Into the Old Times of Yu County (1)

On March 11, 2018, Director Zha, Mr. Lu, Lei Di, Mr. Gui and the author went to Yu County and Yangyuan Nihewan Site.

As an important part of the "Rim Shanxi Heritage Belt", Yu County has many ancient temples and castles that are loved by cultural relic enthusiasts. If you want to visit the "National Security Bureau" in Yu County, you will have to spend two or three days. However, Director Zha and Lei Di believed that a "long vacation" of more than two days should be reserved for further destinations, so they planned two one-day self-driving tours in Yu County. This is the first time we visited Yu County. We mainly visited the Nihewan ruins, the Yu County seat and the National Security Bureau to the east of the county seat. The introduction of cultural protection units is easy to find. This travel note is mainly used to record the current situation and whereabouts.

Nihewan ruins. It seems that there is a lot of construction work going on inside the site. The original wooden plank road has been almost completely demolished, and there is no sign of where the human remains were unearthed. Without reading the archaeological excavation report in advance, we were like a few headless flies, sweating profusely but still confused.

The nearly missed fossil discovery site in Nihewan has a fossil replica displayed in a glass cover.

The ruins of Daiwang City. Only rammed earth remains of the city wall. From satellite photos, the outline is very clear, and the bustling Daiwang Town is surrounded by the ruins of the city wall. We looked at two city wall ruins near the road, located in the east and south of the town. Daiwang Town is a famous historical and cultural village in China, and there are some historical relics, but I didn't bother to take a closer look.

The tombs of Daiwang City. According to the data, tombs are scattered around Daiwang City. We saw several seals in the south of Daiwang City.

This seal is close to the ruins of the south city wall and is split into two parts by the highway.

Going further south, there are at least 6 seals in the driving schools and nurseries next to the highway. Each seal has a provincial cultural heritage monument in front of it. The information from the local villagers is quite reliable.

Bubeibao Yuquan Temple. Bubeibao is the hometown of Wang Zhen, the eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, and Yuquan Temple is said to be Wang Zhen's family temple. Yuquan Temple is in dilapidated condition, the doors and windows are sealed, and the interior cannot be seen.

There are also relics such as the fort gate, stage and ancient houses in Bubeibao Village.

The colorful murals in the stage

Enter Wei County.

There are more than ten scenic spots open to the public in Yu County. Tickets range from 10 to 20 yuan. There are two packages, each containing different scenic spots.

The renovated northern city wall of Yu County.

The Yuhuang Pavilion located on the north city wall is the landmark of Yu County.

Mural paintings on the first floor of Yuhuang Pavilion.

The Zhenwu Temple has been turned into a mural exhibition hall. It has an introduction and high-definition photos of the murals in Yu County.

The murals of Zhenwu Temple

The main hall with verandah roof of Lingyan Temple

Changpingcang

The modernly reconstructed Drum Tower

Old houses in Yu County City

Nan'an Temple Tower

The rebuilt Yu County Government Office was not entered

Sakyamuni Temple, the former site of Yu County Museum . After leaving, I learned that there are still some stone carving cultural relics from the Yu County area preserved in the temple.

The Guandi Temple near Sakya Temple is also a national protected area and is located in the middle school. It is easier for students to enter when they are not in class. Although it was the weekend, there were student activities and entry was not allowed.

In Tianqi Temple, only the Xian Hall and the Main Hall remain, and the two buildings are very close to each other. The yard was locked, and nearby residents said the old man who held the key accompanied his grandson to school and only came back during the winter and summer vacations.

Gucheng Temple. There is only one building left, because the murals in the temple are well preserved and colorful. Was able to join the National Security Council. It is rarely open to the public, but on that day I met a tour group and got a chance to see the true appearance of the murals. I was very excited.

Yang Yun’s family tomb. It had been badly robbed, with dug graves and scattered tombstones all over the ground.

The most important cultural relic of the Yang Yun family tomb is the "Yang family's tomb inscription in Yuzhou" written by Zhao Mengfu. It is locked in the stele pavilion, and the master's style can only be seen through the small hole in the iron door.

The Sanguan ruins have been covered by orchards.

The Zhuang Nest ruins are located on a platform, and several pits can be seen at the site.

Since we didn’t plan to stay in Yu County, the itinerary was very busy.

The entire driving process will be checked and guided. For difficult locations, Lei Di will navigate according to Google Maps.

The full-day timetable is as follows (thanks to Mr. Lu for recording):

Departure from Jiandemen, Beijing at 06:25

09:00 to 09:55 Hewan Xiaochangliang Site

10:08 to 10:15 Danihewan Fossil Site

10:50 to 11:30 Daiwangcheng Site and Tombs

11:52 to 12:15 Bubeibao Yuquan Temple (Wang Zhenjia Temple)

12:20 to 13:00 Yuhuang Pavilion

13:05 to 13:10 Zhenwu Temple