Located in the Taihang Mountains of China, the small village of Guoliang is sitting on a mountaintop and was isolated from the rest of the world. The only way to reach it was to walk through a valley surrounded by steep cliffs, and then climb a series of cut out stone steps. Cut off from the rest of the world, the village was doomed to become a ghost town, unless a road could be constructed trough the cliffs.

Guoliang tunnel

This all changed in 1972. When the Chinese government decided it wasn’t worth to invest several millions into a road that would only be used by 300 people, the villagers decided to dig the tunnel road themselves. It was their only hope to get connected to the rest of the world.

Construction of Guoliang tunnel

It took thirteen villagers five years to finish the 1,200-meter long tunnel road (0.8mile). The tunnel is about 5 meters high (15 ft) and 4 meters (12 ft) wide. It is wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Without any training, the construction of the tunnel was very dangerous. Farmers were working with explosives on the steep cliffs. Some of them died in fatal accidents, but the others kept on digging. Finally, on May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic.

Guoliang tunnel

The tunnel itself has several windows looking out over the valley. These were carved to push the rubble out. The road surface and tunnel walls are very rough due to the primitive tools the workers were using. The rough, narrow and steep road is very dangerous in wet conditions. It can get very slippery, so use extreme caution if you explore this road whe it rains. You don't want to fall off those cliffs.

Guoliang tunnel

After all, the construction of the tunnel was a success. First of all, the village was now accessible by car, a huge leap forward. When China opened its borders for tourism around the year 2000, the tunnel became an attraction with thousands of visitors every year. The village even started to build hotels to accommodate all these guests.

Xiyagou and Kunshan tunnel

Not so far away from Guoliang, but located deeper into the Taihang mountains, there are two other villages who connected themselves to the world by means of a tunnel: Xiyagou and Kunshan.

In 1962, a county official visited the village of Xiyagou. The road he had to take to get there was so scary and dangerous that he donated 3,000 yuan to the villagers to construct another, safer road. Twenty years later, after a few unsuccessful attempts, they decided the road would spiral across the surface of a cliff with windows along the way to remove the crushed rocks, just like the villagers in the nearby Guoliang had done it. The tunnel section (about 3km, or 2 miles) was finally completed in 1991.

Xiyagou tunnel

Another tunnel road was also constructed in the nearby village of Kunshan. Very little is known about it, but just as the other tunnels it was constructed by farmers to create an easy access to their village. The pictures speak for themselves.

How to get there?

It’s rather difficult to find these tunnel roads. They are located in a very remote region deep into China. If you want to get there, you should start your trip in Xinxiang, a city in the Henan province (easy to find on google maps). Leave the city by driving north on Huanyu Avenue (the S229). After 13 miles you’ll enter the town of Huixian. Stay on the S229 for 15 miles more until you reach the junction with the S228. Turn left here and keep following the S229. After 8 miles you reach the village of Nanzhaizen. Turn left again and follow directions to Guoliang, 8 miles further.

Luoyang (IPA: [lwɔ̂jɑ̌ŋ]; Chinese: 洛阳) is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast. As of the final 2010 census, Luoyang had a population of 6,549,941 inhabitants with 1,857,003 people living in the built-up (or metro) area made of city's five urban districts, all of which except the Jili District not urbanized yet.[1]

Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, and is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

The temple is composed of the hall, the hall, the hall, the hall and the pavilion. The east side is the lingshi garden, composed of stone carving, water pavilion, elegant and unique. Temple Chen Zhan bao statue, copper Zha dragon, tiger, a dog, wax, bao solving KaiFengFu title written tablet, bao, bao's official MingZhiShi, KaiFengFu title of official historical monuments, remember, bao family precepts, bao calligraphy handwriting, epitaph and other historical relics.

Kaifeng, the state temple, formerly known as the jianguo temple, is the place where lu zhishen in the outlaws of the marshes, and the temple of the royal temple in the song dynasty.

Nowadays, most of the temples are rebuilt in recent years, and there are no idols in the hall, but there are often cultural relics and cultural exhibitions.

The temple of luohan, commonly known as the "eight jiao glass temple", is an eight-point corridor, which can be seen in the qianlong period of the four thousand eye guanyin wood sculpture.

Physically suffered a long course of history and natural disasters, the past of Kaifeng Fu (the Yamen of Ancient Kaifeng) has become a legend with the bricks and tiles of the old houses and streets. In replacement of the decrepit houses is the restored Kaifeng Fu with more magnificence.

The restored Kaifeng Fu sits at the north shore of the lake, facing south, occupying about 60 acres of land. Besides a main gate in the middle, there are two side gates, one on either side. The main gate opens twice a day during the Lord Bao welcoming performance and some important occasions. Tourists usually enter through the side gates. There are two stone lions guarding the main gate, and above the gate is a tower with a huge clock and a large drum. It was used in the past to announce the change of hour, but is now for tourists to beat the drum for fun. On top of lintel, three characters are written, spelling 'Kaifeng Fu', which is the original of the great calligrapher Cai Xiang of the Song Dynasty. There are about 50 pavilions and winding corridors that are divided into nice themed cultural areas, such as 'office alley cultural area', 'punishment and imprisonment cultural area', and 'Bao Gong legend cultural area', among others.

The Kaifeng Fu project was huge. The outer wall is a city wall with crenels; there are battlements and a tower over the gate forming a square alley city, which baffles most of the visitors. According to the experts, this construction had a lot to do with the turmoil the country suffered at that time. Wars were frequent, and, therefore, all important towns had outer cities, inner cities and alley cities; and so was the construction of Kaifeng Fu. When the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) arose, Emperor Zhao Kuangyin ordered the tearing down of all citadels except Kaifeng Fu because the man in charge was Zhao Guangyi, the Emperor's younger brother.

The citadels remained, but people still need to be very careful with any structures suggestive of military aggression living at the foot of 'the son of heaven' (the Emperor). From Zhao Guangyi onward, no one dared to place a single soldier in the citadel; there were only clocks, drums, entertainment facilities, and some technological and cultural facilities. Therefore, this city wall gained a unique name: 'cultural city wall'.

However, Kaifeng Fu was supposed to be like a court. Its purpose was to judge by law. Why were there so many appendant buildings? It was another misunderstanding. A government office alley had more functions than just being a court. It was a comprehensive administrative organization, taking charge of the civil administration, judicature, public security, labor pay, education, examination, religion, and so forth. It was probably Lord Bao being too famous a judge that made people think of Kaifeng Fu as only a court.

The restoration of Kaifeng Fu is obviously not just for nostalgia, it is more for the present, which is to develop the tourism industry of the city. For that matter, there are activities for tourists, just like any other touristic location; so that when you learn about history, you can relax and enjoy.

Entrance Fee: CNY 50 for adults; CNY 25 for kids
(kids under 1.4 m are free of charge)

Opening Hours: 07:00 - 19:00

Transportation:
A. Take Bus No. 1, 4, 5, 9, 16 or 20 in the city and get off at Kaifeng Fu;
B. It cost less than CNY 10 to take a taxi there;
C. Visitors can also take a tricycle to Kaifeng Fu, which is also a very interesting trip.

Have you ever dreamed of going back in time to Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) in China and savor the prosperity and culture of those years? If so, come to Millennium City Park (also called Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden) located in the old city of Kaifeng (the former Bianjing) in Henan Province. Find yourself in the spectacular scenery there and you are sure to realize that dream.

Millennium City Park located on the west bank of Dragon Pavilion Lake is a grand cultural garden. It covers an area of 600 mu (about 98 acres), and the construction area is more than 30,000 square meters (about 7.4 acres). The built area consists of several architectural complexes which are re-creations based on the famous twelfth century painting by Zhang Zeduan of 'The Qingming Festival by the Riverside'. This picture is a painted scroll which is 525 cm (about 17 feet) in length and 25.5 cm (9.5 inches) in width depicting life along Bian River during the Qingming Festival. The scenes in this painting are highly detailed and the spectacle is magnificent. There are large numbers of people and buildings. The people are shown in a variety of contemporary clothes that indicate their social standing and occupations. The lively throng includes many animals and it is not difficult to imagine the sounds in the street scenes where the people are crowded and noisy. We can almost hear someone bargaining with a shop owner while others are cheering entertainers. The picture is like a live symphony of life during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

When you enter the Millennium City Park, a statue which is 16 meters (about 52 feet) tall comes into view. This figure is none other than the artist Zhang Zeduan, who holds his famous drawing of 'The Qingming Festival by the Riverside'. Now we can find these scenic spots such as City Gate Tower, Rainbow Bridge, distinctive shops and others which are re-created in the Park according to the scenes in the painting.