Every time you go to a place, you will establish a special relationship with her, and then you will find that every place has its own unique charm. Even in a small town that is not a tourist hotspot, you will find unique scenery when you walk in.
? There is Dongtai in northern Jiangsu, called Yan in ancient times, also known as Xixi, Ninghai, Dongting, etc. It is famous for its salt production. Because there are many salt-frying pavilions and stoves, it was also called Dongting in the Song Dynasty. Dongtai is now a county-level city. It was selected as one of the top 100 counties (cities) in terms of comprehensive strength in the country in 2019 and one of the 20 central cities in Jiangsu Province.
? Whether the status of a place is important can be known by looking at the whereabouts of the big shots. Three famous prime ministers in the early Northern Song Dynasty, Yan Shu, Lu Yijian and Fan Zhongyan, all served as salt officials in Dongtai in their early days. On Dongtai Xixi Ancient Street (an antique street built a few years ago), modern people rebuilt Yanxi Academy and built the "Sanxiang Pavilion" to commemorate these three prime ministers.
? Dongtai actually has a real ancient street - Anfeng Ancient Street. It is located in Anfeng Town (the first Chinese historical and cultural town in northern Jiangsu), more than 20 kilometers away from Dongtai City, by the Chuanchang River. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Anfeng Salt Fields ranked first among the "Top Ten Salt Fields in Huainan" and attracted merchants from all over the world. As a result, a seven-mile long street, seventy-two and a half temples, and thousands of shops came into being. The current Anfeng Ancient Street is the southern section of the "Qili Long Street" in the past. It is a 600-700-meter-long stone road and brick road with old buildings on both sides, forming the largest and best-preserved ancient dwellings in northern Jiangsu. Building complex.
? The most dazzling thing on the ancient street is the "Bao Building" built in the 30th year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1850). This group of Hui-style buildings was used as a bank at that time. It is very large and still has 3 rooms and 18 rooms. The simple gray walls and black tiles, the thick black painted door, and the exquisite brick carvings and wood decorations are noble but not ostentatious.
? There are also former residences and old courtyards of celebrities such as Wu Family Ancestral Hall, Wan Family Ancient House, Hao Family Ancient House, Zhu Family Courtyard, Qian Weixiang’s Former Residence, Yuan Chengye’s Former Residence, etc., dotted here and there.
? The Wu Family Ancestral Hall (Wu Jiaji Memorial Hall) is the family ancestral hall of Wu Jiaji, a famous civilian poet in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. The ancestral hall has only a few rooms, but the layout is clever.
? The former residence (memorial hall) of the famous painter Ge Xianglan is also here. Ge Xianglan's brother Ge Gongzhen was a famous journalist in the 1920s and 1930s, and his nephew Ge Baoquan was a famous Russian literary translator, making the family famous.
? Anfeng Salt Division was the government office that levied salt tax in the Qing Dynasty, but the group of courtyards in front of us were rebuilt by modern people. It introduces the salt production process and arranges the scenes of salt harvesting and salt production. There are also introductions by several salt officials, which is a bit like a museum.
? I don’t know if these officials are friendly to the people and whether they are aboveboard, but the yamen must hang up the signs of “a people-friendly place” and “upright and aboveboard”. Is this a declaration? Of course, a declaration is an oath, and corruption is corruption.
At the end of the ancient street, the building with yellow walls and gray tiles is Dabei Temple, where Zheng Banqiao lived for several years. There were many temples in this area back then, but most of them have since disappeared. This Dabei Temple was also rebuilt in the first few years.
? Anfeng Town existed as early as the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. It developed due to salt in the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming Dynasty it had become a world-famous salt field. Nowadays, the ancient streets are far away from the hustle and bustle and are not as commercial as other ancient towns. They still maintain tranquility and comfort.
In addition to the ancient streets, the Taishan Huguo Zen Temple, which was built in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the old bridge in front of the temple are also old things in Dongtai and are worth seeing. Dongtai is also the birthplace of the legend of Dong Yong's Seven Fairies. A large garden was built there, but we didn't go in because it was too hot.
? Where there is water, there is poetry. Dongtai has a long coastline, a network of rivers and rivers, and the sight of small bridges and flowing water is a common sight.
? Huanghai Seaside National Forest Park is another landmark in Dongtai.
? The park was formerly a forest farm. In the 1960s, educated youths from Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places planted metasequoia here, and now it has grown into a forest, becoming the largest man-made ecological garden in East China. In 2016, it became a national forest park and was renamed "Jiangsu Yellow Sea Coast National Forest Park" .
? 4,500 hectares of forest create a good ecological environment, with more than 240 species of birds and more than 30 species of mammals living peacefully in the garden. There are also three vertical and three horizontal main rivers in the park, with gurgling water all year round and fragrant flowers and birds chirping on both sides.
If you want to immerse yourself in the greenery of the forest, enjoy the fragrance emanating from the trees, and appreciate the tolerant feelings of the forest, this is a good place to go.
There are many rivers in Dongtai, some of which are canals, like Tongyu River. This man-made river, which flows through Nantong, Rugao, Hai'an, Dongtai, Yancheng, Funing, Xiangshui, Guannan, Guanyun, Ganyu and other places, was excavated in 1959, but soon encountered the dilemma of insufficient manpower and material resources, and was Forced to stop work. Later, excavation was continued intermittently until the entire line was completed in 2002. The Tongyu River has irrigation and flood control functions, and is a golden waterway for north-south transportation in the coastal areas of Jiangsu. ?
? The Chuanchang River next to Anfeng Town is also a canal. It is not only the flood discharge channel of the Lixia River, but also the ancient salt canal. It is the cradle of salt culture in northern Jiangsu. It was built as early as the Tang Dynasty. The embankment was formed when the embankment was built. The Chuanchang River is more than 170 kilometers long, starting from Hai'an in the south to Funing in the north. It connected 15 salt fields in this area during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, hence its name.
? Going to Dongtai is actually to keep my promise. Teacher Xu Liangguan from Dongtai is an old correspondent who has a good relationship with our newspaper. I promised to go to him. I promised to go here, I promised to go there, but I always broke my promise and this time I wanted to go and see it. So the trip to Dongtai became the last interview in my journalist career. I retired after more than a month.
? I went to two high schools in Dongtai, both in rural towns. Respect the laws of education, respect students, face everyone, be based in the countryside, value quality, and encourage specialties... In the extremely difficult environment of rural high school education in China, these two middle schools have opened up their own path.
? Dongtai is also indispensable for its delicious food.
? Chenpi wine is a unique item in Dongtai cuisine. It uses glutinous rice mixed with traditional Chinese medicine, and is stored in urns after brewing. It is named "Chen Fermented Wine". Because it sounds homophonic and contains tangerine peel, it is called "Chen Pi Wine". The brewing technology has been included in the list of intangible cultural heritage.
? "Dongtai Watermelon" is famous far and wide. At that time, our newspaper and the China Trademark Society jointly organized the "Essay Contest on Geographical Indications for Middle School Students". Teacher Xu Liangguan organized many students to participate, and many people came here to focus on "Dongtai Watermelon" Write to let more middle school students know about Dongtai.
? There is a river not far from the hotel. It's spring, and the park along the bank is filled with pink and green willows. You can listen to the chirping of birds in the morning and watch the sunset in the evening. The poetry of the small town lies in this ordinary scenery.
? After four days of round trip, I only got to know Dongtai for the first time, but the ancient streets are simple and slightly shy, the fragrance of the trees in the seaside forest is refreshing, the principals’ hard exploration, and the teachers’ ancient roads are heartwarming. , the students’ public youth, these are all engraved in the memory and will be unforgettable for a long time.