. It had lost much of the charm of an ancient mountain city.
After looking at the new county town, I followed a slope down and walked to the great embankment by the river below. At this time, I saw that on the inner side of the embankment there were still some broken walls and ruins, which were probably a little memento left from the old riverside street. Looking again from the embankment at the river surface, fine rain was falling, and the river was broad and hazy. In such a scene, where could one still find any trace of the former Yuanling mountain city? How could the Yuan River of the past have been so large? So broad? If this river had been so large long ago, then when Ma Yuan of the Han Dynasty campaigned against the Five Streams, he would not have been blocked at Hutou Mountain in Yuanling, and the idiom "wrapping the corpse in horsehide" would have been one fewer allusion in the language.
The construction of a Wuqiangxi Reservoir changed the old appearance of the Yuanling mountain city and also buried the memories of many people about this ancient city of the past. At this moment, I could not help but think of the sorrowful lines of Tang poetry: "I see no ancients before me, no successors behind; thinking of the vastness of heaven and earth, I alone am moved to tears!" Of course, beyond lamentation, in the face of the great vicissitudes of history, we ultimately must calmly accept some losses we would rather not see. After all, any change in things may have both advantages and disadvantages. After the completion of the Wuqiangxi Hydropower Station, a powerful supply of electricity was obtained, and tens of thousands of mu of farmland gained the benefit of irrigation. These are visible and tangible benefits. And the newly emerging Yuanling county town, in the short more than 10 years after relocation, has also changed enormously. As an outside visitor, I sincerely wish from afar that Yuanling county town, after bidding farewell to the ancient city, can continue to innovate and develop and strive to attract more tourists with new characteristics.