Since the poet Yu Jian's "Jianshui Ji" appeared on the college entrance examination papers the previous year, Jianshui, a small town on the southwest border, has become popular again.

In "Jianshui Ji", the poet describes the architecture, craftsmanship, food, and lifestyle in Jianshui City, providing a realistic template for "poetic dwelling".

The poet believes that the current lifestyle in the ancient city of Jianshui is just a reference for the better life that the Chinese people yearn for and seek.

How to truly understand an ancient city, an ancient building, a ritual passed down from generation to generation; how a city is placed and how it protects the human soul - Jianshui Ancient City may really be able to give us some inspiration.

But here I would like to point out one thing: what is described in "Jianshui Ji" is about the ancient city of Jianshui in the time and space of 2015.

I always think that when we talk about Yunnan, we must pay attention to the "tense"!

Because, every year Yunnan is almost completely different from the previous year, even beyond recognition.

In early 2017, the day before the Lantern Festival, I arrived alone in the ancient city of Jianshui. That was my first encounter with Jianshui.

Suddenly more than four years passed, and time flew by.

After New Year's Day of the Year of Gengzi in 2020, I drove to Yunnan with my friends from my hometown and saw Jianshui again. However, this time I was affected by the sudden epidemic and had to go in and out in a hurry.

This trip to Jianshui is my third time visiting Jianshui, so I call it “visiting the old days in Jianshui”.

Let’s talk about Jianshui Ancient City first.

There is no doubt that Jianshui is a living ancient city, just like Weishan Mountain.

Jianshui Ancient City is larger than Weishan Ancient City, has a better location, and has richer and deeper tourism resources.

The poet Yu Jian said that the ancient city of Jianshui is a living museum.

Any door or window, a water tank, or the railings, pottery, calligraphy and paintings in ordinary people's homes may all be works of art.

There was a very popular saying in the past few years: keywords.

If we talk about the keywords of Jianshui, they must be the following: old buildings, ancient houses, ancient wells, baked tofu, purple pottery, Yunnan-Vietnam train, food, and several regular attractions inside and outside the ancient city.

The poet Yu Jian talked about old buildings and ancient residences in detail in "Jianshui Ji".

During the half month I lived in Jianshui in 2017, I actually saw a lot.

Those doors, windows, water tanks, and beam carvings are indeed worth seeing.

I remember one day, after a warm introduction from Mr. Xu of Yunnan Youth Hostel, I walked out of the city and went to the Huang Clan Ancestral Hall in Xinfang Village.

Under the entire eaves, everything is exquisitely carved!

Because they are too high and the carvings are too small, they cannot be seen clearly, but their exquisiteness can still be seen.

When I left, I stopped at the door and turned around: they were there, a thin and beautiful strip, like a miniature gallery. For hundreds of years, they have been watching the years silently, unable to bear to grow old.

At that moment, a complex emotion surged over me. I was caught off guard and almost cried.

I just thought of a saying: waste time on beautiful things.

Yes, people at that time really understood this sentence!

Even such a beautiful ancient city was demolished.

Demolish one street, then another – under China’s massive city-building movement, there is no room for you to show off your individuality.

In fact, to be honest, how many Chinese people are really interested in those original ancient buildings and ancient cultural relics?

It’s the peerless treasures from Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, so what?

!

Similarly, how many Chinese people are really interested in restored, reconstructed, or imitated buildings and cultural relics?

——That’s it.

It's just that the latter is easier to take pictures than the former, and the photos are more "photogenic".

According to the poet Yu Jian, it seemed that Jianshui was no longer demolished, so something was left behind.

Today, there are still several old districts in the ancient city of Jianshui. The small alleys are like spider webs, extending in all directions. There are many large courtyards of wealthy families. However, these large courtyards have become large courtyards. They have been torn apart during the land reform period.

There is no protection at all.

During the time I was living in Jianshui, I walked around the ancient city almost every day. There were indeed many large courtyards with large gates in the small alleys. Most of the gatehouses were dilapidated. The paintings and sculptures on the two sides of the walls were no longer there.

All were destroyed and replaced with the slogans of that special period - there is nothing to say except lament.

Like Lijiang and Shiping, today's Jianshui is also a new city surrounded by an ancient city.

However, Jianshui City is different from Lijiang in that it is not surrounded by surroundings. It only takes a few minutes to get from Jianshui Ancient City to the wilderness.

In the words of the poet Yu Jian, "The earth has not been driven far away."

The wind, sunshine, and flowers are all still nearby.

When it comes to the ancient wells of Jianshui people and the well complex of Jianshui people, there is really no one else.

It is said that there are 128 wells in Jianshui. Many wells built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty are still in use today. Moreover, each well has a Dragon King temple and inscriptions.