Yulong Old Street: A great place in the ancient town with deep bamboo forests.

The little hands of chopsticks have discovered a very nice hiking route!

In the southeastern part of Dazu District, at the foot of Xishan Forest Farm, adjacent to Yongchuan, there is a town called Yulong. When the forest farm was established during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1796), it was named Yulong Old Street after the first characters of "Yufeng Temple" and "Longtou Rock" found within the area.

Yulong Old Street#

However, navigating to "Yulong Old Street" yields no results; instead, navigating to "Yufeng Community Health Station" leads to the starting point of the old street, which is about 4 km from the current town government.

The navigation location allows for parking and is free of charge. Following the gentle slope, you gradually enter the territory of the old street, which is built along the mountain hollow, stretching about 1 kilometer from the west at the city gate to the east at the Xizige Pavilion.

Unlike the previously visited Dazu Yongxi Old Street, Post Pavilion Old Street, and Tieshan Old Street, Yulong Old Street is more three-dimensional. Like many old streets, you can only observe it from a historical perspective, which makes these places seem rather dry; in contrast, Yulong can be observed from the perspectives of forests and religion, instantly becoming rich and three-dimensional.

Just by gazing at these scenes, as the seasons change and time passes, even if I just stand by and watch, I can immerse myself in it, and as long as you are willing, you can step in and enter a scene of immersive performance.

The Yulong Old Street, about two to three meters wide, is separated from the bustling main road by several rows of houses. Walking on the bluestone-paved street, you can see the branch of Bayue Mountain, Yulong Mountain, towering above, like a majestic natural barrier, allowing the old street to breathe under its protection. As a necessary route to Yongchuan, it used to be lively, as told by a relatively young uncle among the few remaining residents of the old street. He said that during his childhood, if it was noon, everyone would rest in the shade under the eaves, and laying a mat on the stone slabs would allow one to drift into a dream.

Later, over a decade ago, the town government moved to Liushui, and it became less lively. Houses began to tilt, tiles fell, and people became dispirited. The uncle said he didn't understand why the town government had to move elsewhere and build new tall buildings; wouldn't it be better to help the residents of the old street repair their houses? After saying this, he lowered his head and continued scrolling through noisy short videos, while the birds he fed chirped, as if everything here was still as lively as before.

The blue-brick, cross-beam tiled houses are the main architectural form of the old street, with Iron Street, Water Alley, Eighteen Steps, Medicine Temple, Lime Alley, Main Street... The old street is simply referred to by these two characters, and during its prosperous times, it had so many place names. Xinhua Bookstore, Post Office, Theater; the past prosperity here is evident, but the decline is also well-known.

Passing by a few houses that are about to collapse, the portraits of deceased elders hang weakly on the fragile bamboo walls, black and white, coldly looking at the remnants of this house. In that moment, many images flashed through my mind, just like when I watched "Coco"; souls always exist, it's just that no one can perceive them.

Fortunately, the old street is still very clean, beautifully unadorned, with red bricks and blue bricks complementing each other, red flowers and green plants creating an interesting scene, and the bluestone slabs and red lanterns forming a picturesque view. It has a sense of slowly fading presence. When someone remembers it, it becomes lively for a while, but after a while, everything returns to normal, sinking into the tide of time.

At the intersection of the bluestone road and the cement road, I encountered a warm grandmother and a talkative grandfather, who took out a small stool for us to sit on and asked if we had eaten.

The grandmother told us that the owner of the house across the street, which is currently being repaired, lives in Dazu City and plans to retire here in two years. The grandfather said he used to work at the glass factory in Yulong Town, which went bankrupt in 1999 after 25 years of service. There used to be a paper factory and a coal mine in the town, and at its peak, there were over 300 households and more than 2,000 people living in the old street, which was quite lively.

The grandparents' daughter works in Zhejiang, and although they also have a house in Dazu City, they prefer to live in the place where they grew up, where they can grow their own vegetables and be self-sufficient. The grandmother proudly told me that they have not been infected with COVID-19, and she wishes for the elderly to stay healthy.

As I left the elderly couple's home and walked forward, the layers of the old street became increasingly distinct. The street side is industrial, a little further in there is some commerce, and deeper in are residential houses. There are also boys and girls playing on bicycles, dogs and insects frolicking, and this scene could easily be mistaken for the 1970s.

At the end of the street, an old man is making brooms from bamboo branches, selling them for 8 yuan each, and wholesale to sanitation companies. We inadvertently discovered that their "broom warehouse" actually contained a hexagonal stele, the inscriptions of which have become quite blurred. The old man making brooms told me that this used to be a temple.

Sanqing Cave#

Exiting the old street, there is a rural road across the street that can accommodate one lane, about two kilometers long. Following the route to navigate to "Sanqing Cave," you can walk or drive; if walking, it might take about half an hour to reach.

Driving to a place suspected to be a radio relay station, the road ahead is still a yellow mud road and is blocked. If you want to continue driving, you must call the mountain before reaching the forest fire inspection station; otherwise, you can only hike up. The road is not long, about a few hundred meters, but the slope is steep, and it would be quite challenging to climb in rainy weather. The moss along the way and the steep slopes on both sides make the mountain feel like a sharp blade. After several moments of feeling like I couldn't hold on, I finally saw the village gate in the distance, inscribed with "Quiet Gate."

Sanqing Cave (also known as Sanxian Cave) is also called Baoji Temple Village, with four village gates, a relic from the Qing Dynasty. The tombs at the foot of the mountain are clearly dated to the Guangxu period, indicating that this site has existed at least since before Guangxu.

The main temple is located inside the cave, and its exterior is mostly well-preserved, but many of the Bodhisattva statues are missing, and the new statues always seem somewhat off. Inside and outside the cave, there are more than a dozen couplets carved in various fonts, covering religious themes, scenery, and moral exhortations.

An elder surnamed Leng said he has been guarding this temple for seven years, and the immortals have conferred upon him the title of "Tianzun," thus he is tasked with guarding it. Regardless of anything else, moving so many benches from the foot of the mountain to the top for climbers to rest is already a good deed.

At the entrance of the cave, there was originally a cultural preservation monument erected by the Yulong Town government in Dazu District, but it has been smashed to pieces. The "Tianzun" told us that both Dazu and Yongchuan are competing for ownership of this place.

Additionally, Sanqing Cave was also vandalized during the calamity period and was used for radar communication activities, so the signal tower seen at the parking area is a remnant from that time.

Tanzi Stone#

Descending from Sanqing Cave, I took a nearly three-kilometer detour due to unfamiliarity with the route, but fortunately, the bamboo forest along the way was refreshing, giving a bit of an "Eastern Hogwarts" mysterious feel. The May sun was not too harsh, only regretting not bringing two more bottles of water.

After descending, I continued towards Yongchuan for about 2 kilometers, passing a martyr memorial sculpture. On the right, there is a road leading up the mountain, which also has a forest fire station for inspection, reminding you to prohibit open flames. This section of the road should belong to the forest farm maintenance area and is unpaved. For those wanting to drive, be cautious; taking a sedan up the mountain is quite challenging, and inexperienced drivers should not attempt it, as the gravel road is filled with large potholes.

For hiking enthusiasts, this is a nice route, with deep bamboo forests on both sides and fallen bamboo leaves underfoot, which make a squeaky sound when stepped on. The sound of the wind in the forest and the scent of green bamboo remind me of a recently purchased fragrance called "Listening to Rain in the Bamboo Forest," which I felt had a similar scent experience, but when truly stepping into the forest, I realized that artificial scents cannot replicate the essence of nature.

In May, the bamboo forest leads to a small path at the top of the mountain, leading to "Tanzi Stone." On clear days, you can take photos from a distance or use a drone to capture the spirit of a brave adventurer.

The entire route has sections for both driving and hiking, with hiking distances ranging from 5 to 20 kilometers, depending on one's physical condition.

During the hiking process in the mountains, we unexpectedly discovered exposed coal seams, truly a living fossil of geological movement; seeing this with my own eyes was quite exciting!

Route Recommendation#

If you've read this far and are starting to get interested in this place, then the little hands of chopsticks recommend a route for readers:

Day 1: Chongqing Main City - Yulong, have tofu flower rice for lunch in Yulong New Town, then hike Yulong Old Street, Sanqing Cave, and Tanzi Stone. For dinner, eat Xiao Jiyu fish, then soak in the hot springs at Longshui Lake and get a good night's sleep.

Day 2: Sleep in, row a boat at Longshui Lake, ride a horse by the lake, and have stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured meat for lunch before driving back to the city.

If you think this arrangement by the little hands of chopsticks is good, please help share it 😄

Macin

Yulong Old Street: A great place in the ancient town with deep bamboo forests.

Yulong Old Street#

Sanqing Cave#

Tanzi Stone#

Route Recommendation#

Previous Travel Notes#