Before arriving in Yulin, I didn’t have much impression of this city. I only knew that it was a prefecture-level city in northern Shaanxi, located on the edge of the Mu Us Desert. It had many coal mines and was a "nine-sided town" in the Ming Dynasty. For one, the Ming Dynasty once stationed heavy troops here, relying on the Great Wall to fight against the intrusions of the grassland peoples... As for the others, little is known about it.
Due to work reasons, I have been to Yulin twice on business trips. The first time, during a chat with a local taxi driver, I learned that there is a scenic spot here called Hongshi Gorge, and the scenery is very good. So during these two business trips, I took time to take a bus to visit in my spare time in the evening.
Hongshi Gorge, also known as Xiongshi Gorge, is located 3 kilometers north of Yulin City, close to the west side of Zhenbeitai, the first platform of the Great Wall. Hongshi Gorge has red rocks confronting each other and is shaded by willow trees. The Great Wall passes through the gorge and the Yuxi River flows slowly in the valley. It is known as the most scenic spot of the Great Wall. It’s really surprising to find such a quiet and cool place in a frontier area filled with yellow sand.
Regarding the origin of Hongshi Gorge, "Yulin Mansion Chronicles" said: During the Song Dynasty, this area of ??Yulin was under the jurisdiction of the Xixia State. At that time, there was a spring in Hongshan flowing south from a cave. King Li Jiqian of the Western Xia Dynasty took a fancy to this geomantic treasure land, and sent people to block the water flow, cut rocks into caves, bury his ancestors, and divert water to it. Therefore, a monument was originally erected on the east side of Puji Bridge in Hongshixia Reservoir: "Li Ji, the king of Western Xia, was buried here because his ancestor was Yi Chang." Now the monument has been destroyed.
Another theory is that in 1472, Yu Zijun was appointed as the governor of Yansui and prepared to build the Great Wall. At that time, in the north of Hongshan, the Qingshui River was full of water. In the water village in the middle of Haizi lived a group of water thieves who robbed the Mongolian and Han people's cattle, sheep, food, and clothing. In order to eliminate this group of bandits, Yu Zijun sent people to dig rocks here to make a canal to divert water from Haizi into the Wuding River from the southwest of Yulin City. After the water receded, Yu Zijun sent an army to destroy the bandits. At that time, the stone gorge dug out was called Hongshi Gorge, the canal water introduced was called Yuxi River, and the irrigation built on both sides was called Guangze Canal.
The most humanistic and historical value of Hongshi Gorge is the inscriptions carved on the cliffs on both sides of the canyon. Think of the civil servants and generals who guarded the border in ancient times, and accidentally found this treasure in the border fortress surrounded by yellow sand. , it is inevitable for talents to burst out, to engrave praises on monuments, and to express one's feelings directly. Climbing up the stone steps carved out of the stone cliff, you can see various majestic and beautiful inscriptions everywhere.
There are works praising the beautiful scenery of Hongshi Gorge, such as "Yuji Moya", "Zhonghua Tianzhu", "Tianwai Qifeng", "Chaohai Penglai", "Kaiyuan Pictures", "Tiancheng Xiu", etc. ; There are also words describing the dangers of military status, such as "Golden Soup in the Desert", "Iron Stacks in the Sky", "Key to the Sky", "Hongzhen Sanqin", "Yuguan Xiongshan", "Mighty Nine Borders", etc.; there are also words that express the country Examples of unification and national unity include "Return Our Mountains and Rivers", "Unify China and Foreign Countries", "Mongolian-Han Family", etc. "Three Mountains Gongcui" written by Chen Zhang, a Yulin calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, and "Yuxi Resort" written by Zuo Zongtang have vigorous handwriting. There are also Mongolian stone carvings, which are the only treasures of Hongshixia cliff carvings.
The sunset glow at Hongshixia Gorge is also a sight to behold. On a clear summer evening, standing in front of the entrance of Hongshixia Grottoes and looking towards the western horizon, the glow reflects half of the sky red, and the clouds are burning. The colors are unpredictable and really fascinating.