Exploring the Millennium Ancient Road in Western Beijing

Number of days: 1 day
Time: May
Average cost: 60 yuan
With whom: husband and wife
Tour kinds: Free travel, weekend tour
The author went to these places： Liuliqu Village Jingxi Ancient Road Mentougou Lingshan Ma Zhiyuan's Former Residence

The weather was beautiful over the weekend, and my wife had been nagging about visiting Matiwo. Since the kids had classes on Saturday and didn't need to play with us, we drove there. We went to Xishan Avenue, also known as the North Road of the Xishan Ancient Road. The original avenue essentially ran along the Yongding River Valley and is one of the oldest ancient roads in western Beijing. Xishan Avenue starts in Sanjiadian in the east, crosses the Yongding River, passes Liuliqu Village, crosses Chou'erling, passes Xiehejian, Shuiyuzui, and climbs Niujiaoling. It then passes Qiao'erjian, Magezhuang, Shiguyan, and Seshufen before ending in Wangping Village. This is the main route of Xishan Avenue. From Wangping Village, a road leads to Wangpingkou and then to Zhaitangchuan. In the past, much of the coal produced in Zhaitang was transported out of the mountains via this ancient road. Numerous clear horse hoofprints remain on the road surface at the crossings of Chou'erling and Niujiaoling. This ancient road was the longest-used of the Jingxi Ancient Roads. It was not until the Xia'an Highway was completed in 1977 that it was naturally abandoned.

The Jingxi Ancient Road Scenic Area is located in Shuiyuzui Village, Miaofengshan Town, Mentougou.

Sculptures at the entrance of Shuiyuzui Village

Sculptures on both sides of the road in Shuiyuzui Village

Ancient Trail Tour Map

Ticket office for the ancient trail, ticket price is 27 yuan

The sculpture next to the ticket office for the ancient trail

Aerial view of the entrance to the Jingxi Ancient Trail

The winding ancient trail (aerial photography)

The entrance to the ancient trail

The stone trough and sculptures at the entrance to the ancient trail

Impressions of the Western Beijing Ancient Trail

Impressions of the Western Beijing Ancient Road

Impressions of the Western Beijing Ancient Road - This used to be a busy ancient road, but now that fewer people are walking on it, the grass on the road is about one meter high. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Niujiaoling, along which the ancient trail passes, marked the boundary between Buweinan Township in Wanping County and the Wangpingkou Inspection Office. A fortress was built there, serving as a crucial gateway on the Xishan Avenue. Constructed at the point where two hillsides confronted each other, it guarded a crucial point along the ancient trail. Facing east and west, the Niujiaoling fortress is a brick and stone structure, built directly on the mountainside. Its arched edges are made of blue bricks and its legs are made of bluestone. The gate is 7 meters high, 9.3 meters deep, and 4.3 meters wide. There are a large number of obvious hoofprints on the road surface on both sides of the city, about 300 in total, and the deepest is 30 centimeters.

Tiipuowo Introduction Sign

Niujiaoling Tiipuowo

Niujiaoling Hoof Wo

A roadside monument, erected in 1777 (the 42nd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty), now stands. The stone tablet was once left by the roadside, lying in the grass. Over 240 years of wind and rain have eroded the stone, blurring the inscription and damaging the stone itself. In 2007, a replica of an ancient hexagonal pavilion was built east of the Niujiaoling Pass to house the tablet.

Hexagonal Pavilion

Boundary Monument for the Eternal Freedom of Husbands

The "Boundary Monument for the Eternal Freedom of Husbands" is a concrete manifestation of the Kangxi and Qianlong policies of "increasing the population in prosperous times and never raising taxes." As the inscription is blurred, I spent a long time on site trying to identify it but couldn't make any sense of it. When writing this travelogue, I looked up the information, found the content of the inscription, and copied it down in full.

Inscription: Fame Lasts Forever

I have always admired the virtuous men of the past, whose virtues were engraved on stone and whose names were recorded in history. I have never failed to sigh and linger. How fortunate we are to live in a prosperous era and to enjoy the rule of the venerable Huang Gong in our county. In the western mountains of Wan County, for example, villages are sparsely populated, and half of the bannermen live in huddles. The land is dense and the land is scarce, and people make a living by working in the kilns. Every family, like Fu Chai, lamented the hardships of making ends meet. The long distance from Beijing made the journey unbearable. Therefore, in the eighth year of the Yongzheng reign, the Chief Justice Ruan submitted a detailed report to the emperor, requesting the release of Fu Chai. Fortunately, the County Lord Wang Gong, with his sincere heart and sincere counsel, granted the exemption of all labor service for the three officials of Wangping, Qijia, and Shigang. Thus, the people admired his virtue, and the Zhao clan took pity on him. A stele was erected in front of the Wanping government office, and a stone was inscribed on the main thoroughfare of Wangping. For over forty years now, I have been awed by your presence, filled with longing. What a constant stream of labor service! Suddenly, I hear the call for dispatch, and witness the humiliation. Alas! The great laws of the land do not allow for another special favor, so how can I raise you again? However, if you did not do what was good before, it would not be publicized; if you did not do what is great after, it would not be passed on. We, the ministers, have the audacity to present our petition. Thank you, Lord Huang, for your humble consideration and your permission to pass it on. We, the honorable Lord Huang of our county, have approved the investigation of Wangping, Qijia, and Shigang villages, exempting them from the labor service, a matter that has long been documented. I have also ordered Lord Fang to follow the previous detailed case and exempt the three villages from labor service, refusing to assign them again, to alleviate the people's suffering. Alas, how fortunate we are to live under Lord Huang's rule! Lord Huang was a native of Piaoyang County, Zhenjiang Prefecture, Jiangnan. His given name was Ruiding, and his courtesy name was Jinghan. He was appointed Magistrate of Wanping through a career of filial piety and integrity. Since leaving the throne, I recall that you have been kind and kindhearted, diligent in your administration, fair in sentencing to settle disputes, redressing all grievances, and meticulously eliminating all malpractices in the government. You have implemented good regulations, overcame difficulties, and left a lasting impression on the hearts of millions, prioritizing the abolition of corvée labor. Although you maintain your sincerity and seek to remain renowned in your time, how can you bear to see your words forgotten by future generations? Yu and I have poured our heart and soul into engraving this stele on stone, hoping to demonstrate your virtue, promote your reputation, comfort the legacy of Gan Tang, and promote benefits and eliminate abuses, thus forever embodying your legacy. This stele was erected on the first day of the eighth month of the Dingyou year, the forty-second year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. It was written by Shen Jiucheng, Liu Tingyu, and Sun Yongqi. Research suggests there should be a "Stele of the Reconstruction of the Xishan Road" erected nearby in the eleventh year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1872), but I didn't see it at the time, so I copied the inscription here as well. The inscription reads: "Building bridges to facilitate crossings and repairing roads for pedestrians is a righteous act of serving the people. This is the most virtuous act. Moreover, the Xishan region relies on black gold for its livelihood, and it is even more indispensable for cooking in the capital. A sudden blockage of the road threatens the livelihoods of all." The inscription records the public's efforts to repair the road in the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign, following a torrential rainstorm that destroyed the road. The main donors for the road's repair came from commercial businesses in Sanjiadian and Liuliqu villages, including 14 coal factories in Sanjiadian and 3 in Liuliqu, demonstrating that this ancient road was the economic lifeline of the coal merchants. Opposite the stele pavilion, a poem commemorating General Mao Lifang, written by Mr. Shi Changpu (a native of Yanhecheng, Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, and former director of the Mentougou District Educational Science Research Institute), reads: "Reminiscence of the Past at Niujiaoling Pass - In Memory of General Mao Lifang." General Mao, whose real name was Lifang, was a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang. In the third year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, he fought against the Later Jin army at Jiulongao, at the foot of Lingshan Mountain. He and local guards Zhang Bing and Zhang Guiqi were ultimately outnumbered and captured. The Later Jin army "enticed the general to surrender with promises of lucrative benefits," but the general angrily rebuked him, saying, "I would rather die in glory than live in disgrace." He then committed suicide. Upon hearing the tragic news, the arriving reinforcements, filled with tears and indignation, bravely fought and annihilated the Later Jin army. After passing the Guancheng Pass, there is a Guandi Temple, also known as the Laoye Temple. It is said that it originally enshrined Guandi and Yang Bajie, but was destroyed during the war. The current temple was rebuilt on the original site by Shuiyuzui Village in 2012. Impression of Laoye Temple

Impression of Laoye Temple

Murals inside the main hall

Overlooking the Glass Plank Road

Jiuyuan Village Archway

Screen Wall in Xiluopo Village

Ma Zhiyuan's Former Residence

Ma Zhiyuan's Former Residence is a large courtyard house, situated west and facing east. A small bridge and flowing water frame the entrance. The screen wall in front of the entrance reads "Ma Zhiyuan's Former Residence" and contains an introduction to Ma Zhiyuan's life. Behind the screen wall is a courtyard, but it was closed when we visited, so we took some photos in front of the entrance.

Here is a quote from Ma Zhiyuan's poem "Autumn Thoughts" from "Tian Jing Sha": "Withered vines, old trees, crows by the dusk; a small bridge, flowing water, and a house; an ancient road, a west wind, a thin horse; the setting sun, a heartbroken man at the end of the world." This poem captures the vicissitudes of the ancient road west of Beijing.

There is another poem in the introduction, which may be about Xiluopo Village.

"Qingjiang Yin·Yexing": "The days in the west village are long and there are few people, a new cicada is chirping. Just when the sunflowers are about to bloom, the bees are already busy, and I sleep soundly with the butterflies."

After reciting Mr. Ma Zhiyuan's poem, I couldn't help but feel the urge to write a poem, so I composed a poem to record this trip:

Thoughts on the Ancient Road

The thousand-year-old ancient road west of Beijing,

The sound of the caravan's bells has dissipated in the valley,

On the bluestone of the ancient road,

The hardships of the caravan are engraved.

The mountain wind blows through the city gate of the pass,

like the command of the pack team to control the mules and horses,

stepping into the deep hoofprints on the bluestone,

will you think of,

the thin horse on the ancient road in the west wind,

watching the sunset,