There is a Langshan Scenic Area called the Soul of Danxia in Hunan Province. The reporter had the honor to go to Langshan for sightseeing. That was October 6, 2010. The reporter accompanied the self-driving team of "National Drivers Gathering in Green Town-Self-Driving Cheers for Thousands of Miles" and drove back into Hunan Province after finishing his trip to Guangxi. He stayed in the Langshan Scenic Area in Hunan Province that evening.

Langshan Scenic Area (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

On the morning of October 7, the reporter drove to Langshan Scenic Area with the motorcade. Langshan is located in Xinning County, Hunan Province. It is a model of the main types and basic characteristics of Danxia landform in China. It is praised by Academician Chen Guoda as "the soul of Danxia and the treasure of the country."

Lang Mountain Plank Road (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

On August 2, 2010, at 5:06 a.m. Beijing time, good news came from the 34th World Heritage Conference held in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil: The United Nations World Heritage Committee unanimously approved the "China Danxia" declared by Langshan in Hunan, Danxia Mountain in Guangdong, Chishui in Guizhou, Taining in Fujian, Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi, and Jianglang Mountain in Zhejiang, as a world natural heritage site, and Langshan Mountain in Hunan has officially become a world natural heritage site.

Looking up at Langshan (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

"Danxia" is a landform landscape name proposed by Chinese geologists Academician Chen Guoda and Professor Feng Jinglan in the 1920s. This landform is characterized by Red Cliff Danshan and Peak Forest Canyon. It is named after "the color is like wandan and bright."

Reporters in Langshan (Photo: Wang Yin)

Hunan Lang Mountain is characterized by majesty, wonder, danger, beauty, tranquility and elegance. At the same time, it is permeated with a long history and culture and numerous folk customs. It has the following characteristics: unique stone scenery and peak scenery, steep rock walls and stone alleys, charming river waterfalls, deep canyons and deep mountains, mysterious shanzhai culture, long religious legends, and simple folk customs.

A closer look at the Lang Mountain Plank Road (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

As the soul of Danxia, Langshan Scenic Area includes six major scenic spots: Tianyi Lane, Chili Peak, Fuyi River, Bajiao Village, Zixia Cave, and Tiansheng Bridge. There are 18 scenic areas. More than 500 important scenic spots have been discovered and named., there are three major karst caves and a virgin forest, with a total area of 108 square kilometers. It is a typical Danxia landform and a rare environmentally friendly landscape natural scenic spot.

Chaoyang Landscape in Longkou (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The Langshan Scenic Area has the beauty of red flowers and red cliffs, the beauty of generals and rocks, and the beauty of Camel Peak, coupled with the lush and dense deep forest vegetation, the lingering nine-winding and crystal clear Fuyi River, forming Danxia, green water and green mountains. The beautiful scenery set off each other is really like a wonderful picture of nature.

The plank road at the waist of the mountain (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Bikers first came to Camel Peak Scenic Area. After climbing the short mountain road, they looked up and saw the sightseeing plank road hanging in mid-air around the middle of the mountain. Walking on the plank road that is only more than one meter wide, although the scenery around it is beautiful, it still takes a brave person to enjoy this kind of natural beauty to feel in mid-air.

Photo taken by Langshan (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The reporter suddenly felt that this wonderful plank road was a bit familiar. After careful reflection, it was quite similar to the suspended plank roads on the east and west coasts of Sanqing Mountain in Jiangxi Province. After asking the tour guide, he learned that it turned out that the Langshan plank road was built by the construction team in charge of Sanqing Mountain. No wonder it is so similar. However, although the plank road is similar, the scenery of the two places has its own merits and is different.

Pepper Peak Cluster (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In the Camel Peak Scenic Area where motorists visit, there is an ancient folk song saying: Dragons come from thousands of miles to Shitian, and a pair of candles shine on the blue sky. Who can bury this land will be the top scorer from generation to generation. After climbing the mountain and entering Ishida, I saw a huge camel in front of me. Camel Peak is 273 meters long and 187.8 meters high, making it a lifelike image.

Yixiantian Danxia Lane Valley (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The first thing that came to view was the landscape of Candle Peak. A steeple boulder rises from the ground in front of me, with steep cliffs on all sides, with an average cliff height of 218 meters and a circumference of 400 meters. The steep cliff in the southeast has a negative slope. The steep cliff in the northeast is 200 meters high, and there is a crack about a punch wide at about 70 meters. It separates a huge stone whose base is connected to Candle Peak and whose rock mass is separated from Candle Peak. The huge stone is large at the top and small at the bottom, with clear edges and angles. It is more than 40 meters high and forms a triangle at the top. It is also called "Double Wax" with Candle Peak.

Climbing through the ranks (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Then move forward, the slopes of Longkou Chaoyang, Lingjian Stone, Danxia Canyon and other landscapes in the Danxia Canyon will follow one after another. Especially when you climb to the peak and look around, you can have a panoramic view of the unique and beautiful natural scenery of Langshan. Overlooking you are ravines, villages, and pastoral scenery, and overlooking the peaks of Candle Peak.

Chili Peak Landscape (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Leave Camel Peak Scenic Area and drive to Chili Peak, which has a different mountain shape. I saw the whole boulder upside down into the sky, with green vegetation covering the top and 180 meters high. It looked like a huge pepper. In 2002, the French spider man Alain Robert was famous for climbing this peak with his bare hands. Standing here at Chili Peak and looking back at Camel Peak, the stone peak has steep cliffs on three sides, and two outer depressions divide it into camel head, peak and tail, just like a large camel lying still.

Village at the foot of the mountain (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The Langshan Range Rover spent the entire morning. In the afternoon, the motorcade drove to the dock on the Fuyi River and took a bamboo raft rafting. Originating from the Fuyi River in Maoer Mountain, Guangxi, it is the mother river of the people of Langshan. Its waters run through the Langshan Scenic Area, and there are unique conditions for mountain touring and playing in the water.

Fuyi River Wharf (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The Fuyi River is crystal clear and gentle as a mirror. The water surface is about 100 meters wide and the narrow part is more than 70 meters. The strange peaks and rocks on both sides of the river are reflected on the water under the clear water and blue sky; the beaches on both sides are sandy and pure white, the rocks and willows are continuous, and the grass is competing for beauty; the sails in the river are dotted, and the sound of bamboo flutes is picturesque.

Drifting photo (Photography: British co-opted)

The riders rode bamboo rafts and leisurely down the river. Many scenic spots such as Jiangjun Stone, Wuying Prefecture, Changdi Liu 'an, Langhu Xiaotian, Yushi Lane, Tuanyu Stone, Warship Stone, Woodpecker Stone, Popoyan, Bijia Mountain, Wangu Dike, Liantan Yingyue, etc. appeared one after another on both sides of the river, which are pleasing to the eye.

The joy of drifting (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

During the rafting, due to the soothing river, some motorists gently put their hands into the water, and circles of halos appeared in the green water. The boatman on the bamboo raft rowed the boat, and the scenery on both sides of the river began to slowly retreat. After traveling for a while, some riders felt that it was not exciting enough and started a water fight. They used plastic water guns bought on the dock to shoot water at each other, which was so lively.

Fighting a water fight (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The water of the Fuyi River is crystal clear, and the stones at the bottom of the river are vaguely visible. Small fish and shrimp are swimming in the water, and their smart little bodies are very cute. However, Lang Mountain is rocky and rocky, and a few bird chirps can be heard from time to time. It really makes people sigh: "Lang Mountain scenery competes in Guilin, Fuyi scenery competes in Li River"!

General Stone remains firm (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The natural general Shi Yi stands on the top of the low, smooth and flat mountain on the east bank of the Fuyi River. It is a stone pillar developed from the Danxia landform of the mountain to the late stage. It has an altitude of 399.5 meters, a net height of 75 meters, and a circumference of more than 40 meters. It is equally thick from top to bottom. The top is slightly thinner. From a distance, it looks like a general wearing a battle robe, roaring towards the sky, and is full of power.

Bamboo raft River Tour (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

There is a lifelike woodpecker stone on the west bank of the Fuyi River covered with green bamboos. The stone is composed of a cliff, 90 meters high, sloping high and high, and the height is as high as the head overlooking the river. A tilted spar looks like a sharp peck, with a round hole on its head like its eyes open angrily. A tree stands on the cliff, its mouth is close to the tree trunk, like a woodpecker pecking a hole to kill insects.

Bamboo forest on the bank (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Facing the woodpecker, across the river is the warship stone. It is magnificent. It is composed of three huge stones, stretching across the east and west, heading towards the river. The length is 300 meters and the height is 150 meters. The front end of the stone is tilted high and the rear end is tilted in an arc, with one ship next to another, just like a formation of ships sailing.

Drifting to the finish line (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Boating and clear water on the Fuyi River, with green mountains and green trees on both sides, and brocade fields, floating leisurely in the clear water of the river, winding between strange peaks and strange rocks. At this time, the water, light and mountains are integrated into one, and tourists are happy with the fish and birds. The autumn water shares the same color as the sky, the breeze is blowing, the blue waves are rising, the boats are walking on the river, and people are swimming in the paintings, making all the troubles in the world disappear. There is a deep feeling that "this scene should only exist in the sky, and it is rare to visit the world a few times."

Ancient Street in Baisha Town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The rafting of the Fuyi River ended that day. The reporter and several motorists took advantage of their limited time to visit a very distinctive old street called Baisha Town more than 50 kilometers away from Langshan. Old Street is located in the central and southern section of Xinning County, backed by the east bank of the Fuyi River, running north-south, with a total length of more than 1100 meters and a street width of 3 to 5 meters. It has convenient water and land transportation. The street pavements are paved with blue hemp stone slabs and equipped with round coin hole drainage devices. On one side of the river, alleys of varying widths are opened to connect with the river.

Ancient Street Scenery (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

There are many shops on both sides of the old street road, row upon row. Most of the shops are single-bay rooms, with brick-and-wood structures and covered with blue tiles. They are generally two-story, and a few three-story floors. The bottom floor is equipped with row doors. When the row doors are removed, it can be used for business. The wooden pillars on the floor carry beams and eaves, and wooden railings or various flower windows are installed on the street side.

104-year-old grandma (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The riders walked into the long and narrow ancient streets and alleys and looked around as if their eyes were not enough. There were antique furnishings everywhere, and some ancient farm tools were placed outside the doors of some houses. There are still many slogans from various historical periods left on the walls, giving a simple and vicissitudes atmosphere. On the old street, riders also saw a 104-year-old grandma in high spirits, and everyone took photos with her. A driver also exchanged a stone in the Fuyi River as if he had found a treasure.

Children on the Ancient Street (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The overall architectural layout of Baisha Old Street is adapted to local conditions, scattered and winding, and its unique geographical environment. As early as the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, it was crowded with merchants, bustling and bustling, becoming a famous commercial trade and material distribution center in Xinning County. Most of the street buildings are in the style of the late Qing Dynasty and incorporate the characteristics of certain Western buildings. During the Anti-Japanese War, the northern end of the old street was burned down and rebuilt again. To this day, Baisha Old Street still maintains its original architectural style, with heavy color murals, flags and ink, and its ancient charm still exists.

Photo taken in Old Street (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

According to local people, a movie "Feng Shui" adapted from the novel "Life in the Old Street" by Lin Jiapin, a writer from Hunan Province, has just been filmed here. The author Lin Jiapin was born on the old street of Baisha Town, Xinning County. He is a famous powerful writer in Hunan Province. "The Life of Old Street" won the first place in the First International Asia-Pacific War Literature Award and was nominated for the Seventh Mao Dun Literature Award. It was translated into English and published by the New Jersey Anti-Japanese War Historical Preservation Association.

Visiting Hunan Museum (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

In order to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Fascist War and the Anti-Japanese War, Mr. Lin Jiapin, after more than a year of careful preparation and conception, reproduced the massacre of the Japanese army's invasion of Baisha Town in Xinning in 1944 through film and television works, and reproduced the Japanese army's "cruel crime that is even worse than the extermination of Jews in the gas chamber" committed by the Japanese army in China, and used it as an anti-war literary work "dedicated to the people who were massacred and forgotten in remote mountainous areas." It has been praised by critics as "a model work commemorating the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Fascist and Anti-Japanese War."

Juzizhou Head Statue (Photography: British Co-opted)

On October 8, the self-driving team arrived in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province from Langshan in Hunan Province. Some motorists also visited and browsed the Hunan Province Museum and Juzizhou Head located in the middle of the Xiangjiang River during their short stop in Changsha. The famous cultural and natural scenery in Hunan wherever they go makes motorists linger. (Photo and text: Feng Ganyong)