Qikou ancient town

Qikou was an important military hub in ancient times. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China, Qikou became a famous trade town in northern China by the Yellow River water transportation. It connects Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Mongolia in the west, Taiyuan, Beijing and Tianjin in the East. It is the economic and cultural hub of the East and the west, and enjoys the reputation of "the first town of the Yellow River in Jiuqu". There are abundant and well preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings in the town, mainly including warehouses, ticket houses, pawnshops and other commercial buildings, temples, dwellings, docks and so on, almost including all types of typical water transport trade towns under the feudal system. Since the ancient town is still a primitive and simple way of life of residents, it is also known as "living ancient town".

Qikou ancient town

Qikou town is located at the West foot of Luliang, the Bank of the Yellow River and the south end of Linxian County. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China, with the help of the Yellow River water transportation, it became an important business town in the north, enjoying the reputation of "the first town of the Yellow River in Jiuqu", and one of the birthplaces of Shanxi merchants. Qikou town is a town under the jurisdiction of Linxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province. It is located at the West foot of Luliang City, 48 kilometers south of Linxian city. It is connected with mengmen Town, a famous town of Yellow River in Liulin County in the south, linjiaping town in the East, congluoyu town in the north and Wubao County across the river in Shaanxi Province in the West. The town covers an area of 108.45 square kilometers.

brief introduction

Qikou is an ancient town in Luliang Mountain, beside the Yellow River and an ancient ferry in Linxian County, Shanxi Province. In ancient times, the lower reaches of the Yellow River were dangerous, and the ships from the upper reaches of the Yellow River often moored at Qikou and turned to dry roads. Qikou ancient town, located 50 kilometers south of Linxian County, Shanxi Province, is a famous historical and cultural town in China. Xiwan village is one of the first batch of famous historical and cultural villages in China. Xiwan castle is not far from Qikou. There are ancient buildings in Ming and Qing Dynasties, which complement the Loess Plateau.

Qikou is located in the middle of Shanxi Shaanxi gorge of the Yellow River, 48 kilometers south of Linxian City, and the famous mengmen ancient town in the south. It is named after Datong Qikou of the Yellow River. The Yellow River comes from the north, the Qiushui River comes from the East, the crouching tiger mountain lies across the north of the town, the black dragon temple stands to the east of the river, the mountains are surrounded by water, the intersection of yin and Yang, the momentum of the mountains and the power of the river form a magnificent picture of "the tiger roaring the Yellow River, the Dragon singing the Qikou".

history

Qikou was a military hub in ancient times. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China, Qikou became a famous trade town in northern China by the Yellow River water transportation. It connects Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia in the west, Taiyuan, Beijing and Tianjin in the East. It is the economic and cultural hub of the East and the west, and enjoys the reputation of "the first town of the Yellow River in Jiuqu". The prosperity of Qikou is due to the adventure of Datong Qi, which is known as "the second moraine of the Yellow River". It is a section of nearly 500 meters long reef with a drop of 10 meters. The water is sharp and the waves are high. It is difficult for boats and rafts to pass through. Therefore, Qikou has become the transit station of the waterway on the north main stream of the Yellow River, and hence its name. At that time, a large number of material resources in the northwest provinces were continuously transported from the river. After arriving at Qikou, they were transported by land to Taiyuan, Beijing, Tianjin, Hankou and other places by mules, horses and camels. On the return journey, they were transported to the northwest through Qikou. In its heyday, there were only 150 ships and more than 300 service stores in Qikou wharf. Day after day, Qikou spread its reputation as a "small city of flood and drought wharf" throughout the north and south. There are abundant and well preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings in the town, mainly including warehouses, ticket houses, pawnshops and other commercial buildings, temples, dwellings, docks and so on, almost including all types of typical water transport trade towns under the feudal system. Since the ancient town is still a primitive and simple way of life of residents, it is also known as "living ancient town".

During the Anti Japanese War and the war of liberation, Qikou was the main transportation port from North China to Yan'an. At that time, there were military factories and military clothing factories in the town, which played an important role in prospering the economy of the border region and solving the material problems of the Eighth Route Army and the people's Liberation Army. On March 23, 1948, Mao Zedong and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation crossed the Yellow River and stayed in Qikou overnight. Later, they transferred to Xibaipo to command the national war of liberation. Now the town has preserved the monument of Mao Zedong crossing the Yellow River eastward and the residence of Lu.

Today, the rich historical and cultural heritage, the galloping Yellow River, the Rolling Loess Plateau and Luliang Mountain make the beautiful natural scenery and unique cultural landscape complement each other in Qikou, forming a Qikou tourism area centered on the ancient town of Qikou, and winning provincial scenic spots, the first batch of provincial geoparks, the first Provincial Tourism poverty alleviation pilot area, etc Title, ushered in a new development opportunity.

Geography

The specific geographical location of Qikou ancient town has created its reputation as a "tiny place". Qikou is located in the center of water and land transportation between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Shaanxi. It is an important distribution center of commodities. Secondly, Qikou town is located at the intersection of Qiushui River and the Yellow River. Qiushui River carries a large amount of sediment and occupies the Yellow River channel. The yellow River riverbed shrinks from 400 meters to 80 meters at Qikou. The turbid yellow river water is like an angry lion - "Yellow River sailing, talk about the color change of Qikou" Except for the brave old Shaogong, few people dare to sail in the moraine. As a result, the ambitious merchants only "sighed and sighed at Qikou" and reluctantly unloaded the full ship's goods on the Bank of Qikou, and then hired a pack team to transport them by land.

So here, Qikou becomes a geographical limit. No matter the size of the raft, far and near, a Qikou means the end of water trafficking and the beginning of land transport. The black dragon temple, which stands high on Wohu mountain in Qikou, has become an auspicious landmark that businessmen always look forward to. Looking at the temple with flying eaves and beams, businessmen can finally take a long breath of relief and say goodbye to the dangerous Yellow River channel. They unloaded the goods, picked up their bags, and stepped into the inn with great style. They asked for a plate of fried peanuts and a pot of local old yellow rice wine. They enjoyed it with great leisure. A little tired, he sat on the chair in the room, dialing the abacus under the dim candlelight, carefully counting the sales balance of the past few days. The sound of the abacus and the noise outside the window sounded very beautiful.

Economics

Relying on the Yellow River water transportation, Qikou has been a famous commercial port in northern China for more than 200 years from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty to the outbreak of the Anti Japanese war. From then on, it no longer belongs to Dinghu county (now mengmen Town, Liulin County). Connecting Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia in the West and Taiyuan, Beijing and Tianjin in the East, it has attracted almost half of Chinese businessmen and has become a hub for economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. According to the inscriptions in the reign of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty of Heilong temple in the town, there are more than 20 shops, not counting sporadic traders. Meanwhile, boats and rafts shuttle in the Yellow River, and Camel Bells reverberate in the valleys. Merchants gather, shops stand, street lights, brilliant day and night, endless, filling dissatisfaction, is the so-called "small city of flood and drought wharf, the first town of the Yellow River in Jiuqu".

scenic spot

The glory of history has left a splendid culture. The main scenic spots in Qikou are "ancient town charm", "flood and drought wharf", "Crouching Tiger Dragon Temple", "Yellow River rafting", "Erqi surfing", "Qilin Beach", "Yellow River Soil forest", "red date garden" and a group of Shanxi Merchants "old houses" with loess plateau architectural characteristics represented by "Xiwan folk houses". The ancient town is still antique, with stone road at its foot, high Getai on both sides, eaves connected to eaves, and shops next to shops. Door to door, window to window, speaking in the room at night, the opposite can always hear clearly. There are brick carvings, wood carvings and stone carvings of Ming and Qing Dynasty style in old shops, time-honored brands and old houses. Culture and art are everywhere. Walking on the five mile long street, it's like walking through a time and space tunnel and walking into history. Everything is so remote, deep and heavy.

Architecture

The streets and shops of Qikou ancient town are the model of traditional architecture in mountainous area in Qing Dynasty. The main street starts from the East, goes west along Qiushui River, and goes north against the Yellow River. What's more interesting is that the back street of the ancient town is only 200 meters long, but it turns 18 bends. These buildings are built entirely according to the terrain. The streets are paved with stones, the shops are flat doors, and there are high Getai in front of the doors. In the south of the main street, there are two streets and three streets, one shorter than the other

It has become a ladder type architectural pattern. According to records, the large-scale construction of shops in Qikou began in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. In the Daoguang period, there were more than 60 shops in the whole town. By the fifth year of the Republic of China, there were many shops. In addition to the county, there were 204 shops in Baotou, Hequ, Suide, Fugu, mengmen, Fenyang, Xiaoyi, Jiexiu, Pingyao and other places.

Qikou is rich in tourism resources and thick Yellow River culture, which has been recognized by more and more people. Experts at home and abroad who have come to Qikou for investigation believe that Qikou is a palace for thinkers, a resort for tourists, a treasury for entrepreneurs and a cradle for artists. In 1999, the provincial government named Qikou as a provincial scenic spot.

delicious food

Saozi bowl convex: put the bowl in the pot to steam hot, then wipe off the water droplets formed by the steam condensation in the bowl, scoop the buckwheat flour paste into the bowl, put it on the pot, steam it fiercely over high heat, take out the bowl while it is hot for about 20 minutes, spread the uncooked paste evenly to the edge of the bowl, put it in a cool place to cool naturally, then the bowl is taken off. After the pot with spicy oil, sesame paste, old vinegar as seasoning, plus a spoonful of saozi (dialect, made of kelp, vermicelli, black beans, etc.) to eat sticky but not soft, thick and delicious.

Qikou jujube: Qikou jujube tree has a long history. According to county records, as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were large Jujube Gardens along the Yellow River in Qikou. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, jujube trees were known as "iron crops" because of their drought tolerance. They were transplanted to the East Bank of Qiushui River, making most parts of the county prosperous

Chinese PinYin : Qi Kou Gu Zhen