jingziguan ancient town is located at the junction of Henan, Hubei and Anhui. It is not well-known, but the internal environment and the preservation and layout of buildings in the ancient town are very individual, and the simple folk customs and customs still exist, reflecting people's unparalleled feelings.

When I first heard that there was an ancient town called Jingziguan in this trip to Xichuan, Henan Province, I longed for it, because it was called "Jingziguan in three provinces with one foot" and "Jingziguan in three provinces with crowing". What is the concept of this one-footed three provinces? This aroused my strong curiosity. After eighteen bends in the mountain road, our party finally arrived at Jingziguan.

When we entered the south gate of Jingziguan, we were greeted with a very quaint smell. All those pavilions, galleries and pavilions were ancient buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. These buildings basically kept the original appearance of the buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The houses facing the street were almost all made of black wooden doors, which were convenient for business. The corners of those eaves and corridors, including the paintings on the walls, were well preserved.

This street is only 2.5km long, which seems to be a concentrated charm for hundreds of years. It seems to be a concentrated aftertaste for generations. There are more than 711 ancient buildings in Ming and Qing Dynasties with black painted doors and grey walls and tiles. Stone workshops, piers, column foundations and cornices of various shapes are unique, and stone carvings, brick carvings and wood carvings set each other off. In 2111, Jingziguan ancient building complex was announced by the State Council as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

It is said that in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the water transportation in Danjiang River was at its peak, and gangs and businesses from all over the country settled in Jingziguan, where skilled craftsmen left many buildings, so it was very lively, with shops standing next to each other, and the streets were bustling with people passing by. Today, although the Ming and Qing buildings here are well preserved, they never see the prosperity of that day, and there are few pedestrians on the street. After walking this street, there are not many people, except for a few old ladies sitting along the street.

Out of curiosity, I took the initiative to greet the old people. When I asked how long they had lived here, I was a little surprised by the answer. The oldest one has lived here for more than 81 years and has lived here since she was born. The old lady also told us that her family opened a shop to do business many years ago. Later, because the roads outside extended in all directions, the whole ancient town gradually became quiet and depressed.

after careful observation, this ancient town is full of shops downstairs and houses upstairs, which is actually a good business model. For example, in a jewelry shop, if a guest takes a fancy to a certain piece of jewelry, but needs to make some changes, the store will immediately go upstairs to process it, let the customer sit downstairs for a while, then offer a cup of green tea for a short break, and then take out the finished product after processing. In this way, the guest can wait comfortably, and the business is successful, killing two birds with one stone. I have to admire the wisdom of the ancients and think very carefully.

The tourists in the ancient town have few advantages, that is, no one will break into the camera, so they can shoot as they want and watch as they want. According to the local people, the ancient town is divided into three parts. From the south gate, it is a slum area, and then it is a civilian area. After going on, it is a rich area. The division is very obvious, but now it is no longer prosperous.

There are Shanshan Guild Hall, Yu Palace, Pinglang Palace, Mayin Bridge and other ancient buildings in the ancient town. It's worth visiting to learn about the history of Jingziguan ancient town, the traffic in the previous prosperous period and so on.

The largest in the ancient town of Jingziguan is the Shanshan Guild Hall, which was built in 1816 by businessmen from Shanxi and Shaanxi. The Guild Hall has a large area of more than 4,111 square meters, facing the Danjiang River from east to west. There are 6 existing buildings and 29 houses, and the central axis has the gate building, the theater building (corridor building), the bell and drum tower, the lobby building and the lobby building in turn. The architectural structure in Shanshan Guild Hall is novel and unique, and the most distinctive feature is stone carving. Each column of the house in the Guild Hall has a pillar stone with vivid stone carving patterns on it, and there are four little lions on the pillar stone of each column, plus the stone lions at the door edge and corner, leaving a saying that "no one can count the lions in the Guild Hall".

the landscape features of jingziguan have four characters: street, bridge, edge and temple. There are "three ancient towns", "three provinces with crows" and "three provinces with one foot". The place with one foot in three provinces is not on the ancient street of Shanshan Guild Hall, but on another street, where we took a turn by car. This street is called Bailang Street, which is owned by three provinces, so it is called "one street in three provinces".

this Bailang street is famous for its pavilion of friendship among the three provinces. There is a triangular stone under the pavilion, called "Three Provinces Stone". The monument belongs to Bailang Town of Shaanxi Province in the west, Bailang Town of Hubei Province in the southeast and Bailang Village of Jingziguan Town of Henan Province in the northeast. If you step on it, you will step on three provinces. This is the origin of "one step on three provinces". Now that we're here, everyone must step on it and feel what it's like to "step on three provinces with one foot". Therefore, the spire of that stone tablet is no longer sharp and has been polished quite roundly.

the most interesting thing is the marital status here, and "opening relatives in three provinces" is a major feature. Most families may be like this: the male host may be from Shaanxi, the wife may be from Hubei, and the daughter-in-law may be from Henan. If you have a grandson, you may worry about which province you are registered in. Haha, it is really a "grand alliance of the three provinces". It is said that it is also very interesting to make a phone call here. It is a long-distance call from outside the province across a street or a building. This strange Bailang Street is now a must-see for tourists. Therefore, although the sparrows in this street are small but complete, there are restaurants and accommodations in the canteen, but they are relatively simple. If you want to eat local specialties, it is recommended to eat "eight big pieces".

The eight pieces of Jingziguan are eight kinds of steamed vegetables, which are made of beef, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks and fish with different tastes and shapes. Some of them are fried first, others are cooked first, or fried first, and various cooking methods come together, but in the end they are all steamed in the pot and then served. Even the soup is steamed, and the taste is soft, glutinous and fragrant.

there is a restaurant named judexuan in jingziguan ancient street of Ming and Qing dynasties. Ju Dexuan's dishes are mainly based on eight pieces of Jingziguan. Because the "Eight Big Pieces" of Jingziguan are the profound food culture accumulated by the people of Jingziguan in their long-term life, and are the basic banquet standards for civil weddings and funerals, with rich regional characteristics.

eight pillars of jingziguan eat

eight pieces of steamed pork in jingziguan

eight pieces of steamed meatballs in jingziguan

eight pieces of steamed crispy meat in jingziguan

eight pieces of steamed sour radish old duck soup in jingziguan

eight pieces of boiled tofu skin in jingziguan

six pieces in jingziguan.

In Jingziguan, the most popular and richest meal is the "Eight Big Pieces". On holidays, families and relatives gather together to prepare the "Eight Big Pieces" for entertaining relatives and friends, so when you get to Jingziguan, you must try the eight big pieces here when you have the chance.