Source: Shaanxi Rural Daily
In the spring of 1974, a beam of light illuminated the "underground army" that had been buried at the foot of Lishan Mountain for more than 2,000 years, and nearly 8,000 Qin Terracotta Warriors and horses were dressed in fresh clothes and angry horses, thousands of people and thousands of faces, stunning the world. And this light not only illuminates a glorious history, but also illuminates a different future for a small village.
As the discovery place of the "Eighth Wonder of the World", Xiyang Village, Qinling Street, Lintong District, Xi'an City, has ushered in a "highlight" moment since then. It was also since then that this small village and the "terracotta warriors" watched over each other. Over the past 50 years, every "discovery" about the Terracotta Warriors and Horses has been dazzling, every change in the small countryside has been closely linked to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in the past 50 years, and in the past 50 years, the long history and poetic fireworks have blended and collided, constantly creating miracles and continuing to write wonderful.
1
Ancient meets modern
The small village has a different way of life
On March 12th, the sun was just right at noon, and the sun was warm. Sitting on the bench at the door, smoking two puffs of dry tobacco and taking a few sips of tea, Yang Zhifa squinted comfortably.
"Uncle Yang, it's someone again!" a hearty greeting interrupted Yang Zhifa's "good dream". Hearing that it was an acquaintance, he got up slowly, knocked the cigarette pouch and pot on the sole of his shoe twice, and then greeted him with a smile.
Leading the visitors through the wooden door with the plaque of "Qin Warriors Discoverers Cultural Center", listening to the display cabinets in the acquaintance introduction hall that recorded his "great achievements", until he sat down in front of a desk full of books, Yang Zhifa always smiled faintly.
As one of the discoverers of the Terracotta Warriors, 88-year-old Yang Zhifa's memory is not as good as before, but the past 50 years ago is deeply imprinted in his heart: "I can't forget it, I will never forget it!"
It was a normal spring. On March 29, 1974, Yang Zhifa and his companions drilled a well in the persimmon forest in the southwest of the village. They never thought that digging down would make the Qin figurines, who had been "sleeping" for more than 2,000 years, "wake up".
Unexpectedly, this figure not only created a great miracle in the history of archaeology, but also changed them and the entire Xiyang Village.
Subsequently, on that land, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum was established, and the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 pits of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses were also excavated and opened one after another, and tourists from all over the world came to visit. The "spring" of Xiyang Village is coming!
"Over the past few decades, the terracotta warriors have become more and more popular. Our village is only separated from the terracotta warriors by a wall, and as long as tourists come, they will go around the village. Slowly, more and more people in Xiyang Village opened homestays, made terracotta figurines, and sold handicrafts, and Yang Zhifa also had a new livelihood: signing autographs in scenic spots, running a cultural center at home, and setting up a live broadcast team with his son to tell the story of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses to more people.
A thousand-year-old mystery, eternal beauty. After half a century, the mystery of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses has been unveiled little by little, not only telling the long-sealed history, but also creating more possibilities for the small Xiyang Village in the collision between the ancient and the modern. Here, the epic of the times and the fireworks of the world complement each other, the cultural elements that can be seen everywhere have given birth to an upsurge of entrepreneurship and innovation, and the village is full of tourists from outside the village, "connecting" with the world every day...... Xiyang Village, which took the lead in eating "cultural tourism rice", has become beautiful and rich in the midst of repeated changes.
"Rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the figurines to eat the figurines". In order to expand the tourism industry, Qin Warrior Village, which was formed by the merger of several villages in 2018, came into being. Xiyang Village, as one of the groups, was all merged into the Qin Warriors New Village, and the villagers relied on homestays, catering, and the production and sale of terracotta warriors and horses to live a new life of wealth and beauty.
After sending off a group of guests, Yang Zhifa sat on the bench at the door and took a nap. And his son Yang Jianbin was also busy with the live broadcast that day.
2
The old and the new are intertwined
Small industries have opened up a broader space for development
When the terracotta warriors and horses were unearthed, Yang Xiaojuan was just over a year old. In the three or four years since, she only vaguely remembers that her father, mother and sister had all worked on the archaeological team at that time. When she was young, she once thought that those "clay people" buried deep in the ground were useless, until she gradually became sensible, she realized what a great thing had happened in her village.
"I heard the old man say that in 1976, the No. 1 pit began to be excavated, and all the experts who came were from Beijing, and the scene was spectacular!" To this day, 51-year-old Yang Xiaojuan is still full of energy when she tells that story, "On the National Day of the year I was 6 years old, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum of Qin Shi Huang was officially opened to the public. ”
In addition to tourists, there are also one opportunity after another. Backed by the Terracotta Warriors, everyone in Xiyang Village once started a small business. Some sell souvenirs in scenic spots, some sell local products at the door of their homes, and some open farmhouses to attract guests...... Yang Xiaojuan also found some "new doorways", and in the following decades, she always circled around the terracotta warriors.
"Twenty years ago, I was selling goods in the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Market, and later I opened a factory specializing in the carving and sales of Terracotta Warriors and Horses handicrafts, and I often deal with foreigners. Yang Xiaojuan has a pungent personality and can speak well, and during this period, she met many foreign tourists, "When they come to me, what they like most is to experience the making of terracotta warriors and horses and taste the farmer's food." ”
And this also gave Yang Xiaojuan new inspiration. In 2017, she and her husband renovated their old cave and built a special homestay called "Qin Warrior Village Cave Courtyard". There are 14 cave rooms with catering, and the two of them have hired more than a dozen villagers, but they are still too busy.
The sun-drenched yard, the flowers dotted with it, the lanterns hanging in front of the door, the tinkling of water between the pavilions, the frolic of fish, and the greenery...... Yang Xiaojuan's cave courtyard is antique and full of charm, and it is often "hard to find a room" on holidays.
Why is it so popular? Yang Xiaojuan said that her cave courtyard is actually unique: the front yard is a well-decorated new cave, with wooden kangs and tassels, which are both elegant and trendy, while the backyard retains two old caves, with blue brick floors and mud paste walls, which are both simple and simple. Visitors can experience the simple folk customs in the new cave, and they can also enjoy the fun of making terracotta warriors and horses by hand in the old cave.
In this contrast between the old and the new, the interweaving of the old and the new, not only Yang Xiaojuan's courtyard is becoming more and more popular, but also the Ah Pan Inn, Muguang Courtyard, and Terracotta Warriors Theme B&B have also become Internet celebrity check-in points.
Small courtyard big economy, small industry big space. Nowadays, in Qin Warriors Village, there are 96 homestays with beautiful courtyards above the municipal level, and 70% of the villagers are engaged in homestays, catering, handicraft production and sales, etc., with an annual per capita net income of 50,000 yuan or 60,000 yuan. The new situation in which every family has an industry and everyone has something to do is opening up a broader space for the development of Qin Warrior Village.
3
Light and shadow coincide
The small window sees the "futuristic" beautiful countryside
After running all morning, after receiving tourists from Guangxi, Li Xiaorong, the tour guide of Qin Warriors Village, returned to a farmhouse in the village. After a casual bite of it, she stayed at the door, reciting English explanations while waiting for the next group of tourists to arrive.
As a tour guide in the village, he explains the changes in Qin culture, the stories behind the cultural relics and the local customs to tourists every day...... 41-year-old Li Xiaorong has been doing this "doorstep" job for 16 years. Among the more than 200 villager tour guides in Qin Warriors Village, she is a "senior" member.
"In previous years, there was an off-season, but in the past year or two, the terracotta warriors and horses have been full of tourists, and every day is the peak season. Although he is busy every day, Li Xiaorong is getting more and more energetic. In her words, if she didn't have the terracotta warriors, she would be like most women in the village, either working in the fields or going out to work.
The change began in 2007. At that time, with the improvement of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Scenic Area, Chinese and foreign tourists showed a "blowout" growth, and the tour guides in the scenic spot could not receive them even if they turned around. Set up training courses for tour guides, and attract qualified villagers in the surrounding areas to join in for training and employment. Li Xiaorong also became one of them.
"It's a good job to be a tour guide in the village. However, in order to attract tourists, in addition to understanding the history and culture related to the terracotta warriors and horses, it is also necessary to tell it vividly and interestingly. Over the years, Li Xiaorong has earned more than 100 yuan per commentary, and he can receive three games a day in the peak season. While speaking, another regiment came, and she hurriedly took a small flag printed with the pattern of terracotta warriors and horses to greet her.
The afternoon sun shines on the quaint village road, and thick smoke rises. Walking in the village, the Qinfeng Hanwa-style garden buildings and the terracotta warriors and horses handicrafts that can be seen everywhere perfectly integrate the ancient charm and fashion sense, and become the most iconic "invitation" here.
Listening to the tour guide's explanation, following the imprint of history all the way to explore, it seems to have opened a dialogue between time and space that lasts for thousands of years. And this feeling reached its peak when I arrived at the VR theater next to the No. 1 pit of the Terracotta Warriors.
On the big screen, the Qin figurines and infantry, cavalry, spear phalanx, and chariot convoys assembled in the drums of war; as soon as the picture turned, the bronze waterfowl came into reality, the peddlers and pawns were endless, and the flags of the tea shops and taverns were hung...... In the flow of light and shadow, VR technology allows visitors to instantly travel back in time to 2,000 years ago. Being in it is like standing at the crossroads of time, with the depths of history on one side and the prosperity of modern times on the other, which is shocking.
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are a treasure trove of living cultural relics. In the view of Yang Lintong, secretary of the Party branch of Qin Warriors Village, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses are a "window", through which the charm of history and culture has been amplified, the most attractive places in the village have been magnified, and the "futuristic" beautiful countryside has a clear prototype.
Ancient and modern blend and complement each other. For thousands of years, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses have been silent, but they contain thousands of languages, constantly telling the world about its past, present and future. The Qin Warriors Village is also in the staggered time, capturing its own unique regional charm and cultural code step by step...... (Reporter Huang Min, Lai Yafen)