Luxi
Luxi has both a new and an old county seat. The new seat is in Baisha Town, a new town relocated in 1985 after the completion of the Wuqiangxi Reservoir. The old seat lies at the confluence of the Wushui and Yuanshui rivers, in a town called Wuxi. The name Wuxi has a long history—during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, General Ma Yuan, who campaigned against the Five Streams barbarians, wrote a poem titled "Song of Wuxi"...
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.
Luxi has both a new and an old county town. The new county town is located in Baisha Town. It is a new town that was relocated in 1985 after the completion of the Wuqiangxi Reservoir area. The old county town is located at the confluence of the Wushui and Yuanshui rivers, and its county seat is called Wuxi Town.
The name Wuxi has a long history. During the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, the General Fubo Ma Yuan, who campaigned against the Five Creeks Barbarians, wrote a poem 'Wuxi Xing' that says: 'How deep the rushing Wuxi is! Birds cannot fly across, beasts cannot swim near. Alas! Wuxi is full of poison and excess.' The Wuxi in this poem refers to the Wuxi River, one of the Five Creeks at that time. Wuxi Town, because it backs onto Lu Mountain, was established as Luxi County during the Tang Dynasty, so it is also called Luxi. In the 6th year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, the character 'Lu' in Luxi had the water radical added, and thereafter it was called Luxi. The old Luxi county town originally relied on natural mountains and waters as barriers and had no city wall. It was not until the 13th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty (1640) that a city wall about 3 li long was built, with 11 large and small gates. By the Republic of China period, the old city wall had been almost completely destroyed by fire and war.
Luxi's scenic spots and historical sites originally included the 'Seven Heads and Eight Scenes' and the Confucius Temple, Dongzhou Academy, Wenfeng Academy, Nanxi Academy, Jielong Bridge, and others. With the changes of the times and reservoir resettlement, some scenic spots have disappeared. Currently, the famous landscapes still include Tianqiao Mountain, Nengtan Suspension Bridge, Panhu Cave, and Xinnü Rock.
Luxi County's customs and folkways are famous for the 'lantern playing' during the first lunar month. In the old days, there was a saying: 'Luxi lanterns, Fenghuang soldiers, Qianzhou city.' During the Lantern Festival, people in Luxi hang colorful lanterns all along the streets. Types include dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, clam shell lanterns, colorful dragon boat lanterns, and Aoshan lanterns. Among them, the Aoshan lantern is the most remarkable. This lantern is over 3 zhang long and over 1 zhang high, with various colorful figures arranged on it, looking very vivid and interesting.
Luxi County has produced quite a few notable figures in history, among whom three had the greatest influence. One was Zhang Shifu, who served as the Songjiang Naval Commander during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. In February 1884, he led his troops in resisting the French invasion at Majiang in Fujian, severely damaging a French warship and earning a glorious name in Chinese history. Another was Gong Debo, known in journalistic circles as 'Gong the Cannon.' In the 1920s and 1930s of the Republic of China era, he founded newspapers such as the National Salvation Daily and the World Evening News, and was famous for daring to criticize current politics. His book On Punishing the Japanese Invaders sold 100,000 copies and caused a sensation in the country for advocating a prolonged war against Japan. The third was the bandit Xu Hanzhang, who ran rampant in the Luxi area during the 1930s and 1940s of the Republic era, killing innocent people. On the eve of the founding of New China, he participated in the raid on the Chenxi military arsenal, and after obtaining thousands of guns, he proclaimed himself 'Army Commander' and went on to occupy Luxi County town, committing endless atrocities. He was captured and executed at the time of the founding of New China.
Pushi, within Luxi's territory, is one of the four great ancient towns of Xiangxi. Pushi's prosperity was mainly due to the shipping convenience of a large river. When tourists visit Luxi, they should not forget to take a boat trip to this town.