Country for PR: China
Contributor: Xinhua News Agency
Friday, September 18 2020 - 19:10
AsiaNet
Charming Fuling: A Changing River Town
CHONGQING, China, Sept. 18, 2020 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

Nurtured by the Wujiang River and the Yangtze River, Fuling in west China's 
Chongqing Municipality is a charming place. An engaging dance kicked off a 
livestreaming performance as part of the 2020 Chongqing Showcase to promote 
Fuling's tourism and cultural products.  The livestreaming, played on 14 online 
platforms, gained 18.28 million views and  970,000 (nearly 1 million) likes, 
according to the Publicity Department of Fuling District. A tour along the two 
rivers will allow visitors to enjoy a cultured and cultivated landscape.

It'll be a cultural tour. Fuling is located in the central part of Chongqing 
and the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. It is a city of history 
and culture where one can visit places dated back to the ancient times and 
learn about history via stories of sages. The Baiheliang ancient hydrological 
stone inscription is known as the world's first ancient hydrological station. 
Its observation method of carving fish as a ruler to mark water level is unique 
among the world's major river basins. The Baiheliang Underwater Museum adopts 
the pressureless container protection scheme and is called by UNESCO as the 
world's first underwater cultural heritage reachable by the non-diving visitor. 
The Beiyan holy land of Neo-Confucianism is where Cheng Yi, a well-known 
Neo-Confucianism scholar and educator in the Northern Song Dynasty, gave 
lectures, taught disciples and studied the Book of Changes. It is one of the 
birthplaces of Cheng-Zhu's Neo-Confucianism and the birthplace of the "Fuling 
School" of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, carrying on Fuling's 
millennium cultural history.

It's also a scenic tour. Yangtze River and Wujiang River meet at Fuling and the 
Wuling Mountain towers. A breathtaking tour along Wujiang River can see unique 
peaks, strange rocks, reddish cliffs, narrow paths, clear water and uneven 
beaches. Wuling Mountain has a rift valley which boasts a unique karst 
landscape, craggy cliffs, secluded forests, dark caves and clear streams 
stretching for 10 kilometers, offering people a strong visual impact and mental 
shock. With dense forests, vast grasslands, pleasant climate and different 
scenery in different seasons, Wuling Mountain National Forest Park is a Chinese 
forest oxygen bar that is ideal to stay with nature. 

A leisurely experience could be found here. Fuling is an ideal place to 
cultivate happiness and pursue high-quality life. The Damu flower valley is 
reputed as Provence of the East. When visitors walk  among it, all kinds of 
flowers that blossom amid green patches will be an unimaginably beautiful 
scene. Meixin red wine town has wonderful and lively amusement parks, unique 
bridges, romantic and lyrical red wine and music... Here, one can listen to the 
river breeze and look up at the starry sky as if being in a fairy tale world.

Fuling is also a paradise for gourmets. Fuling is rich in produce, local 
specialty and intangible heritage product. Fuling pickle, which has a history 
of more than 120 years, has established its market with its fresh, fragrant, 
tender, crisp and unique flavor. Fuzhou litchi, once known as a fruit for 
paying tribute to the emperor, has a large fruit with thin skin and thick meat, 
and is sweet and juicy. Fuling oil fermented glutinous rice, a famous Chinese 
snack with a history of more than 200 years, is sweet and delicious, oily but 
not greasy, and rich in nutrition. Baihua Lu Liquor, founded in 1799, is 
refined from 100 rare Chinese herbal medicines with a long aftertaste. It is 
brown, red and clear, rich in fragrance, soft, mellow and sweet, and has an 
enduring aftertaste.

U.S. writer Peter Hessler said in his masterpiece book River Town that Fuling 
was the place initiating his knowledge of China and turning him into a totally 
different person. The book was what a stranger knew about Fuling 25 years ago. 
After a series of evolutions and changes, Fuling today shows the unique charm 
and vigorous vitality by integrating tradition and modernity, and reflecting 
both nature and humanity.

Charming Fuling offers a changing river town that will refresh one's idea of 
the legendary place.

For more information, please visit http://www.fl.gov.cn/.

Source: The Publicity Department of Fuling District, Chongqing Municipality