Riding the wind of rebirth

Compared to the bustling pedestrian street, the old streets and alleys inside Datongmen feel like living in another time.

Sunlight spilled onto the quiet street, which had a concrete driveway in the middle, with raised stone steps on either side and a stone-paved sidewalk inside.

Apart from the main roads being replaced with cement surfaces, these roads are essentially the same layout as the main streets of the old city during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Zhou Zhi even suspects that the ancient roadbed lies beneath the cement surface, just like the old water town of Guangzhou.

Hand in hand with Mai Xiaomiao, they strolled leisurely through the old town. When they arrived at Shita Street, Zhouzhi finally found some Ming and Qing dynasty sites, including Jingjing Temple, Guandi Temple, City God Temple, Yunnan Guild Hall, and Shaanxi Guild Hall.

However, most of these places have been turned into residential courtyards, or are now just place name signs with residential buildings on them. The most charming section is still the old city wall, which was covered with bluestone and then stubbornly decorated with banyan tree roots.

"Elbow, what were those stone pillars on the city wall for?" Mai Xiaomiao asked, holding Zhou Zhi's hand as she looked up at the remnants still visible on the weathered city wall.

“There used to be a barbican outside this city gate, with a gate tower on top,” Zhou Zhi said, “just like the layout of the north gate of the ancient city of Huili.”

"However, this city gate tower had a rather unfortunate fate. It suffered from the devastation of natural and man-made disasters such as war, floods, and earthquakes. It was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, enduring countless vicissitudes. Later, in the 30th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, a major earthquake struck Xichang. Xichang City was reduced to ruins in that earthquake, and Datong Tower collapsed completely."

"In 1935, in order to prevent the Red Army from entering the city, local officials ordered the burning of West Street and Shuncheng Street. The fire burned down Datong Building, which is why almost all the buildings we see in this area today are from after the Republic of China era."

"When we were advancing in battle, did we have to pass through here?"

“It really is necessary,” Zhou Zhi said. “China has a complex terrain, so wars are closely related to the struggle for key transportation routes. From ancient times to the present, there have only been two routes from the traditional Han Chinese regime’s Bashu region to Yunnan.”

“One road is called ‘Lingguan Road’, and the other road is called ‘Zhuti Road’.”

"Pig Trotter Road? That's a hilarious name."

“It’s not the pig’s trotters in the soup with white beans.” Zhou Zhi also laughed: “Zhuti is the name of a tribal settlement on the ancient border of Sichuan and Yunnan, which is now ZT City in Yunnan Province.”

"Both routes are important parts of the Southern Silk Road. The saying that the Shu Road is more difficult than ascending to heaven does not only refer to the northward connection between Chang'an and Luoyang, but also includes the difficulty of expanding southward."

"Starting from Chengdu, passing through Linqiong (Qionglai), Qingyi (Mingshan), Yandao (Yingjing), Maoniu (Hanyuan), and Lanxian (Yuexi), one can reach this place. From there, one can go from Huili to Dali, Baoshan, and then into Myanmar and Southeast Asia, reaching as far as India and Bangladesh." "This road was first opened by Sima Xiangru in the first year of the Yuanshuo era of the Western Han Dynasty. After accepting the allegiance of various southwestern tribes, Sima Xiangru led tens of thousands of soldiers and over one hundred thousand laborers to build roads and bridges, dismantle old passes along the way, construct bridges over the Anning River, and open and repair roads leading to Liangshan and Xichang, all the way to Dali on the shores of Erhai Lake. He also established prefectures and counties along the route, making it over four hundred kilometers long and a major route for military and commercial travel in the south."

"During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang also took this route when he led his southern expedition. To facilitate the march and transport of provisions, the Lingguan Ancient Road was repaired and maintained to make it more accessible. Later generations renamed Lingshan to Xiangong Ridge in his honor, hence the road is also known as 'Kongming Road'."

"During the Tang Dynasty, in order to strengthen border defense and expand the territory, Li Deyu, the military governor of Jiannan Xichuan, established Qingxi Pass on the ancient road. He also made a slight modification to the route: starting from Chengdu, passing through Shuangliu, Qionglai, Ya'an, then south through Yingjing, arriving at Xichang, crossing the Jinsha River at Huili, and entering the territory of Nanzhao."

"This road is still in use today. The northern route we took is basically the passage opened up by the ancients, but it has now been expanded into a highway."

"Those ancient people were truly wise; the paths they discovered are still in use today."

"That's not entirely true. The main reason is that, without the ability to tunnel through, people found only a few passages by following the river valleys and mountain ranges."

"The other road is even earlier; it is an ancient road that appeared as early as the Qin Dynasty, called Zhuti Road."

"Zhuti Road was built during the Warring States period. Legend has it that Li Bing, the governor of Shu County in the Qin State, used the primitive method of burning firewood to open up the mountain and carve the rock to create this road. This road went south from Shu, passing through Bodao (today's Yibin), Zhuti (today's Zhaotong), and finally reaching Dianchi Lake."

"Because it was centered around the ancient Zhuti region, it was called the 'Zhuti Road'."

"But it also has a more well-known name, 'Five-Foot Road'."

"The Qin people revered the number 'six,' but when Li Bing carved this road, it was only five feet wide at most, hence the name. As the name suggests, this road was originally just a narrow, winding path that was barely passable."

"During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, a rebellion broke out in the Nanyue region, and Emperor Wu dispatched a large army to suppress it. Among the soldiers was a man named Tang Meng, who, while in Panyu, tasted konjac sauce produced in Shu (Sichuan) and learned that it was smuggled to Panyu from the Zangke River in the northwest. After returning to the capital, Tang Meng submitted a memorial suggesting that this road be opened up, in preparation for a surprise attack on the sometimes-surrendering and sometimes-rebellious Nanyue. Emperor Wu of Han agreed to Tang Meng's suggestion, appointing Tang Meng as a general and leading a thousand soldiers and more than ten thousand people carrying provisions, starting from my hometown Jiachuan, which was then Fuguan in Jiangyang County of Ba Commandery, into the Nanyi region, conquering the Yelang region, and establishing the first commandery developed by the southwestern Yi – Jianwei Commandery. Afterwards, the court mobilized the forces of the four commanderies of Ba, Shu, Guanghan, and Jianwei to devote all their efforts to building this road."

"This road starts from Shu (Sichuan), follows the Qingyi River down, passes through Jiajiang to Jiaozhou, and then follows the Min River down to Bodao. After reaching Yizhou, the Qingyi Road splits into two: one is the Nanyi Road, which continues south from Bodao to Yelang (present-day Qianzhou), and further south to the present-day Guangdong and South China Sea; the other connects to the Five-Foot Road built by Li Bing in the Qin Dynasty and expands it, forming an official road that goes south from Bodao, passes through Shimen (present-day Dousha Pass in Yanjin County, Yunnan Province) to Zhuti, and then passes through Weixian County to reach the Dianchi Lake area."

"During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the key point shifted to Shimen Pass. The Shimen Pass built during the Sui and Tang Dynasties was extremely dangerous. The Tang Dynasty book 'Man Shu' recorded: 'The eastern cliff of Shimen rises straight up to ten thousand ren (approximately 5,000 meters); it overlooks the Zhuti River and then plunges hundreds of feet into the ground, where only the sound of water can be heard. It is inaccessible to people. The western cliff is also a stone wall, and there is a covered road beside it, only a step wide and stretching more than thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers) diagonally. Half of the cliff is suspended in mid-air, precarious and dangerous.'" (End of this chapter)