Cliffside Carving of the "Record of the Reconstruction of the Baishui Road"

　　The cliffside carving of the "Record of the Reconstruction of the Baishui Road" is situated on the cliff face to the left of Baigong Road in Dashibei Village, Dahe Township, 28 kilometers south of Huicheng County, Longnan City, Gansu Province. It was engraved on the sixth day of the second month in the second year of the Jiayou era of the Northern Song Dynasty (February 6, 1057), written and inscribed by Lei Jianfu.

　　Qingni Ridge was one of the most treacherous and difficult sections of the ancient Shu Road. With cliffs soaring thousands of feet high, rivers roaring loudly, and roads twisting and turning through rugged terrain, it posed great challenges. In the year 1056, Li Yuqing, the Transport Commissioner of Lizhou Circuit, proposed rerouting and constructing a new road—the Baishui Road—due to the extreme difficulty of traveling along Qingni Ridge. Together with Liu Gong, the military commander of Xing’an; Liang You, the acting magistrate of Changju County; Shang Yingxiang, the magistrate of Shunzheng County; and Wang Lingtu, the magistrate of Hechi County, Li mobilized civilians and soldiers from several counties. After overcoming numerous obstacles and spending four months, they completed a 50-li new road from Hechi Post to Changju Post in Xingzhou. Along this route, they built 2,309 sections of plank walkways and elevated paths, as well as 382 postal stations, barracks, and supply offices. This project shortened the old route by 33 li, eliminated the Qingni Post, reduced 156 postal couriers and their horses, and cut annual postal provisions by 5,000 dan of grain and 10,000 bundles of fodder, while also dismissing over 30 support staff. The carved stone inscription documents precisely this historical undertaking.

　　The stele stands 2.8 meters tall and is 1.88 meters wide. Its top features six seal characters reading “Record of the Reconstruction of the Baishui Road.” The main text is in regular script, written vertically from right to left in 26 rows with 37 characters per row, totaling 962 characters. The brushwork is vigorous, and the characters are neatly and skillfully formed. The text remains intact to this day. On the lower right side of the cliff carving is a stone inscription with a poem by Zhang Yingdeng, Deputy Surveillance Commissioner of the Longyou Circuit under the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, dating to the 21st year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1594). This stele is an extremely rare and valuable historical artifact reflecting the rise and fall of the ancient Shu Road and the organization of ancient transport systems, drawing significant attention from scholars and transportation authorities throughout history.

　　In May 2006, the cliffside carving of the "Record of the Reconstruction of the Baishui Road" was approved by the State Council as part of the sixth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, recognized as an architectural relic from the Song Dynasty.