Xiandu Ancient Trail

Xiandu Ancient Trail

Its main feature is the crimson maples of Cangling: starting from Canglingkeng Village in Hengxi Town in the south and ending at Nantian Village in Jinyun in the north, the trail stretches over 5 kilometers. This ancient path was once a vital route to the inland regions and is said to have been built by a salt merchant. Towering mountains flank both sides of the trail, creating a rugged landscape. The slopes are covered with maple trees, and the scenery turns spectacularly beautiful in late autumn, making it one of the ancient Eight Scenic Spots of Xiuzhou.

This is a distant past, an unreachable ancient marvel, a beauty cast aside by modern civilization. Today’s ancient trail can no longer bear the weight of the word “ancient.”

Nowadays, with “mountain cutting and road digging,” “tourism development,” “littering,” and “deteriorating water quality,” the ancient trail is like an innocent elder who has endured millennia of change without losing its luster. But in this age of modern civilization, in the hands of those who disregard ancient heritage, it is left bewildered and disheartened.

The environment of Xiandu Ancient Trail is truly “not optimistic”—unreasonable development and use have led to a reduction in its length and a decline in its quality. Weak environmental protection and poor sanitation awareness upstream and around the area have caused severe damage to the ecosystem, and human destruction continues. Here, the conflict between humans and nature is deeply intertwined. Xiandu Ancient Trail is quietly losing its vibrancy and sheen.

The “decline” of Xiandu Ancient Trail has almost become an undisputed reality. The distinctive high-mountain villages, the mountains towering on both sides, the rugged landscape—when deep autumn arrives, the frosty skies glow with crimson maples like morning light, blazing seas, lotus-like waterfalls, rare peculiar rocks, dreamlike fairyland pools, and crystal-clear springs… These scenes may soon exist only as modern myths in writings. As the beauty of the ancient trail fades in the face of modern civilization, that very civilization can no longer hide its own pallor. Modern civilization gives us speeding cars, roaring machines, and extreme material freedom, but we must not ignore the decline of ancient heritage: what a grave warning—that environmental interests are being recklessly harmed. Riding the fast train of modernity, humanity arrogantly crushes the canvas of verdant mountains and clear waters, disrupts the pure sounds of nature, and erases the great wisdom of ancient people.

Savoring the scenery of the ancient trail in the rain, with a gentle breeze brushing by, you take in a pristine, vigorous, and elegant natural world—but once you close the book of this experience, a sense of melancholy sets in. I approached Xiandu Ancient Trail with gratitude, even with a touch of envy for the creativity of the ancients. Now, I can only admire it with a hint of sorrow. With the decline of the ancient trail, that feeling is gone. I wonder what path modern civilization is following, and where it is headed.

Who can wipe away the tears of Xiandu Ancient Trail and soothe its wounds? ???