Dali Secret Land: Longwei Pass Historical and Cultural Block

We rented a shared electric bike and rode west along the south bank of the Erhai Lake to Zhongcheng Street. After crossing the Erhai Lake, we arrived at the Longwei Pass Historical and Cultural Block. Walking into this original old street, the houses on both sides are dilapidated, and there are vegetable vendors on the street. The street is not wide, but the slope is very steep, like climbing a mountain. Halfway up the mountain, there is an arched city gate with a "Longwei Pass" stone tablet embedded above. A two-story pavilion is built on the city gate, with a plaque of "Longguan Sunset" hanging on it, which looks majestic and magnificent. Longwei City is the site of the ancient city of Nanzhao, built by King Ge Luofeng of Nanzhao. Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom were the most prosperous periods in the development of ancient Dali, lasting for more than 500 years. Longwei City was the southern gate of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom in history. Most of it has been destroyed, and only Shoukang Tower and a 100-meter-long city wall in the west remain. This site was the former north gate, and the south gate was located by the river at the entrance of the street, which has long since disappeared. Passing through the city gate and continuing uphill, the slope of the street becomes smaller, and drainage ditches are built on both sides, making it cleaner. The roofs of the old houses are covered with wild grass, showing their age. We walked all the way to Longquan Lane, where the Kuixing Pavilion at the entrance of the lane is a Qing Dynasty building, first built during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty. The east wall is inlaid with four large characters "Yanlv Lianbi" written by Ma Enbo, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty. We turned back from Longquan Lane and entered a nearby alley. Not far away, we saw the mountain gate of Puji Temple. Puji Temple was originally the Su Family Ancestral Hall, first built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. After entering, we found that it looked like a Taoist temple, with a painting of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea on the mountain wall. We continued to climb up the mountain along the path, passing by Amitabha Temple, and saw the sign of Xiaguan Confucian Temple. We climbed up the steps and finally found the Confucian Temple on the top of the mountain. There are two big green trees over 200 years old at the entrance, still lush and green. The mountain gate of the Confucian Temple faces east, and the trees in front of the gate are dense, blocking the view. Through the gaps between the trees, we could see the Erhai Lake at the foot of the mountain, the high-rise buildings in the city, and the continuous green mountains in the distance. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Xueping, the imperial censor, returned to his hometown after retirement and built the Xiaguan Confucian Temple to promote local culture. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, it gradually became dilapidated, leaving only ancient banyan and cypress trees. To promote traditional culture and showcase the charm of the "land of literature," it was rebuilt on the original site in 2011. After leaving the Confucian Temple, we planned to take a taxi on the road behind, but it was too remote, so we had to return to Longwei Pass and accidentally came to Longquan Lane again. It turned out that there was really a Longquan Well in the lane, and residents were fetching water there.