China's Lost Cities: Majestic Nature, Ancient Cities Filled with the Past

Where is the picturesque Jiangnan water town, with its charming misty rain and smoke, and where life depends on the ocean? It is Zhejiang. But beyond what we know, hidden in Zhejiang is an indescribably peaceful 'paradise'.

If you start from Hangzhou and gradually move towards the Southwest, what appears before your eyes is Zhejiang with its undulating mountains. Southwest Zhejiang is not like the familiar Zhejiang - this place is like the "peach garden" described by Dao Cong, containing a beauty that 'actually exists, but seems to not exist', making any visitor ecstatic because this place is 'so beautiful, so poetic'.

This is Khanh Nguyen in Zhejiang.

Qingyuan is located in the southwest of Zhejiang, a lucky land named after the emperor's reign. 'Qing' means 'beautiful' and 'Yuan' means 'beginning' .

This is the farthest county from Zhejiang province, surrounded by Fujian on three sides and Zhejiang on only one side. It lies on the towering 'roof' of the province - the Donggung Mountains, but unfortunately not many people know about it.

This is a lucky land named after the emperor's reign.

Few people know that since 2004, Qingyuan has been the top county in 'China's Ecological Environment' for 17 consecutive years. This beautiful but little-known land belongs to the Zhongshan Mountains in southwestern Zhejiang , with valleys, basins, hills, low mountains, mid-mountains and other landforms.

Looking at the topographic map of Khanh Nguyen, you will see that this is almost an ancient citadel hidden in the mountains and forests.

Khanh Nguyen is also surrounded by rich and overlapping natural scenery: looking out to see Dong Cung, Hoang Mao Tiem, Bach Son To, and surrounded by more than 20 mountains with an altitude of over 1500 meters.

The adjacent high mountains seemed to block out the noise of the mortal world, completing the isolation of a rare and peaceful land called Qingyuan. It is hard to imagine that in an economically developed province like Zhejiang, there is such a 'green and fertile' land with a forest coverage rate of up to 86%.

Almost all the people in Qingyuan have climbed Baishanzu (a national 4A-level tourist attraction), which is the most famous mountain among the large and small mountains surrounding Qingyuan.

Under the cover of mountains and dark green forests, cared for by countless streams and waterfalls, this place is quiet and deserted, silently nurturing rare species of flora and fauna living here, besides still preserving the most pristine and pure things among the vast sea of ​​clouds on the majestic mountain top.

Can Tu Peak in the west is 1563 meters above sea level, the two mountains look like two sisters leaning against each other. Tuong Van, Phat Quang, Than Hi, Tich Duong, Vu Tung, are known as the 'Five Wonders of Heaven' on Can Tu Peak. Any frame makes people admire the beauty of the natural mountains and forests here.

Attached to mountains and rivers since ancient times, Khanh Nguyen has no large rivers, but more than 926 large and small streams in the district have nourished and brought good reputation to this land.

In Khanh Nguyen - where there are mountains, streams, and covered bridges.

The Japanese Covered Bridge, also known as the Hongqiao Bridge , has a history of more than 2,000 years in China, and was popular during the Northern Song Dynasty. Of all the covered bridges, the construction technique of the wooden arch covered bridge is the most complex, because it is constructed based on the tight connection of the beams together without using nails or rivets.

Qingyuan today has nearly 100 preserved ancient covered bridges, making it the county with the largest number of covered bridges in China, including 21 wooden covered bridges.

Nguyet Son village, located in the southeast of Khanh Nguyen, is the village with the densest distribution of ancient covered bridges in the country. There are 10 covered bridges from ancient times and currently there are 5 bridges named Nhu Long, Lai Phung, Bach Van, Bo Thiem and Can Khanh.

Song Mon Bridge and Phu Dien Bridge are the two earliest wooden arch bridges according to national historical records, located in Dai Te village, 2.5 km from the district capital. In addition, Dai Te village is also known as a 'Doctors Village' - this village with more than 300 residents has historically produced 26 Confucian Doctors in 230 years.

In ancient Qingyuan, wherever there was a covered bridge, there had to be a temple, and wherever there was a temple, there had to be a 'Mushroom God'. About 800 years ago, a young man in Qingyuan successfully cultivated the earliest artificial shiitake mushrooms in the world, and Qingyuan became the birthplace of mushroom cultivation technology in the world. This man's name was Wu Sangong, and he was revered by mushroom growers as the 'Mushroom God'.

In Tay Duong village, Ngu Dai Bao town, Khanh Nguyen district, at the head of Lan Khe bridge, there exists a pagoda named Tay Duong Dien . From the 16th to the 19th of the 7th lunar month is the 'Fragrance Season' of Tay Duong Dien. On this day, mushroom growers from all over gather here to worship, perform Mushroom plays, sing Mushroom folk songs.

Today, the mushroom industry in Qingyuan is still as vibrant as ever, with an annual output of about 10,000 tons of dried mushrooms, making it the largest mushroom production and wholesale distribution center in China.

Tay Duong Dien today still has lively temple operas, bustling with laughter, participants seem to travel back to the past, drifting on the river of time.

There is a saying that 'A day in heaven is equal to a year on earth' , so in Khanh Nguyen, time is also unwilling to pass quickly. Therefore, this land forgotten by time quietly plays with the mountains and forests, waiting, not happy with the world, nor sad with the inherent tranquility.