Impressions of Wangcun
Wangcun is one of the four great ancient towns of western Hunan and an important sight of the Mengdong River Scenic Area. One summer over a decade ago, Hunan Children's Publishing House held a national amateur writers' conference in Dayong, which I attended as an invited author. The organizers arranged a tour of the Mengdong River, giving me my first visit there.
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.
Wangcun is one of the four great ancient towns of Xiangxi and also an important scenic spot in the Mengdong River Scenic Area.
On a summer day more than ten years ago, the Hunan Juvenile and Children's Publishing House held a national amateur writers' conference in the urban area of Dayong. I attended this meeting as one of the invited authors. During the event, the organizers specially arranged for the authors to tour the Mengdong River, and so I had the good fortune to visit Wangcun for the first time. After touring the Mengdong River that day, we turned back and stayed in Wangcun for about two hours. A Shanghai author, Editor Zhang from the publishing house, and I, among others, went together to stroll the long ancient town street paved with bluestone slabs. That small street wound upward from the Youshui wharf, twisting for five li before reaching the top of the hill. On both sides of the street, many old houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties had been built against the mountain, interspersed here and there with several stilted houses, which looked very characteristic of Tujia dwellings. At that time, because the film Hibiscus Town had recently been shot there, tourists drawn by its fame came in an endless stream, and the shops and inns along the ancient town street all put up signs like "Hibiscus Town," especially the rice tofu that Liu Xiaoqing had eaten, which was all the rage for a time. Our group chose a shop and each tasted a bowl, finding the tofu smooth, tender, and refreshing, with a truly delicious flavor.
After touring the ancient town street, we also made a special trip to the Huaguoshan in the town to visit the famous ceasefire covenant signed between Peng Shichou, the prefect of Xizhou, and Ma Xifan, King of Chu. It was because of the conclusion of this covenant that the establishment of the Yongshun Tusi system and the stable situation of eight hundred years of Tusi rule were achieved. The Qing poet Tang Renhui wrote a poem recording the bronze pillar: "The barbarian mist and pestilential rain vanish before the horse; sun and moon first open a single piece of bronze. Held high, the Youshan clouds face north; looking down, the Chen waters' waves flow east. Leaning on heaven, purple qi divides the long sword; sweeping the earth, dark cliffs embrace a short rainbow. One can imagine the Tusi chief weeping around the pillar, with cymbals and drums filling the west wind." Another poem says: "For a thousand years the bronze pillar strengthens the frontier; the hundred surnames pass down eighteen offices. They agree to join in the hand-waving dance at the New Year; the spring wind reaches the Tuwang Temple first." From these two poems about the bronze pillar, we can appreciate what a precious historical relic and testimony the ancients left behind in this ancient bronze pillar.
Now I have not been back to this ancient town for many years. In late January 2002, my friend Luo Zhaoyong and I went from Guzhang to Yongshun, got off at Wangcun along the way, and visited the town for a second time for more than an hour. This time, I found that many houses had been built on both sides of the small street. Perhaps because it was deep winter, there were fewer tourists on the street than last time. I also learned that the Xizhou bronze pillar, to prevent damage and theft, had been moved to the folk customs museum on the street, and tourists could go in to view it simply by buying a ticket.
A new road has also been built at the top of the hill in Wangcun Ancient Town. For tourists arriving here, transferring to buses to Yongshun, Guzhang, or the railway station is all very convenient. Wangcun has a very long and ancient history. It is said that as early as the Han Dynasty, Youyang County was established here, and the cultural relics unearthed here include bronze vessels from the Qin and Han periods such as pots, ding, jars, and mirrors. These relics are enough to prove that the history of Wangcun Ancient Town had already flourished at least more than two thousand years ago. Today, the vigorously developing tourism industry has brought this ancient town unprecedented development opportunities, and ancient Wangcun will surely become even more prosperous and flourishing.