2024 Cultural 'Summer' Journey (Five): A Real Ancient City - Jun County

Jun County in Hebi City, Henan Province, is a national historical and cultural city. The ancient city of Jun County still preserves many ancient buildings such as city walls and bell towers. Together with the Dapi Mountain, Fuqiu Mountain, and the Jun County section of the Sui-Tang Grand Canal outside the ancient city, they form a beautiful picture of 'Two green mountains, a stream of water, and a city half embedded in the mountains.' Jun County is engraved in history due to the water control achievements of Yu the Great and the glory of Confucian merchants like Zigong, endowed with the convenience of the ancient Yellow River flowing eastward. Two thousand years of vicissitudes have forged a unique county-level national historical and cultural city in Henan Province, where every brick and tile carries heavy historical memories. On this ancient land, the veins of Chinese civilization are clearly visible. At the foot of Dapi Mountain, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism coexist harmoniously; during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu performed the Fengshan ceremony, and in the Ming Dynasty, Wang Yangming lectured here, with historical footprints interweaving. Liyang Warehouse, as a world cultural heritage, built along the mountain, witnessed the brilliance of ancient storage civilization; the Northern Wei Buddha, standing for a thousand years, tells the exquisite Northern Buddhist art with its earliest and largest posture. On the plains, the twin peaks of Dapi and Fuqiu stand tall, the Sui-Tang Grand Canal meanders like a ribbon, and the charm of the ancient city of Ming and Qing dynasties flows slowly between the mountains and waters, attracting countless travelers to seek historical traces and feel the tranquility of time. Jun County not only has profound folk culture, canal culture, Confucian merchant culture, and granary culture but also retains ancient villages full of rural atmosphere and rich intangible cultural heritage. Folk Shehuo, Ni Gugu, and Daping Diao and other art forms present a visual and auditory feast. While strolling through the ancient city and staying overnight in the streets and alleys, one can savor the original rural style and pursue the wonderful rhythm of the intersection of ancient and modern.