From the county seat, we walked along the 209 provincial highway. 1 hour 10 minutes later, we arrive at Hejiang village. Minister Wang Rui arrived as promised. After a brief introduction, we had a preliminary understanding of the general situation of the canyon, so we took a break and moved on. 500 meters in front of the village, a wide cement road winds on the left hand side, and the village road is widened, which is very easy to walk. In the blue sky, white clouds are floating with the wind, and under the sky, green mountains and green waters are everywhere. It's comfortable to walk here.
Walking along the spacious cement road for 10 minutes, we came to a waterfall at the highest point of Shili River in Longjing. Parking is near, the cliff hangs on the top of the mountain, about 60 meters high. A curtain of clear water is embedded in it, rushing down from the top of the cliff and falling to the bottom of the cliff, splashing thousands of water and landing with sound. On both sides of the waterfall, the rock walls are steep. Climbing the waterfall is really not easy. Fortunately, a few days before we arrived, the village had organized villagers to dig a simple mountain road along the cliff. The village party secretary told us that this waterfall is called Dengtian Waterfall. First, the waterfall is steep and difficult to approach, and there is no way to go up from the bottom of the waterfall. Second, the origin of the legend, it is said that you can ascend to heaven here. If you can get the guidance of the gods, you can go all the way to heaven.
Explore the mystery of Dengtian Waterfall and feel the gentleness and delicacy of Shibanxi instead. "Shibanxi" is a flat valley more than 500 meters long. When you look at it, it looks like a whole piece of casting. There are slight waves when it is flat. The stream winds through the slate, with rows of shade beside it. Green grass, small wild flowers in full bloom in the green grass, colorful butterflies flying. At this time, although the hot sun is in the sky, it stops at the stream, and the cool wind blows gently, the water is not dry, and the heart is cool; At this moment, if you bring your family, children and friends to a "swimming in the slate creek", the adults will walk barefoot along the stream, singing and shouting loudly. Or sit quietly by the stream and listen to cicadas singing in the breeze; Watching butterflies dance, let Liang Zhu flow in my heart; Let the running water pass by, entrust everything to the stream, take away the fatigue and forget all the troubles. Children can play on the bluestone board. Catching butterflies in the grass and catching small fish in the stream are all favorites. Fortunately, the "Shibanxi" is smooth and soft, although it is safe despite its best efforts.
Climb the "Shibanxi" and you will see another world, which is more vivid than the fairy tale world. In the canyon, stones of various sizes are grotesque and have thousands of postures. Some are like beetles exploring the sea, which is embarrassing; Some tigers fight and don't give in to each other; Some are like loving sea lions, looking at each other affectionately; Some giant pythons come out of the mountain and are unstoppable; Some like to jump frogs and jump up and down; There are many pet dogs, lazily basking in the sun; The rocks on both sides of the riverbed are exposed to the sun, night dew, wind, rain and soft water, full of spirituality. The patterns on the rocks are lifelike, lifelike. Inadvertently, a predatory crocodile blocked the way, fierce eyes, twisted body, domineering feet, leaving a string of stirring spray; As soon as we got rid of the crocodile's scare, a beluga whale swam slowly towards us again. It flapped its fins and wagged its tail as if it knew us and winked at us. Not far ahead, I don't know who left an iron broom or a fairy's musical instrument.
After walking through Huashi Valley, a tall waterfall appeared in front of us again, with the height exceeding 100 meters. The two mountains intersect to form a huge angle, and a white waterfall runs down, which is in sharp contrast with the golden ink cliff. Because it hasn't rained for a long time, the water in the waterfall is not very big. Colleague Wang Shuji said that if it is rainy season, the waterfall is full of water, and the momentum is like a rainbow. The water fell on the headboard and spread to both sides. Although the current is not big this time, I can't feel the grandeur, but the concept of how high the mountain is and how long the water is has been deeply imprinted in my mind.
There is a fork river in the middle of Huashi Valley. This valley is not deep. Once inside, it is beautiful and quiet, which makes people linger. There is not much difference, but there is a strong sense of hierarchy. The current forms waterfalls on many small gaps. In the middle of the innermost waterfall, a boulder stands out to cover the upper part. How wide and long it is, how many secrets it hides, full of mystery; The two boulders at the bottom of the waterfall are exposed, which makes people think. Like two fighting frogs, ready to go, eager to try.
At noon, the sky was covered with white clouds and the heat wave rolled in the fields. Although I am hungry, I can't miss the last stop. I went straight down the river and built a temporary sidewalk along the hillside. This road is easy to walk and the distance is not too far. In the next few rounds, Longjing is just around the corner. On the wide river, a huge circular stone mortar occupies the whole river. The river upstream rushed into Longjing from the cliff and stayed in the pool.
In just half a day, I visited Shilixi in Longjing, and I initially felt her rigor and gentleness. There are still many secrets that we need to explore. We will come again.
Text: Cheng Chao
Photography: Feng Wang Cheng Chao Zhou Kun