Published on September 23, 2020 at 12:161 Floor

In the golden September, with the refreshing breeze, I invited three to five friends to embark on a self driving trip to Jiangdu.

Jiangdu, formerly known as Longchuan, is named after "where the water of Jianghuai converges". During the Western Han Dynasty, this place had its own administrative center and was one of the earliest counties and commanderies on the Jianghuai Plain. This land is connected by rivers and lakes, and is nourished by the millennium old Grand Canal and the flowing Yangtze River. This fertile land is picturesque and picturesque, with beautiful scenery.

When we arrived in Jiangdu, it was noon and we settled in the Changqing International Hotel on the banks of the Mangdao River, because this is the source of the East Route of the South to North Water Diversion Project in China.

Young people may not be familiar with the 'South to North Water Diversion Project', which is a major water conservancy project implemented after the establishment of New China to solve the water shortage problem in northern China, especially in the Huang Huai Hai River Basin. The concept of the engineering plan began in 1952, proposed by the then President Mao Zedong during his inspection of the Yellow River. It was a great strategic project of the People's Republic of China. Divided into three lines: East, Central, and West, the total length of the planned East, Central, and West trunk lines was 4350 kilometers, involving a population of 438 million and a water diversion scale of 44.8 billion cubic meters. By connecting three water transfer routes with the four major rivers of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huai River, and Haihe River, an overall layout with "four horizontal and three vertical" as the main body is formed, which is conducive to achieving a rational allocation pattern of water resources in China's north-south allocation and east-west mutual assistance.

Now a 'South to North Water Diversion Source Park' has been built here, also known as the 'Three Rivers and Six Banks Area'. The so-called Three Rivers and Six Banks refer to the three rivers of Mangdao River, Jinwan River, and Xintongyang Canal, as well as the areas on both sides, covering an area of approximately 50 square kilometers. It is the core area of Yangzhou's east-west integrated development and an important area of the Jianghuai Ecological Corridor.

Here, the water of Jiangsu and the beautiful scenery of Yangzhou are presented before our eyes, a boundless pastoral landscape of the northern Jiangsu plain, crisscrossing river networks, and towering buildings standing beside it. The city and countryside are connected, and we see a new city rising here!

Dining in the hotel in the evening, the Huaiyang Cuisine cuisine here and our Nanjing cuisine belong to the same cuisine. Most of the dishes have the same taste. Of course, there are some local specialties, which do not attract me too much. However, when a large bowl of soup was served, it could be said that it blinded my eyes.

The next morning, we were supposed to take pictures of the sunrise scenery on the river, but it was suddenly disrupted by a rain. After breakfast, our group braved the drizzling rain and embarked on our journey.

I did some homework before leaving and heard that Guocun here is the birthplace of the story of the "Eastern Expedition Overture". "Eastern Expedition Overture" was my favorite anti Japanese film during my student days. It is adapted from the true story of the New Fourth Army's resistance against Japan during the Anti Japanese War. In order to advance eastward and resist Japan, the New Fourth Army fought against the stubborn faction of the Kuomintang and crushed the enemy's conspiracy to use the hands of the Japanese to eliminate the New Fourth Army.

Guo Village has now built the Dongjin Square, located on the east side of the Wushi Line of the "Four Good Rural Roads". On the square stands a statue of Marshal Chen Yi, who is seen riding a high headed warhorse, guiding the direction of eastward movement.

Across from Dongjin Square are the Monument to the Heroes of the Guocun Defense War and the Guocun Defense War Memorial Hall. The Guocun Defense War was a famous battle commanded by Chen Yi and Ye Fei in the "Seven Battles and Seven Victories of the Central Soviet Union", in which the few defeated the many, the weak defeated the strong, and one defeated ten.

The memorial hall displays a wealth of pictures and materials, reproducing the scene of the New Fourth Army's struggle against the enemy in the past. Since its completion in 1983, the museum has been open to the public for free. In 2007, it was listed as a provincial red tourism route and an important base for patriotic education. It has received over 2 million visitors from all over the country.

Later, we arrived at Shaobo Ancient Town, which has a history of 1600 years in Jiangdu. It is one of the ancient historical and cultural towns in China. The Millennium Grand Canal flows here, and Shaobo Mingqing Canal Ancient Road, Shaobo Wharf Group, Shaobo Ancient Embankment, Shaobo Old Ship Lock, Huaiyang Canal Main Line (Shaobo Section) and other places have been listed in the World Heritage Protection List of the Grand Canal in China. Shaobo Ancient Town has the most heritage sites along the Grand Canal.

Next to the Shaobo Old Ship Lock, a Grand Canal World Heritage Site application square has been built, with a sculpture of the application standing on the square. The Douye Pavilion next to it was first built in the second year of the Xining reign of the Song Dynasty (1069) and was named after its location, which belongs to the Doufenye category in astronomy.

The main pavilion has upturned eaves and corners, exuding a simple and elegant style. Inside the pavilion, the calligraphy of the four great calligraphers of the Song Dynasty, Su (Shi), Huang (Tingjian), Mi (Fu), and Cai (Xiang), is collected, and the Seven Sages of Poetry are engraved on the wall.

There is a long corridor by the pavilion, with rockeries towering to the east and iron cows crouching to the north. The stone railing facing the water is carved. Beautiful environment, exquisite architectural style, and rich cultural connotations added by famous poems and ink.

Here, you can not only enjoy the poetry of the Seven Sages and the calligraphy treasures of the Four Great Calligraphers, but also enjoy the scenery of the Grand Canal. It is a great scenic spot in Shaobo Town. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Sun Jue, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Zhang Lei and others all came here to write poetry, which can be called exquisite.

When we were touring, we heard the sound of gongs, drums, and strings. It turned out that local folk artists were performing Shao Bo's gongs and drums in the pavilion. This is a folk instrumental form with unique characteristics of the central Jiangsu region that has been passed down in Shaobo Town. It originated in the Ming Dynasty, took shape in the Qing Dynasty, developed in the Republic of China, and flourished in the early days of the founding of New China, with a relatively long history of development.

Shaobo small brand of gongs and drums has absorbed the essence of Taoist music, thick and thin Shifan (silk and bamboo music) and local "New Year's gongs and drums". It is composed of a set of opening music with multiple music brands, and plays silk and bamboo music and percussion music intensively alternately, forming a distinctive musical genre in Yangzhou and Lixiahe brand music.

Through generations of transmission, it has incorporated the folk customs of Yangzhou region, providing valuable materials for the study of music history and folk history. However, the Shaobo gong and drum small brand performance team we see is almost entirely composed of elderly people, with a shortage of talented performers and some of their techniques on the brink of extinction. The survival and development prospects of this traditional folk instrument are truly worrying, and it urgently needs to be protected and inherited. It is fortunate that we were able to witness and hear about it during our trip.

During the trip, I also tasted local specialty farmhouse cuisine, which is not to be missed, just like the beautiful scenery.

Jiangdu has abundant tourism resources, including the famous Kaiyuan Temple, Puyuan, Zizi Park, Longchuan Square, Xiannv Park, Shanshui Park, Xie'an Park, Yanglu Lake Nature Reserve, Shaobo Lake Scenic Area, and the former site of the New Fourth Army's Northern Jiangsu Command Headquarters. Nowadays, Jiangdu's highway construction is beautiful and tidy, providing a comfortable feeling on the road, which greatly promotes the development of local tourism and economy. I will definitely come back to such a beautiful Jiangdu!