In late July 1997, I took a short trip to Jiuzhaigou in the northwest plateau of Sichuan. This valley at the foot of Dorna Peak in the southern section of Minshan Mountain was originally a branch of the source of the Jialing River. It is famous for its mountain lakes and waterfalls.
Jiuzhaigou is Y-shaped. The main ditch is Nuorilang at the entrance, and it is divided into two branch ditches, Zechawa and Rize. There are 118 green seas, 17 waterfalls, and numerous calcified beach flows in the three ditches. They are in various shapes and forms, showing their natural beauty. Therefore, Jiuzhaigou is known as the "Fairy Tale World".
I wandered around in it, feeling happy both physically and mentally. The beauty is so deep that words cannot express it. Goethe said: "Art does not intend to compete with nature in terms of depth and breadth." In Jiuzhaigou, you will understand Goethe's words more deeply. Nature is always the greatest work of art.
colorful pool
The top of Zhawa is Changhai. This Haizi is a bit like Tianchi on Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang, but bigger than Tianchi. The surrounding mountains are layered with lush greenery. The highest peak on the right is an ocher wall, reflecting in the sea, like a city or a curtain. There are no boats in the sea to protect the pure water quality from human pollution. Therefore, I don’t know how far we can go into the long sea. A person like me who likes to be a red pine nut immortal wanderer can only sigh when facing the sea.
Turn back from Changhai, pass through the Landscape Gallery, and pass through the flowery paths. About two kilometers away, you will reach the Five Color Pond.
In the deep valley, there is a depression with a pool of water. At first glance, it is full of green, but when you look closely, it is colorful. The ancients said that silence is like a virgin. And the tranquility of virginity is far behind compared to Wucai Pond.
This was my first feeling when I saw the colorful pond while standing on the hillside. When I walked down from the jungle and stood by the pond, I saw the swaying flowers and trees on the east bank and the blurry colors of the water. I really couldn't help but want to scream.
Having lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, the one who attracts people when he sees the water is: the spring river with flowers and moon, and the fishing lanterns are dimly visible; the one who is charming about the water is: the peach blossoms are flowing on the water, accompanied by the bright moon; the one who is serene about the water is: the ancient stream of the cold pond, which is always cold; the one who is wild about the water: Thunder and lightning surged, falling without a trace. The seductive one is the water singer, the charming one is the water maiden, the quiet one is the water hermit, the dissolute one is the water madman. Comparing these four types to Wucai Pond, the situation is completely different.
The Wucai Pond is no more than a hundred seats long, the water is about ten feet deep, and the rocks on the ground are unevenly spaced. Various kinds of water plants grow in the gaps between the rocks, slender, soft and tender, as if they are not growing under the water, but on the grass where the morning air is clear.
It was the first time in my life to see such clear water, as if it was not a pool of water, but an empty pool. It is such an emptiness that cannot tolerate even the slightest bit of dust, an emptiness that is too illusory.
The sun was just right at that time. The sunshine on the Western Sichuan Plateau, even in July, is strong but not hot. When the light shines into the pool, a pool of faint water turns into an endlessly changing colorful pool.
One pool is green, one is blue, one is purple, one is black, and one is white. Green is the kind of graceful and generous green, blue is the kind of unrestrained blue, purple is the kind of carefree purple, black is the kind of bright and beautiful black, and white is the kind of exquisite and clear white. There are stone barriers at the bottom of the water, grass is floating, rotten trees are slanting, and fallen leaves are scattered. They are graceful because of the wind and colorful because of the light. The shadows of the branches are horizontal and slanting, and they contrast beautifully with each other.
If you observe more carefully, you will find that this pool of clear water contains more than the five colors mentioned above. Speaking of green alone, there are dark green and light green, and blue also includes peacock blue, sapphire blue, etc. The elusive color changes are fleeting and not visible at all. Just when I was staring at the water, I heard a ding-dong sound. When the ripples dispersed, I saw a red agate bracelet lying on the white stone and green grass at the bottom of the water more than ten feet deep. It turned out that it was a little girl who had just walked to the edge of the pool. She let go and cheered because of excitement, and the bracelet flew away. The little girl didn't seem upset at all. She looked at the small circle of scarlet in the water and smiled excitedly.
Suddenly, I felt that this pool of water should be the water in the Peach Blossom Spring praised by Tao Yuanming. It's inappropriate to think about it. After all, the Peach Blossom Spring is a place of fireworks in the world. Water is used to eat, drink, and cultivate crops. It is inevitable that the water will not grow turbidity. Perhaps, it should be the water of the legendary Yaochi. Thinking about it, it is wrong. The Yaochi is where fairies bathe. Although their beautiful bodies are amazing, after all, the water they have bathed in is still a little bit filthy.
Wucai Pond is incomparable, it is what it is. Popularity and immortality are superfluous to it. Even the pandas who live in the mountains seem to be very sensible and do not come to drink from this pool.
Peacock River Channel
From the Panda Sea to the Wuhua Sea, there is a long valley with streams and springs flowing through it. This stream has a beautiful name: Peacock River Channel.
We walked down the Peacock River after swimming through the Swan Sea, Fangcao Sea, Arrow Bamboo Sea and Flower Sea. The string of mountain lakes make me feel a special kind of peaceful beauty. The reeds in the Swan Sea are like the fields in the south of the Yangtze River, and the century-old trees lie on the bottom of the lake, like immortals with beautiful beards in meditation; on the shallow grassy shore of the Arrow Bamboo Sea, little kingfishers fly and chirp. Where the birds chirped, beside the green reeds and where the water flowed, there was a strip of yellow flowers in full bloom. Youjing! So pure! Being in it, my increasingly dull sense of touch, smell and taste suddenly became very sensitive.
At noon, after taking a short rest on the wooden bridge on the shore of the Panda Sea covered with ancient pines, we walked down the Kongque River.
I have always liked the valley, which collects the feminine beauty of the mountains and rivers. The Qinglian Valley in Lushan Mountain and the Golden Whip Stream in Zhangjiajie are both treasures in the deep valleys. The Kongque River is not the most popular scenic spot in Jiuzhaigou, but in my eyes, it is a beautiful space that can be stayed or walked.
Going down the plank road between the mountain walls on the side of Panda Sea, the first thing you see is a waterfall. There are three hangers in total, the middle hanger is larger, the left hanger is smaller, and the right hanger is smaller again. The three fell onto a flat boulder, and then divided into many thinner and whiter waterfalls falling down. Then it fell again, and then fell again. The flying spring covered the snow, and the silver drill soared into the sky. There was a bit of elegance in the majesty.
Further down, the waterfalls merge into one stream, meandering through the dense forest at the bottom of the valley. What a dense forest this is! The hillsides and cliffs on both sides are covered with ancient trees. Every tree is thousands of years old. Green when it should be green, red when it should be red, wither when it should be dry, prosperous when it should be prosperous, everything is random, and there is absolutely no trace of artificiality. The trees in the valley are mostly pine and fir, and they are all great husbands among their species. The sun above their heads seems to be the Yao light from the fairy world, shining on them and emitting various colorful lights. But there are also many shrubs mixed in among the pines and firs. Under the dazzling light, these shrubs seem not to be woody plants, but balls of cotton woven by the goddess. Water mist wraps around it, butterflies fly among it, and mountain flowers crowd below. Layers upon layers of fun. Here I would like to mention one flowering shrub in particular. The flowers are as big as bowls and as white as the moon. The white flowers blooming on the trees in the lush forest are like the smile of a girl in paradise. I asked the tour guide what the flower was called, and she shook her head apologetically and said she didn't know.
The Kongque River gurgled in this atmosphere. The pebbles in the river looked like dinosaur eggs that had been laid all over the ground. And the dinosaurs are probably still sleeping soundly in the dense forests of the mountains on both sides. I heard that some people saw pandas drinking water in the Peacock River. Sheepdogs are indispensable on the grassland. Without pandas, this flower that can only walk around and the beauty of Kongque River will lose its uniqueness and extraordinaryness.
Stop and go, stop and go, about two kilometers of downhill river, I walked out of a thousand miles of poetry. Beauty is not a mysterious thing, it is clear but has endless aftertaste. Walk to a waterless place and sit down to watch the clouds rise. I have always liked these two lines of Tang poetry. But the water under my feet has no end, and the clouds above my head are like traces of dreams floating in ancient times.
Just when I felt a little weak in my legs, a small four-cornered pavilion appeared at the corner of the road. This is a pavilion built around a giant pine. Pine wood is used as beams, columns, and rafters, pine bark is used as tiles, and pine boards are used as the ground. Under the boards is a green pool. Standing in this unique little wooden pavilion, leaning against the giant pine, you can listen to the sound of water and birds, and look at the fallen flowers and moss on the pebbles. You immediately feel how wonderful Lin Quan's demeanor is.
There should be a flute player standing in this pavilion to bid farewell to the long pavilion and blow the water to mourn; or there should be a wine fairy standing to scoop up the jade liquid and pepper paddle that is flowing all over the valley and drink it with the ancient pines. Let the aroma of wine bring the panda into the pavilion and join Liu Ling's drinking spree; or, come to a poet with a full head of white hair and a Luli sword hanging on his waist, pointing to the flowing water and saying "Great Jiangdong" Go and search for all the famous figures of the ages..."
Although I am also a poet, standing in this small pavilion, I can only sing, "Where is the drunken sky today, the dawn wind is waning on the willow bank." It is not that my will is wasting away, but in this deep Peacock Valley, I am so intoxicated with beauty that I don’t know what trouble is.
Pearl Beach
The water in Jiuzhaigou Valley is extremely quiet and is called Wucai Pond. The one that moves to the extreme is Pearl Beach.
Pearl Beach is located at the lower part of Rize Valley, between Wuhua Sea and Mirror Sea. A rare travertine flow in the world. When I was in front of this river beach, I was really pleasantly surprised. The cycle of countless problems creates twists and turns in history. The thousands of twists and turns of flowing water and thousands of rapids in front of us constitute an endless cycle of natural beauty.
What a torrent this is!
Clumps of broken snow flow with the sunshine; crystal beads roll with the rays of light. Clusters of crane feathers are perched on green trees and lingering; bits of starlight are shining in the cold dew. Thin rocks and long pines are among the clear springs and white waterfalls; the world is old and the world is old, among the snow and thunder. Thousands of flying dragons are entrenched in the ancient grass; thousands of plum trees are competing for beauty, swaying the ice heart that resists vulgarity. Yak wading across the water, overhanging rocks formed a valley; bluebirds waded in the beach, and pebbles built magpie bridges. The beautiful trees are like cups, giving me thousands of cups of fragrant wine; the stalagmites are like pens, drawing a cloud of smoke. Myth, totem, and nature are blended into one another; the present, past, and future, time has solidified.
Wandering and wandering, lingering and lingering, in front of this ever-changing beach, I truly appreciate the hypnotic power of natural beauty. Of course, it was not my body that was hypnotized, but my spirit. A German philosopher once said: "The great art of all times comes from the interpenetration of two opposing forces - from the impulse of carnival and the dreamy mental state. That is, the state of dreaming and drunkenness. This kind of opposition." At this moment, I am in this kind of opposition.
As a lover of nature, I have dreamed of the kind of landscape where wildness and gentleness are unified in many sleepwalking dreams. It is both exquisite and unruly; it is an extreme expression of emotion, and its inner structure is orderly. Pearl Beach is just such a landscape. At this point you can be convinced that the best art is nature itself. Face it and you will gain the power of fantasy. The exciting singing and dancing, the clear and broad embrace of clouds and water, they penetrate each other and complement each other, making Pearl Beach a great work of art.
Along the boardwalk between the beach and the stream, I watched and walked. On the gentle slopes of travertine, there are dense bushes growing, and each tree has stubborn branches and neatly arranged branches. The oval and small green leaves are so deep green. The green-white beach water flows among these trees, and occasionally the fine waves bounce on the Banqiao, like a cloud of frost falling from the sky, light and moist, falling on the instep, itchy and comfortable.
Following the wooden bridge, we waded through the beach current and came to the inner side of Pearl Beach. After turning around the mouth of the valley, we suddenly heard a huge sound of water, like thunder in the valley. The heavy raindrops also fell down all over the place. Looking for the sound, I saw dozens of waterfalls jumping on a circular cliff more than 100 meters long. As thin as a silver snake, as big as a dragon. The snake is like a resounding arrow, and the dragon is like a mad rush. They are intertwined, twisting, dancing, and whistling. It forced every passerby who came to see it to take a breath of air. What a family of spectacular waterfalls! The reality of physics and the reality of art achieve a perfect combination. This silver waterfall hanging tens of meters high flew down, making me feel the rocks under my feet shaking, the valley throbbing, and the earth being torn apart. The splashed water mist is like clusters of silver flowers and snowflakes. The sunlight shining on them looks so pale and feeble. It’s not that the eternal sun is sick, but that the life of these waterfalls is too unrestrained.
Being immersed in the scene, I felt that my humanity, which had been bound by reason and logic for a long time, was suddenly liberated. I think of Li Bai, who "drew his sword and looked around at everything", and I thought of Qiu Jin, who "can make a fortune even if he trades fur for wine." They pursue a true life without hesitation to smash the shackles of the world. Order is the guarantee of harmonious social life, but it is the enemy of art. To pursue excellence in life, one should first have the courage to break into pieces. Like this high waterfall, the heroism of life is completed in an instant.
At this moment, I seemed to see that what was flying down was not the running water of Pearl Beach, but the people with lofty ideals who jumped from the ideal high ground in the past. They are pearls on the ground, and when they rise into the sky, they turn into rainbows and sparkling stars in the sky.
