"Cold Ancient Hot Spring" archway (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

I remember that during the Qingming Festival in 2009, the reporter took an unforgettable trip to Chicheng, Hebei. Normally, the three-day public holiday is not long or short for people who want to travel in Beijing. But if you really want to go too far away, time will definitely not allow you. After thinking about it, Hebei Province, which is close to Beijing, is a good choice. So for reporters who wanted to travel, after careful selection, they finally went to Chicheng County, Hebei Province, which is less than 200 kilometers away from Beijing, for two days of spring travel. There, they visited hot springs and watched grottoes, enjoyed the natural scenery and spring scenery, and spent an unforgettable two-day trip to Chicheng.

Scenery of Tangquan Lake in Chicheng (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

At 8 a.m. on April 4, 2009, the reporter and his group of four drove from downtown Beijing to Chicheng, Hebei. After leaving Beijing from the Badaling Expressway, we entered the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Expressway and walked dozens of kilometers. We got off from the Huailai Exit to the Hebei Provincial Highway. After more than an hour's drive, we arrived at Chicheng County.

Arriving in Chicheng to take a photo (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Under the guidance of the GBS satellite locator, they walked less than ten kilometers west from the county seat and passed a large archway across the road with the words "The First Spring Outside the Pass" on one side and "Hangu Hot Spring" on the other side. They entered the Chicheng Hot Spring Resort Scenic Area. Finally, after driving for about two hours in total, at around 11:30, the reporters and their party successfully arrived at the Chicheng Zidian Hotel where they stayed.

Photo taken of the "Tangquan" archway (Photo: Wang Jue)

After lunch, accompanied by Hu Jianzhong, then deputy director of the Zhangjiakou Tourism Bureau, and Yang Zhanpo, then deputy director of the Chicheng Tourism Bureau, the reporter and his party first went to the Hangu Hot Spring site of the First Spring outside the Chicheng Pass for sightseeing. The spring site is located on the west side of the roadside not far south of the hotel where the reporter stayed. Before arriving at the scenic spot, I saw a painted archway of "Tangquan" standing majestically in front of the scenic spot.

Looking up at the Hot Spring Main Spring Site (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Pass through the archway and follow the stone steps to enter the scenic spot. Directors Hu Jianzhong and Yang Zhanpo told reporters that Chicheng Hot Spring, located in the secluded valley of Cangshan Mountain 7.5 kilometers west of Chicheng County, is also called Tangquan. It is known as the "First Spring Outside Guanwai" in history. It is 140 kilometers away from Zhangjiakou. The entire Chicheng County has a quiet environment and a pleasant climate.

Hot Spring Dashi Ding (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Large-scale construction is under way here, and the painted viewing corridor is built winding along the mountains. The first thing you see when you walk into the scenic area is a newly built gray big stone tripod.

Hot Spring Main Spring Site Pavilion (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Not far from walking around the stone tripod is a pavilion with carved beams and painted buildings, and the main hot spring is in the center of the pavilion. I saw hot air rising from the spring hole covered by an iron grate in the pavilion.

The stone tablet of "heart-washing"(Photo: Feng Ganyong)

On one side of the pavilion is a stone tablet inscribed in the Kangxi era with the inscription "Heart Cleansing". There are two separate stone monuments on the hillside on the south side, one is the "First Spring Outside the Pass" and the other is the "Cold Ancient Hot Spring". Behind the pavilion is a landscape under construction, consisting of a huge pen holder with three brushes and a set of written walls introducing the hot springs. Climbing up again along the south side of the character wall, there is a wall view composed of brown ancient seal characters. Above the seal character wall is an ancient building being repaired among the pines and cypresses.

Seal characters of Chicheng Hot Spring (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The Chicheng Hot Spring, located in the secluded valley of Cangshan Mountain, is located at an altitude of 942 meters. The average annual temperature is 5.7℃. The average temperature in summer from June to August is 20.1℃, which is 7.6℃ lower than that in Beijing. It is an ideal summer resort. The hot spring resort is 3.5 kilometers long from east to west, 0.7 kilometers wide from north to south, and has an area of 2.45 square kilometers. "Don't go to the sandy land outside the Great Wall, but there are four seasons of spring at this time." The area has beautiful peaks, green pines and cypresses, and the environment is quiet. In spring, peaches and apricots bloom all over the mountains and fields, with charming scenery; after autumn, the locust and birch leaves are red and colorful and beautiful.

Corner of the hot spring corridor (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The hot spring resort has springs such as main spring, stomach spring, eye spring, Pingquan, tracheitis spring and cold spring. The main spring (also known as rolling pool) has the largest flow rate (0.516 cubic meters per minute) and the highest temperature (68℃). The total alkalinity is 4.9 and the acidity is 8.0. The spring water contains more than 30 chemical substances such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, lithium, chloride ions, sulfate, carbonate, and bicarbonate, as well as trace elements and radioactive elements. It is a highly curative mineral water.

"The First Spring Outside the Pass" stone tablet (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Hundreds of years of bath therapy practice and scientific research results in recent years have shown that Chicheng's hot spring water has significant curative effects on rheumatic, rheumatoid and hypertrophic arthritis, scapulohumeral periarthritis, allergic dermatitis, wind-cold waist and leg pain, eczema, tinea, urticaria and other skin diseases, with a cure rate of more than 80%. Ancient poem: "Don't look for the saliva of the old dragon in the East China Sea, but always think of the first spring outside the Pass. Here, I can take a bath to cure the symptoms and swallow a thousand longevity pills." It is a praise for the quality, strangeness and beauty of Chicheng Hot Spring.

Overlooking the hot spring scenic area (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

"Record of Famous Chinese Springs" comprehensively examines the water quality, water temperature and other items of hot springs, and ranks the main spring second in the country, making it the "first spring in western Beijing". The best time to take a hot spring bath is the third month of the lunar calendar, known as "peach blossom water". There are temple fairs in the third and fourth months of the lunar calendar every year. Thank you to the jellyfish goddess for her gift of holy water and benefiting thousands of generations; the Bixia god bless her and give birth to a young child early to eliminate diseases and disasters.

The temple house being repaired (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Chicheng Hot Spring has a history of development and utilization of more than 2000 years. Sang Qin's "Water Through" in the Western Han Dynasty is the earliest record of hot springs. In the "Shuijing Notes" by Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there is also a saying that "there is Tangquan north of Yuyang (southwest of Miyun County in today's Beijing City), which is 300 miles away from Yanjing (Beijing)." During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was established as a Taoist temple with a sizable temple. There were many pavilions and pavilions in the Liao and Jin Dynasties, but they were destroyed by war in the Yuan Dynasty. In the fifth year of Xuande of the Ming Dynasty (1430 AD), Yang Hong, Marquis of Changping, a famous border guard, rebuilt Ruiyun Temple in the spring.

Cold ancient hot spring stone tablet (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In the sixth year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1578 AD), Huang Yingsu, the censor of Zhili, and others erected a stele inscription titled "The First Spring Outside the Pass" on the hot spring, and the hot spring became famous all over the world. Several emperors took a good look at this precious land of feng shui and set up a palace next to the spring, where Shengzong Yelu Longxu once stayed. In the first month of the eleventh year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1672), Kangxi accompanied his imperial grandmother to stay here to take a bath for 51 days, and ordered Geng Zhaozhong, the young teacher of the Crown Prince, to personally engrave the word "Heart Cleansing", leaving many popular legends.

Scenery of Yunzhou Reservoir (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

After leaving the hot spring resort, the reporter and his party drove to Chicheng Yunzhou Reservoir for sightseeing. The car passed through Chicheng County and walked north for about ten kilometers before arriving at the dam of Yunzhou Reservoir.

Yunzhou Reservoir Dam (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Standing on the dam and looking out, you can't see the vast blue water under the blue sky and white clouds. Perhaps due to the low temperature, the water surface has not completely melted. Some waters are still covered with ice, but it does not affect the spectacular beauty of the reservoir at all.

Photo taken by Yunzhou Reservoir (Photo: Wang Jue)

Directors Hu Jianzhong and Yang Zhanpo told reporters that the Yunzhou Reservoir started construction in 1969, completed dam interception and water storage in October 1970, and was basically completed in 1987. A total of 870,000 cubic meters of earth and stone, 9,300 cubic meters of masonry, and 18,600 cubic meters of concrete were produced, employing 3.7 million people, and the state invested 14.71 million yuan, of which the county raised 4.37 million yuan. The embankment is 43 meters high, the embankment top is 183 meters long and 6 meters wide. The reservoir area is 3 square kilometers, the water depth is 25 meters, and the water storage capacity is 113.7 million cubic meters.

Expressing feelings by the water (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The completion of the Yunzhou Reservoir in Chicheng intercepted the White River, which had been unruly every time it encountered heavy rains in history, and irrigated 46,000 acres of cultivated land in 144 villages in 4 downstream towns. The sluice gate is opened to release water to Beijing City every year. It is the other clear water area that provides drinking water services to the people of the capital after the Guanting Reservoir in Hebei Province. A poem once praised it like this: "Dams are continuously destroyed, high gorges emerge from Pinghu, and stone carvings are recorded in ancient history. They are famous all over western Beijing."

Longmen Cliff Stone Carving Site Monument (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Below the reservoir dam is the Longmen Cliff Cliff and Stone Carving Landscape of the Longmen Gorge Scenic Area. Longmen Gorge, commonly known as Shesen Cliff, also known as Heifengkou and Dugulen, is located in the upper reaches of the Baihe River 15 kilometers north of Chicheng County. The twin peaks confront each other, the walls stand tall, and the waters outside the Great Wall merge here.

Longmen Cliff Rock Carvings (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The "Longmen Gorge Couple" engraved on the stone wall of Shesen Cliff vividly describes this: "Longmen Pass is outside Longmen Pass, and the pass is outside the pass is heavy. Clouds have accumulated since poverty and famine, and rain has returned from time to time. The cliffs are majestic, and the cliffs cover the sky and earth. The shape is more powerful than the key to return to the ancient world. The Xiongnu dare not cross Yinshan."

"Three Throats" stone carving (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Longmen Gorge has been an important road to the fortress since ancient times. Border guards, generals, literati and celebrities all have the elegant interest of "returning from the journey to settle the inscription". Therefore, the hard cliffs are full of excellent poems and poems.

Photo taken by cliff stone carvings (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

There are more than 20 Yuan and Ming stone carvings, such as "Three Throats","Xiongzhi Fufu" and Longmen Cliff Lianqu, on the stone wall, all of which witness the importance of Longmen Cliff's strategic position in history.

Dragon Gate Sacrifice Taizu Stone Carving (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Among these cliff stone carvings, the "Shuofang Barrier" engraved by Sun Yuxian, the censor of the Ming Dynasty, has strokes like pillars, points as big as an ox, and a hundred feet tall. It has a powerful momentum and is very spectacular.

Statue of a great man who sacrificed his life (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The most spectacular one among the stone carvings should be the statue of a martyr carved next to the Guanyin Pavilion in the east half of the cliff. A woman sits in a lotus basin, her face quiet and shining. It is said that this woman is the 19-year-old daughter of Tian Kun, a Qianhu stationed in Cangshangbao next to Longmen Gorge during the "Tumu Change". She relied on the natural dangers of Longmen Gorge and sacrificed her life for the country. This is why sacrifice cliff got its name.

Cliff stone inscriptions (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Zhao Weiping of the Ming Dynasty praised with emotion: "It is difficult to sacrifice your life, especially difficult to sacrifice your life to achieve righteousness; it is difficult to sacrifice your life to become a righteous scholar, especially difficult for women. Hey hey! The festival of ice and frost, the firmness of iron and stone, is fierce, and lasts for thousands of years." In addition, Longmen Cliff also left many amazing poems. The cliff stone carvings on Longmen Cliff in Chicheng record the vicissitudes of history and witness the heroic feats of modern people.

Huguo Temple at the foot of the mountain (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Driving away from the Shesen Cliff Rock Carvings, the reporter and his party traveled not far east and finally came to an ancient temple located in the foothills of the mountain. This ancient temple is called Huguo Temple. When it was built remains to be verified.

Huguo Temple Hall (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

According to the inscription, it can only be traced back to Jiajing Imjin in the Ming Dynasty. Through the inscription on the reconstruction of Huguo Temple: "The temple hides craving rocks, the roads lead to the main roads, controls the Qiang Hu people, and shields the Shenjing, hence the name Huguo Temple." It can be verified that Huguo Temple was built after the "Civil Engineering Changes" in the Ming Dynasty in order to ensure the safety of the people and the peace of the country. It is said that this cave already existed during the time of Empress Dowager Xiao (Liao) and was rebuilt in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Painted statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Although this ancient temple was severely damaged during the Cultural Revolution, a Daxiong Hall is being built on the side of Huguo Temple through voluntary donations from some Buddhist laymen.

The scene of constant incense (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

When you climb the Huguo Temple, which is dozens of levels high, you can see the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva enshrined here, there is still incense in the temple. According to the monks here, the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva had just passed two days ago, so there was a lot of incense here a few days ago, and an unprecedented scene appeared in the mountains.

Night view of Tangquan River in Chicheng (Photography-Chen Hao)

The whole afternoon of spring walking in Chicheng felt very comfortable. Especially on the way back that night, when passing through Chicheng County, the night view of the long flowing Tangquan River in the center of the county was like a flowing bright and charming light ribbon, which was very beautiful. The excitement of the first day of spring sightseeing in Chicheng is still unfinished, adding some beautiful memories...(Photo: Feng Ganyong)