Ruozhou Ancient City Ruins

　　   Ruozhou City was established in the sixth year of the Wude era of the Tang Dynasty (i.e., 623 AD) and abolished in the fifth year of the Kaibao era of the Song Dynasty (i.e., 972 AD), lasting for 350 years. Located east of Longhu Village in Heliu, it covers a total area of 60,000 square meters. To the north of the ancient city lies Heshan's Hediling, and to the south is Anshan's Yaling. The Jiuzhou River flows past the north side of the city, serving as a natural moat. Thanks to its strategic location and convenient transportation, Ruozhou City remained the political, economic, and cultural center of the Ruozhou administrative region during the Tang Dynasty. Its jurisdiction primarily included present-day Huazhou, Wuchuan, and Lianjiang, and at its peak, also covered bordering areas of present-day Beiliu, Luchuan, and Bobai counties in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

　　   The ancient city ruins consist of several independent yet connected urban sections, with the northern section being the main city, whose layout remains relatively clear. The urban area is square-shaped, measuring 101 meters from north to south and 95 meters from east to west, covering an area of about 10,000 square meters. There is a city gate in the middle of the southern wall, which can still be faintly discerned through the overgrown wild bushes and trees. The central urban area is also square-shaped, with the faint outlines of four gates—east, south, west, and north—where the east-west and north-south gates are positioned opposite each other. In the southern urban area, a 11-meter-wide flat road can be identified, confirmed to be a major thoroughfare connecting the northern, central, and southern urban sections to the southern suburbs. The city walls of the ancient city were built by ramming a mixture of yellow mud and lime. The layout of the ancient city ruins shows clear signs of being modeled after Chang’an City during the Tang Dynasty. Its characteristics include: an official administrative area as the core, clearly defined district boundaries, centralized markets, and comprehensive consideration given to defense, water supply, and transportation.

　　   Near the ancient city of Ruozhou, in Longhu Village, there is a crescent-shaped pond covering an area of about 1,000 square meters, called Longhu Pond. With a depth of over 20 meters, the pond’s surface shimmers with light green hues under the sunlight, where villagers can often be seen poling rafts and casting nets. It is said that this Longhu Pond has a strong connection to the ancient Ruozhou City.

　　   In those days, Ruozhou City was built in a grand manner, surrounded by tall and thick city walls, bustling with prosperity within. One year, no one knows exactly when, a small white ox came running from Baitengzhang, more than ten li away. With a clever nudge of its horn against the northeastern city wall, a section of the wall collapsed. To this day, the remnants of the wall damaged by the little white ox can still be faintly seen. The young ox was caught by several youths and tied up near the city wall. After several days, no one came to claim it, so the youths slaughtered and cooked it, sharing the meat. From then on, wherever those youths went, the ground would sink. Seven households that ate the beef saw their homes collapse entirely, eventually forming a deep pond. From that point on, Ruozhou City began to decline and was soon abandoned.

　　   One day, a person passing by the deep pond saw a big carp swimming in the water. He rushed over and grabbed its tail, only to be dragged into the water by the carp. Later, when he returned home, his family was holding a funeral and chanting sutras for him. Angry, he said, “Why are you crying? I’m not dead yet!” When asked where he had been, he replied, “I was just in the pond for a while.” His family told him it had already been seven days. Surprised, he said, “How is that possible? There were houses and people in the pond, and lots of delicious food. I wanted to get out but couldn’t find the way. Luckily, an otter led me out. So that’s why it took seven days?”

　　   Locals by the pond also pass down this story: the carps in the pond have attained enlightenment and become dragons that control the rainfall in the area. In times of drought, people would cut leaves, grass, and plants from the mountains, burn them into ash, and pour it into the pond. The dragon, “poisoned” by this, would fly up to the sky, taking the pond water with it, and rain would then fall here. Later, people built a Dragon King Temple by the pond, from which Longhu Pond got its name.

　　   This legend reflects the ancient people of Lianjiang’s helplessness in the face of the abandonment of Ruozhou Ancient City and the diversion of the Jiuzhou River, as well as their positive desire to transform and conquer nature.