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during holidays, young people who travel inevitably waver between in-depth travel that seeks immersive experience and cost-effective outings that visit as many destinations as possible in the shortest time.

this has also given rise to a new curiosity - is there a place that can satisfy the travel concept of "both slow and fast" at the same time?

opening "border town", we will find that shen congwen recommended a treasure border town 90 years ago——chadong. because it is located on the edge of the mountains in xiangxi, hunan, and is embraced by winding mountains, transportation here is inconvenient and it is almost isolated from the world.therefore, in history, "chadong" was once a synonym for a barbaric place.

△chadong ancient town. (photo/visual china)

it was not until the publication of "border town" that the relaxed, natural and simple life in chadong became known to the world. riding a small boat, sailing on the green. many tourists come here just to find the traces of the border town described by shen congwen.

the popularity of border town is not only due to its literature, but also due to its unique geographical location that "straddles three provinces with one foot". standing on the shore of chadong, it is only separated from chongqing and guizhou by a river, and the distance between the two banks is no more than 100 meters. at night, you can even see the lights on the other side. you can choose to tour the town, or spend a few minutes going out of the province or entering the province, and be a real "special forces soldier".

△chadong ancient town after nightfall. (photo/visual china)

for a dream place where you can eat vermicelli in hunan in the morning, drink sour soup in guizhou at noon, and have hotpot in chongqing at night, is there any place more suitable than chadong?

01

the border water town, the specialty is friendly to people

chadong, renamed "biancheng town" in 2005, is also trying to build itself into a tourist attraction like fenghuang ancient town, but it still retains the most natural and simple town flavor without too many commercial traces. you don't need to try every means to find an angle to avoid the crowd, just stop and look, every place is the taste of a relaxed life.

walking along the ancient bluestone street, the stilt houses on both sides are scattered in an orderly manner, children go to school through the streets, some people paint by the stream, old people carrying water pass by the small bridge, and occasionally you have the chance to see the town musicians sitting at the door playing the jinghu. for those who are tired of the bustling scenic spots, it is really very friendly.

△ a stilted house by the river. (photo/visual china)

the first thing you will remember when you step into chadong is the qingshui river that meanders around the city. along the river are rows of traditional stilt houses. residents use movable ladders and carry basins down to the river bank to wash clothes.chadong is a veritable water town, surrounded by mountains and rivers. the lives of residents are closely related to water, which has given rise to unique customs.

"border town" wrote that every dragon boat festival, young men and women from the border of the three provinces would gather on the river bank to participate in and watch dragon boat races and duck catching activities - after the boat race, someone would release dozens of ducks into the river, and whoever caught the duck first would become the owner of the duck. men who knew how to swim would go down to the shore to compete, while women would stand on the river bank and on stilt houses to cheer them on.

qingshui river is the mother river of the border town, which nourishes the prosperous life of the town. in the past, the winding mountains created a natural barrier for this place, maintaining chadong's independent attitude of not competing with the world; a green river flows through the town, bringing it to the outside world and flowing business.

△boats docked on the riverside. (photo/visual china)

chadong was originally an important post station on the official road in the southwest. shen congwen mentioned the role of this border town in the opening of "border town": "from sichuan to hunan, there is an official road in the east. when this official road is close to the border of western hunan, it reaches a small mountain town called 'chadong'. there is a small stream, and there is a small white tower beside the stream. under the tower lives a single family." since the river flowing through chadong can lead to guizhou, hunan and other places, the water is deep and wide, which is convenient for navigation, so it has become an extremely important waterway.

the grand scene of merchants gathering in chadong was also restored in shen congwen's writing: "when the boats go downstream, they carry tung oil, green salt, and gallnuts for dyeing. when they go upstream, they carry cotton, cotton yarn, cloth, groceries and seafood." at that time, the river street was lined with shops and was extremely prosperous.

in the past, if villagers wanted to go to the ancient town on the other side of the river to do business, "lala ferry" was the only means of transportation. cuicui and her grandfather in the story of border town make a living by ferrying passengers. unlike fishing boats, lala ferry does not require paddling, but instead uses an iron cable to tightly connect the two docks. when someone crosses the river, the boatman helps them climb the iron cable and slowly pulls the boat across to the other side.

△nowadays, there is a bridge connecting the two sides, and there are scattered boats on the water. (photo/tuchong creative)

although a bridge has been built on the water, this ancient way of crossing the river is still used today. on the quiet, slow-moving square-headed boat, the afterglow on the riverside is like a luxurious gift. outside the city, many tourists traveling alone choose to repair their tired souls in this way.

02

a blend of culture and cuisine

every place has its own customs. chadong is a small town where many ethnic groups, including the tujia, miao, and han, live together. it also integrates the dietary habits and characteristics of many ethnic groups. if you have not tasted the local signature dishes, you will miss the opportunity to get to know chadong in depth.

in recent years, the sour and fresh guizhou cuisine, the spicy chongqing cuisine, and the spicy hunan cuisine have gradually conquered the taste buds of young people in beijing, shanghai and guangzhou. in chadong, it is like opening a compressed package of the three cuisines. no need to look for them everywhere, you can enjoy them all at once.corresponding to the regional culture of "stepping on three provinces with one foot" is the culinary feature of chadong, "cooking three provinces in one pot".

△ hongan pickled fish. (photo/xiaohongshu)

for example, the famous local signature dishes“hongan pickled fish”, also known as "horn fish". the main ingredient is the specialty of guizhou, "yellow catfish" (also known as "yellow bone fish"), which has tender meat, few bones and rich nutrition. it is stewed with tender tofu, ginger, pickled vegetables, chili peppers, etc. the taste combines the sourness of guizhou, the salty and spicy of hunan, and the pungent and spicy of sichuan. perhaps only in such a special geographical location can you taste the flavors of three provinces in one go.

in addition to rice wine and glutinous rice, chadong's specialty snacks include a variety of "sour and spicy" foods. rice tofu, mung bean jelly, scallion pork cake, even barbecue can be sour and spicy. even shen congwen mentioned in "border town" that cuicui from chadong liked to soak garlic sprouts in rice soup to make sour garlic sprouts; the carp tofu in the city restaurant was decorated with red pepper shreds.

△ crucian carp tofu. (photo/tuchong creative)

living in a water town, why do the people of chadong feel happier the spicier the food? in addition to possible dietary cultural concepts such as removing moisture, the more important reason is the influence of the official salt control in the qing dynasty.

jiang shen's "sizhou prefecture chronicle" in the qing dynasty recorded: "sea pepper, commonly known as spicy fire, is used by the miao people as a substitute for salt." because salt wells were scarce and salt prices were high at the time, pepper became an important substitute for salt as a seasoning.

spicy food has become the daily diet of the people of chadong, and it has also shaped their temperament. shen congwen described the people of the border town in his memory as follows: "they love profit and justice... they don't care about saving people or things, but they are also very agile and brave in a joyful and adventurous behavior."

03

chadong,

not only a geographical concept, but also a cultural concept

shen congwen's book "border town" made chadong famous. the reason why chadong is called a border town is not only due to its geographical location, but also because of its unique local customs and people, which represents the author's inner yearning for the beauty of human nature.

△walking into the ancient town of chadong, you can see its connection with "border town" everywhere. (photo/visual china)

in the 1930s, hardship and chaos were the norm in people’s lives in china. shen congwen believed that people’s simple pursuit of happiness had been gradually eroded by the interest-first trend. chadong, hidden deep in the mountains, was like a “pure land” far away from disputes.

just like cuicui and her grandfather who make a living by ferrying people in border town, although her grandfather works for the government, the people ferrying people will sympathize with their hard work and throw coins or vegetables and meat, but her grandfather never accepts them. the residents of chadong are honest and kind, and they make a living with their hands. they never care about gains and losses. this ordinariness gives them light spiritual strength.

although the border town is located in a remote area, its unique folk culture is lively and interesting.

chadong still retains the "bianbianchang" market activity on the fifth and tenth day of the lunar calendar, which can be understood as a unique market in three provinces. at 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, people from the borders of the three provinces gather in chadong. most of them wear traditional costumes and sell vegetables, fruits, tea leaves grown at home, homemade bamboo baskets, backpacks, chairs, brooms, etc. on the streets. no matter how the times change, the people here still retain that "nostalgic" lifestyle.

△ bamboo handicrafts sold in chadong ancient town. (photo/visual china)

in the past, due to inconvenient transportation, the "border town" was difficult to see for a long time, and it became a dream place in the imagination of readers and the outside world.

but now, the "aizhai extra large suspension bridge" is riding in the clouds, breaking the traffic bottleneck that restricts the development of xiangxi and providing tourists with a convenient road to chadong. the once long winding mountain road can now be completed in just a few minutes.

the border town has the possibility of being opened up, and it is no longer so "border". but the newly built "cuicui island" here, like cuicui, the simple and tenacious girl in "border town", still carries people's imagination of nature and a better life.