Sichuan Province - Other Scenic Spots 其它景点

Siguniang (Four Girls) Mountains 四姑娘山

Siguniang Mountains are as beautiful as their name, but uncovering their veils and appreciating their many charms can be exhausting. Located in Xiaojin County of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province, the Siguniang Mountains are about 220 kilometers away from Chengdu. The mountains stand in the remote distance, like four beautiful Tibetan girls dressed in white scarves. Legend has it that many years ago, there lived a mountain god named Balang who had four beautiful daughters, and the youngest was the tallest and had the most graceful figure. A devil admired the girl’s beauty and wanted to marry them. So the devil suggested to the mountain god that they fight a duel. If he won, he would get the four girls. The mountain god was killed by the devil. And the four girls fled and eventually died from cold weather. Their bodies became the Siguniang Mountains and their father became the Balang Mountains. But another tale holds that the four girls were later saved by a hunter and became fairies. The Siguniang Mountains resemble four graceful fairies wearing white mantles and waving to guests from afar.

The Siguniang Mountains area consists of the Siguniang Mountains, Shuangqiao Gully, Changping Gully and Haizi Gully. The mountains are 6,250 meters high, reputed by some to be the “Oriental Alps.” Snow covers the mountaintop all the year round. Under a blue sky and white clouds, the dark rocks and clean rivers are coated with green moss and various flowers, or golden grass and leaves, milky fog, white snow and crystal-like ice.

The Capital of Liquor - Yibin 酒城 - 宜宾

Yibin in Sichuan Province is a city with many unusual attributes. For Chinese people, the word “Yibin” is synonymous with Wuliangye五粮液, one of China’s best-known liquors with a history of more than 600 years. Yibin is China’s largest liquor producing base and is known as the “capital of liquor.” For geographers, Yibin is the first city in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is situated at the juncture of the Minjiang岷江 (a tributary of Yangtze River, totaling 711 kilometers with a drainage area of 135,700 square kilometers) and Jinsha金沙江 (part of the Yangtze River, totaling 2,308 kilometers with a drainage area of 490,500) rivers. Archaeologists have been trying to figure out who placed the coffins of the Bo people on cliffs at heights ranging from 26 to 200 meters and why?

Yibin was the home to the Bo people prior to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). Aechaeologists believe there are more hanging coffins in Yibin than anywhere else in the world. For geologists, they are fascinated with Yibin’s seven whole plots of fantastic stone forests and more than 260 mysterious underground karst caves. The city has the world’s largest stone funnel and more than 50 underground karst caves, each with an area of over 10,000 square meter. For researchers interested in ethnic culture and customs, yibin is the home to Sichuan’s largest community of the Miao ethnic group. With a population of more than 30,000 the Miao people have managed to well preserve their unique customs and dress. For nature-loving visitors, this southern Sichuan city is best-known for the 120-square-kilometer bamboo forest in its Changning and Jiang’an counties, commonly known as the Bamboo Sea in southern Sichuan. For architects, Yibin has a strong appeal with profuse ancient structures in Lizhuang Town, 19 kilometers from downtown Yibin. Situated in the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Lizhuang is a historically and culturally prominent town in Sichuan Province and a harbour along the Yangtze River. It has a history of more than 1,000 years. Its streets and lanes retain the layout and original architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The streets and lanes adopt their old names, such as Scholar, Well, Sheep and Mat streets. With their width ranging from 2 to 6 meters, they are mainly paved with green slab stones. All the ancient houses along them are made of wood and are orderly arranged. On Well Street, local residents still use two wells dug some 100 years ago.

Zhang Huanhou Memorial Temple 张桓候嗣

Situated amidst the ancient streets and lanes, the temple is dedicated to Zhang Fei (?-221), a famous general of the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). After the 195-year-old Eastern Han Dynasty collapsed in 220, China was divided into three kingdoms—Wei, Shu and Wu. Competing to reunify the country, the three were locked in wars, leaving behind historic remains and countless heroic stories throughout China. The personification of bravery, Zhang Fei is a household name in China. A sworn brother of Liu Bei (161-223, ruled 221-223), founder of the Shu Kingdom, Zhang Fei followed Liu Bei at a young age and helped him establish the Shu Kingdom. Zhang Fei ruled Langzhong for seven years from 214 to 221. In 220, the Wu Kingdom killed Guan Yu (?-220), as known as Lord Guan, the sworn brother of Liu Bei and ZZhang Fei. To take revenge, Liu Bei led a punitive expedition to the Wu Kingdom. Zhang Fei was ordered to join forces with Liu Bei in today’s Chongqing Municipality with 10,000 brave soldiers. Before he set off, Zhang Fei ordered two of his subordinate generals, Fang Jiang and Zhang Da to make in only three days to mourn Guan Yu. Fearing severe punishment, the two generals, who could not fulfill the impossible mission, killed Zhang Fei when he was sound asleep. Zhang Fei was buried in Langzhong and was given the title Huanhou (meaning “Marquis Huan”). Admiring Zhang Fei’s bravery, loyalty and virtue, local people built the Zhang Huanhou Memorial Temple more than 1,700 years ago. Since then, the temple has undergone many renovations. The temple now consists of ancient structures of the Ming and Qing dynasties and Zhang Fei’s Mausoleum with a total area of more than 10,000 square meters. Its main structures include the temple gate, memorial gateways, halls, wing-rooms, a mausoleum pavilion and a garden. With a compact layout, the temple, which houses 4,000 precious cultural relics of different dynasties, boasts a quiet and elegant environment.

Like other part of Sichuan Province, food in Langzhong is mainly spicy. The city is known for a king of beef commonly called Zhang Fei Beef. The beef is black, but when cut open, it is red. The beef got its name because Zhang Fei is believed to have had dark skin but a red heart, which means loyalty in China.

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