Water Lotus Ancient Village on the Yellow Earth Plateau
Located in the Shui Lian Ancient Village in Weinan, Shaanxi, is a place where ancient and modern, reality and dreams, farming and nomadism civilizations intersect.
It is located at the junction of Chengcheng and Bai Shui, Huanglong, Luohe, and Pucheng counties, in the transition zone between the North Wei Plain and the Shanbei Plateau, the origin of 'Qin Jin's Good' and 'Thirty Years River East, Thirty Years River West', it is the birthplace of 'China's Space Peppercorns', and here is the center of 'Nine Dragons Playing Pearls' in Chinese Civilization Important Indicators – Yellow Emperor's Tomb, Proto-Ancestral Home – Gua Jie Temple, and the Sage – Si Ma Temple.
Shui Lian Ancient Village's village appearance spans two counties, Luo River is on the east, Chengcheng, and Luo River on the west, Bai Shui. Luo River is the axis, Fangshan Ancient Pass and South Mountain Pearl mutually confront each other and unify. 'Fangshan Ancient Pass' is a historical site identified by historian Shi Nianhai; 'Pearl' refers to South Mountain's lush trees and vegetation. Shui Lian Ancient Village has two railway stations, surrounding the village, West Yan, West God, and Bao Xi three railways, plus Luo River, Shijiahe River, Ma Ziguo River, Jingshui River, Weizihe River, and Tiaye River 6 rivers winding around it.
The village has two railway stations, which is rare on the Chinese land. One railway head connects to the revolutionary sacred site of Yan'an, directly to Beijing and Shanghai; the other connects to the ancient capital of Chang'an, then to the southwest exit of the major sea-going channel.
It is the birthplace of the Liberation War's Chengcheng guerrilla forces, and the Luo River West Bank's Tiaye River is the birthplace of the Bai Shui guerrilla forces. Chengcheng people are familiar with local revolutionary heroes Li Daner, Meng Shulin, and Yang Li Sheng, all of whom came from here to enter history. This information is formally recorded in Chengcheng County's official publications 'Party History Great Deeds' and 'Party History Materials'.
Beijing University, Northwestern University, Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Institute, Shaanxi Normal University's archaeologists, historians, and folk customs experts, even UNESO officials are interested in Shui Lian Ancient Village, they have visited and praised it as 'carrier of human civilization', 'Lotus Flower blooming in the Yellow Earth'……
Shui Lian Ancient Village is recorded in historical records, the buildings presented to the public started in the Ming Dynasty. And the Yangshao and Longshan culture sites and a large number of ceramic and metal artifacts scattered on the slopes are constantly reminding us of its longer history. Nowadays, Shui Lian Village's main village appearance still maintains the style of Qing Dynasty's large Ming Jun kiln courtyard groups, which is unique in China.
The kilns here are made of earth kilns, brick kilns, and stone kilns, divided into earth-dug kilns, single-body kilns, and inner and outer kilns according to their size. These kilns echoing each other present a hierarchical kiln residence layout, relying on cliffs, following their shape, layering and partitioning, forming a unique landscape of Shui Lian Ancient Village.
For city dwellers used to skyscrapers, the appearance of the kilns is indeed a new experience for them. They are connected to each other, arranged neatly, and the round bottoming shape alleviates the harshness of the angle, giving it a sense of affinity. Standing in front of these buildings, people often feel a sense of connection across thousands of years.
'Six Water Brings Auspiciousness, Surrounds South Mountain, Creates a Blessed Land; Nine Dragons Playing Pearls fall into Shui Lian Lake, like a heavenly realm.' Shui Lian Village's name is based on its location, which attracts visitors from all over the world. The ancient Luo River passes through the valley of Shui Lian Ancient Village's mountains, with a river surface of about 150 meters wide, a simple tin-sheet boat solved the crossing of villagers and tourists on both sides. An elderly man over seventy years old expressed his passion for villagers and distant tourists by using this old way of 'boat transportation'. People might forget the elderly man's surname, but will not forget this small boat surrounded by mountains, it is a highlight of Shui Lian Ancient Village's natural ecological landscape, giving the village vitality and correcting many people's long-standing misconceptions about Chengcheng and Bai Shui counties 'mountain doesn't lift its head, water doesn't carry the boat'
In the early 2000s, Shui Lian Ancient Village was officially introduced to the public by media and cultural circles, and the Banpo Ancient Village and Liu Jiawa Ancient Village were discovered one after another. Currently, the excavation tasks are still heavy and far from over.
Source: China Youth Daily
