I used to read Shen Congwen's Border Town, and I knew that the story happened in Hong 'an ancient town in Xiushan. This time, I was invited to participate in Chongqing Xiushan Wulingshan Commodity Fair, thinking that I just took time to visit the ancient town.

Xiushan is more than 411 kilometers away from the main city of Chongqing. Although there are expressways connected, it takes four or five hours by car. At present, there is no high-speed rail by train. From Chongqing to Xiushan, you can only take the green leather train, which takes five and a half hours to drive. Although the green leather train is a little slow, there are still some scenery worth seeing along the way.

Xiushan is a county far away from the main city of Chongqing. It is adjacent to Guizhou and Hunan. The junction of the three provinces and cities is Hongan Town, Xiushan County, which is 47 kilometers away from Xiushan County. It is known as "one foot in three provinces" and is also the "first gate in southeast Chongqing" in Chongqing.

Take a bus to the scenic spot. The entrance of Hongan Ancient Town Scenic Spot is on the Chongqing side of Yuxiang Bridge, and the center of the bridge is the dividing line between Chongqing and Hunan. Standing at the bridgehead, you can see the words "the first gate in southeast Chongqing" written on the bridgehead archway. The gate is a landmark building built in southeast Chongqing after Chongqing was directly under the central government, which represents the new image of Chongqing in the region. On the side of the bridge, the big stone stands with the words "Border Town of Chongqing, Hunan and Guizhou", and on both sides there are two rows of small characters: "Tujia people in Miaohan * * * help the great cause, and make a new start in Hongcha will build a well-off society together", which means unity, harmony and prosperity for all ethnic groups.

from the left side of the bridge, we entered the ancient town and stood on the river bank. We saw that the ancient buildings here were built on the mountain and accompanied by water, all of which were blue bricks and tiles, with unique shapes and Tujia Miao village customs. The trees here were shaded, and there were cruise ships crossing the water in the rippling river, which was picturesque.

In Border Town, there is such a description of the beautiful scenery: "A small stream goes down, flows around the mountain, and in about three miles it joins the Chadong River. If people walk over the stream and over the hill, they will reach the edge of Chadong City only one mile away. Streams are like bows, and mountain roads are like bowstrings, so there is a small difference between the distance and the distance. The stream is about twenty feet wide and the riverbed is made of large stones. The quiet river is still clear and transparent even if it is too deep for Artemisia argyi to fall to the bottom, and the fish in the middle reaches of the river can be counted. Since the stream is a tunnel between Sichuan and Hunan, it is limited to financial resources and cannot be bridged, so a square-headed ferry is arranged. " I used to know the beautiful scenery of the border town from the book, but now it appears in front of my eyes.

The ancient town of Hong 'an is just across the river from the town of Chadong, Hunan. The beautiful scenery described in the book, as a literary youth at that time, I have seen such a scene in my mind countless times. By the clear river, there lived a family. The old man was a ferryman, the little girl was Cuicui, his granddaughter, and there was a yellow dog. They pick up passers-by in the river every day and live a simple and quiet life. The story deeply attracted me. It can also be said that I came from a dream.

in addition to the beautiful scenery here, the former site of the Liu Deng Army Second Field Command in Chongqing is also here. During the War of Liberation, Liu Deng's army marched into the southwest, and Hong 'an was the first stop in Chongqing. Chief Liu Deng was stationed in Fuxing Bank on the street to direct the fighting. Today, a monument to March into the Southwest stands here, with the inscription "Towards the Southwest" by Deng Xiaoping. This should also be the famous old revolutionary base area.

The ancient town of Hong 'an is actually small. It consists of dozens of rooms by the river. During the stone road shuttle, the stone ladder wharf extends to the riverside ferry. There are diaojiao buildings by the river, where people live, and the windows are open to dry clothes. In the early winter sunshine, there are not many pedestrians on the slate road, mostly tourists. Some small shops on the street do business with their doors open, and the whole town is particularly quiet and peaceful. The boats in the river are moving in the quiet river. People living in ancient towns are so unhurried, far away from the hustle and bustle, and have no struggle with the world. The border town is leisurely and carefree in its simplicity.

There is a small red tower standing in the stone ladder of the riverside pier. I asked the locals with curiosity, and they told me that it was specially built to write quotations from Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution, and they also called it the Quotations Tower. People in the old red areas are so willful that they recorded that period of history in this unique way. This should be a rare red memory left over from the Cultural Revolution.

cross the wind and rain bridge, and you will arrive at the "Three Provinces Pavilion with One Foot". The so-called "one foot in three provinces" means that the pavilion is built at the junction of the three provinces. The crowing from these three directions can be heard in this pavilion. This is the origin of the "Three Provinces Pavilion with Crows".

There is also a strange island called "Three Negroes". No matter whether the island is an unknown island in the local area. Before liberation, this small island did not belong to Sichuan (now Chongqing), nor to Hunan and Guizhou. If the locals make an offer, they will all come here, no matter how dark they are, the local governments of the three parties will not ask. Over time, it has become a famous three-no-care island. Nowadays, there are resorts on these three islands, which have turned into the largest tourist, dining, entertainment and leisure resort in the border area of Chongqing, Hunan and Guizhou. If you have time, you must try some local food. Through careful cooking, the local people concentrated the fish from Hunan, the tofu from Guizhou and the pickled vegetables from Chongqing into a pot of Hong 'an pickled tofu fish called "Three Provinces in One Pot". This delicious food, which symbolizes the harmony of the three places, is a must for local cuisine. I have to sigh the wisdom of ordinary people and their vision for a better life.

There are many places worth seeing in Xiushan, including Xiushan Old Town West Street, China Microfilm City, Phoenix Mountain Lantern Folk Tourist Area, Chuanhegai Scenic Area, Daxi Youshui and Wuling Mountain Scenic Area.

There are many delicious foods in Xiushan, including millet and spicy rice tofu, local chicken soup, bean curd fish, Miao bacon, mung bean powder, bean curd, oil cake and so on. If you have time, you must have a good taste.

the border town in the book and the Xiushan in the painting. In a word, it sums up the picturesque scenery of Xiushan, which deserves to be the most beautiful rural landscape in China.