Due to the weather, China's road running events enter the off-season in summer, and Jinzhou, a famous historical and cultural city in western Liaoning, chose the first local all-marathon race at this time, which just avoided the intensive road running period in spring and autumn, and also attracted many runners.
The slogan of the first Jinzhou Marathon has the unique grandeur and humor of the Northeast people - "Running to the mountains and seas, the future is Jin", the first half of the sentence reflects the characteristics of Jinzhou as a city of mountains and seas, and the second half of the sentence expresses the most representative si/shi in the Northeast accent, which is very interesting. Of course, running a city is more about running than running. For the ancient tower of the Liao Dynasty in Jinzhou and the Fengguo Temple in Yixian County, I have been thinking about it for many years, so I took the plan to visit it up close this time.
There is a slogan in the whole city of Jinzhou: Hero city, Jinzhou is good. I think I'm a hero, I'm good, and I'm so confident that I'm very cute.
Run along the river
Although the route design of the first Jinzhou Marathon is "economical and applicable", it is also in line with the characteristics of local geographical resources.
The full-marathon, half-marathon, 10km run and fun run are all based on the riverside road along the Xiaoling River, and the whole marathon route is to turn back to the starting point after the halfway run, that is, the whole marathon.
The main stream of the Daling River flows to the vicinity of Beipiao City, Liaoning Province, then flows eastward through Yixian County, continues to flow eastward along the southwest of the Yiwulu Mountains, and flows into the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Sea through Linghai City. The Xiaoling River originates in Songling and Montenegro, and its course runs almost parallel to the Daling River, turning east near Jinzhou City and flowing eastward into Jinzhou Bay in the Bohai Sea. Judging from the map, the overall trend of the main stream of the Da and Xiao Ling River basins is like a large and a small bow.
Due to the abundant precipitation, fertile soil, negative mountains and sea-facing rivers in the Da and Xiaoling River basins, it is also a traffic artery that communicates the nomadic culture of the northeast and the inland and grassland of the Central Plains, from the Pigeon Cave cave site in the Paleolithic Age to the Chahai ruins that gave birth to the early dragon culture, and then to the ruins of the Niuheliang Goddess Temple that opened the prelude to the 6,000-year civilization in China, as well as the mysterious Jade Dragon-Hongshan culture, all of which show the long history of this region to the world. At the end of the ninth century and the beginning of the tenth century, the Da and Xiao Ling River valleys became an important territory of the newly rising Khitan people, and many Buddhist temples flourished from then on, and there are still many historical relics to this day, which are worth exploring in depth. It is no exaggeration to say that the Da and Xiao Ling River basins nurtured the ancient ethnic culture of Northeast China and are one of the important cradles of Northeast civilization.
On the day of the race, the temperature was quite good, but the extreme sun, ultraviolet intensity, and the overall road conditions along the river were very flat, with no large undulating slopes, which was actually very suitable for runners who pursued performance.
The Jinma Circuit runs along the river all the way, and it is a weekend, and many people along the way are camping and recreation, and barbecuing. There are many people who participate in water recreational sports such as rowing, windsurfing, and rowing on the river of Xiaoling River, and the small wetlands along the river have excellent ecology, so they attract all kinds of birds to fly low. People and birds live together, live in harmony, and cooperate with the Yiwu Lu Mountain in the distance, which is indeed beautiful from a distance.
The fly in the ointment was that there was almost no shade on the course along the river, and for most of the whole time, the runners had to be exposed to the scorching sun with nowhere to hide, so I had to relieve myself and take a sunbath to replenish my body calcium.
Due to the switchback course, the supply stations on the two-way track are staggered, which provides runners with more frequent supply of supplies, but there is a flaw that some runners will run to the opposite track to fetch water, and the order of the race has been somewhat challenged. In particular, the whole process interfered with the halfway returnees, and the command staff spent a lot of effort. The supply of beverages for the event is sufficient, but given the weather conditions in such a sunny condition, runners need to replenish salt as soon as possible in addition to hydration, but this event may not have been prepared for this, and the supply of salt pills is insufficient.
The overall number of participants reached 10,000 this time, but there were only more than 1,000 participants in the whole marathon. Despite being only a small to medium-sized event, the sincerity of the local organizers was sufficient. The supplies along the way were substantial, and the volunteers were enthusiastic. Due to the relatively hot temperature that day, some runners were quickly taken away by ambulances after suffering from heat stroke. It's just too sunny, and the volunteers are quite tired.
Since I had just come down from the plateau and the weather was too sunny, my heart rate remained below 140 in the last 15km of the switchback, and I ended the fight in 4 hours and 39 minutes.
Visit the temple
Between the mountains and the sea, there are not only the oceans and rivers from the gifts of nature, but also the cultural monuments that have survived for thousands of years, as well as the heroic stories given to the city by the Liaoshen Campaign in modern history. The name of Jinzhou began in the Liao Dynasty, in 926 A.D., Liao Taizu Yelu Abaoji "built Jinzhou with Han prisoners", because of the mulberry brocade, the production of brocade, brocade, brocade for the royal use, and got the name of the word "brocade", known as "the state of splendor". Jinzhou is bordered by the Bohai Sea in the south and chokes the western corridor of Liaoning, which has always been a battleground for soldiers and has witnessed many major events in history since ancient times. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, here was the ancient battlefield of the Songjin War in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Qing army entered the Central Plains from there. In modern times, the Goubangzi Railway Branch of the Communist Party of China was established in Beizhengoubangzi, and the earliest grassroots organization of the Communist Party of China in Liaoning was established. After the "September 18" incident, the anti-Japanese volunteers in western Liaoning, with the Jinzhou area as the center of their activities, fired the first shot of the armed resistance of the people in Northeast China. In 1948, the Liaoshen Campaign, the first of the three major battles of the People's Liberation War, which determined the future and fate of China, was fought in Jinzhou, which is known as the place where the first dawn of the Republic rose.
The Liaoshen Battle Memorial Hall is an important work of my grandfather in his career as an architect, and it is a must-see place for me whenever I go to Jinzhou, and it is also a must-visit place for many tourists. Nowadays, it has also become a large-scale military history theme park integrating historical research, cultural dissemination, art exhibition, tourism and leisure. In the memorial hall, we can enjoy the panoramic painting of "Conquering Jinzhou" that uses sound, light, and multimedia display methods to reproduce the grand war scene, which is also the first time that a Chinese museum building uses the technique of panoramic painting. On a small island on the shore of Jinzhou Port, a mountain towering in the surging sea is named Beacon Hill because it resembles a pen frame. Due to the long and narrow landform of the mountain, the impact of the tides for many years has formed a wonder of the world - the Heavenly Divine Road. At high tide every day, the sea water strikes the bridge from both sides, making it gradually narrow and shortened, until it disappears into a vast ocean, and Beacon Hill becomes a small island in the ocean, which needs to be taken by boat; And when the sun sets and the tide goes low every day, the people of the island can walk back to the mainland. There are pavilions, platforms, halls, pavilions on the mountain, the most famous is the Sanqing Pavilion of the highest point, which is a collection of Buddha, Taoism, Confucianism and the three sacred religions of Confucianism and Pangu clan are enshrined in a pavilion, and the believers are like weaving. There is also the largest stone structure building in the country, the Sanqing Pavilion built in the Qing Dynasty, which integrates the tower, the pagoda and the corner pavilion. There is a proverb in Jinzhou area: "Yizhou Buddha, Jinzhou Tower, Ningyuan archway, Gangtun lion pair two." The first two sentences refer to the most famous pagoda monuments in Jinzhou.
The so-called "Jinzhou Tower", the most representative is the Daguangji Temple Pagoda located in the Jinzhou Ancient Pagoda Historical and Cultural Park. Daguangji Temple was built in the Qingning period of Liao Daozong, the platform manufacturing style in front of the main hall is the style of the Liao Dynasty, it has been repaired many times from Yongle to Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, it was destroyed by fire in the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535), and rebuilt in the sixth year (1826) to the ninth year (1829) of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty. The tower of Daguangji Temple is large, it is the highest ancient building in Northeast China, and it is also the only Liao Dynasty tower that can be seen from the train along the way from Beijing to Shenyang, and it is the logo of the ancient city of Jinzhou. In the ancient tower historical and cultural park, there is also a ruins of an ancient temple in the Ming Dynasty - Guanyin Pavilion. Goddess of Mercy Pavilion original main hall 3 wings, east and west with hall each two towers, front hall 3 towers, east and west corridor each 3 towers, mountain gate 1. There are 1 pair of stone lions, 4 stone tablets, 1 iron tripod, 1 bronze bell, 5 horizontal plaques, 1 boulder, and two ancient pines. Guanyin Pavilion, formerly known as Nanhai Temple, Songxue Nunnery, was built in the 12th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1476).
And "Yizhou Buddha" refers to the Yixian monuments in the north of Jinzhou. Yixian County is known as the "Buddha Capital of Saibei", the Fengguo Temple of the Liao Dynasty that has been preserved to this day, was built in the ninth year of Liao Kaitai (1020), the original name was Xianxi Temple, commonly known as the Big Buddha Temple, it is the royal temple built by Yelu Longxu of Liao Shengzong in the hometown of his mother Empress Dowager Xiao.
Fengguo Temple in the Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties was once a magnificent temple and one of the three existing Liao temples in the mainland. The temple's landmark ancient building, Daxiong Hall, is the largest Buddha hall in ancient times, and there is the world's oldest and largest clay sculpture color Buddha statue group in the hall. The Daxiong Hall itself also represents the highest achievement of Buddhist architecture in the Liao Dynasty, and it is also the highest level of Chinese architecture in the 11th century.
In the process of visiting Fengguo Temple, I was fortunate to meet Mr. Liu of the local cultural preservation department, he learned my identity as an architect, and explained to me with great interest. It is understood that Fengguo Temple was announced by the State Council as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 1961, in 2007 was rated as a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, and in 2005 declared the preliminary list of China's world cultural heritage. Mr. Liang Sicheng, Mr. Lin Huiyin and Mr. Luo Zhewen all gave important comments on this great historical relic. Liang Sicheng once published an academic report, calling the Liao Dynasty temple "a thousand-year-old national treasure, a supreme national treasure, and a rare treasure", and called Fengguo Temple "the largest one to build the Liao Dynasty Buddha Temple". After thousands of years of ancient buildings, few can escape the catastrophe of war, only Fengguo Temple has incredibly avoided 5 disasters, one is in the Jin Liao War, the second is in the Yuan Dynasty Jin War, the third is after the Yuan Dynasty Wuping (now Ningcheng) earthquake, the houses around the temple have collapsed, and the temple of Fengguo Temple is still standing majestically. Fourth, during the Liaoshen Campaign Yixian Siege, the top of the Daxiong Hall of Fengguo Temple was penetrated by a bomb, and the cannonball fell on the hands of the Buddha Shakyamuni Buddha, there is no danger that the cannonball failed to explode, but only damaged the right hand of the Buddha statue, and what is more amazing is that there are two bombs that fell in the temple turned out to be duds. The last catastrophe so far was in the sixties and seventies of the last century, many temples were demolished, and Fengguo Temple was once again well preserved because it was a national key cultural relics protection unit announced by the State Council.
Fun things to do
When the people in the Northeast took the high-speed train to Jinzhou, I learned that I was taking the last train, and when I was waiting for a taxi outside the station, I heard from other passengers that there would be no more taxis to solicit passengers. I was hesitating when a pair of little sisters who were waiting for the bus next to me took the initiative to ask me if I would like to carpool back to the city. In the chat, I learned that they are from Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, living in Jinzhou, and they heard that I came from Beijing to run a marathon, very enthusiastic said, I don't need to pay the fare, of course I disagree, but helpless can not rob their enthusiasm, on the occasion of separation, the Jinzhou sisters once again expressed their blessings to me: I hope you run happily in Jinzhou.
When I returned to the hotel to check in, the waiter told me that it was too early on the morning of the game day and the breakfast was not yet served at the hotel, but you don't have to worry, you can go to the morning market not far from the hotel. "Our morning and night markets are especially worth visiting." So, early the next morning, I went straight to the morning market, which was so lively, there were all kinds of things. At first glance, it seems that running a marathon is immediately served, which is very efficient. After noon, after the race, when I returned to the door of the hotel, I passed by the morning market, which had been transformed into a fruit market, and was warmly greeted by a big sister who was selling watermelons.
The eldest sister cut a piece of watermelon and said to me: Four yuan, give you a quarter of a watermelon, you run a marathon, you have to quickly replenish the sugar after running. I laughed and said, you're so professional.
Coming out of the hotel, I took a taxi to Yixian to see the monuments, and the driver took me to stop and go, very casually. In Yixian, the Daling River crosses, and the environment is very beautiful, and you can feel the relaxation of the rhythm of life of the locals. When the driver chatted with me, he said that his income was not high, and he only got 3,000 yuan a month. Although the income level of the local people is not high, the consumption level here is also very low, and they can maintain a comfortable pace of life on the whole, mainly because it is not as volatile as your big cities. "We don't easily go to your big cities."
Fengguo Temple, Guangsheng Pagoda, Yongtai Gate, Linghe Gudu, Church, Nanda Temple...... In addition to the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall, it is too late, and I am fascinated by the monuments in Yixian County. Before the end of the trip, the little brother who drove suddenly said enthusiastically: Big brother, you like monuments so much, I have to take you to the train station to have a look! I said, "What's there to see?" The little brother said that it was an Internet celebrity check-in place.
When I came to Yixian Railway Station, I realized that what my brother said was true. The small century-old building is really beautiful. The old railway station of Yixian County was built in 1921, which was instructed by the warlord Zhang Zuolin, and was personally presided over by Wang Yongjiang, who was the director of the Fengtian Provincial Department of Finance and the official silver number of the three eastern provinces, and was known as the "first person of the Republic of China". It is a building with a Japanese architectural style, which belongs to the "Chinese Twentieth Century Architectural Heritage". According to research, this is the most well-preserved Japanese-style railway station in Northeast China, and was announced as a provincial cultural relics protection unit by the Liaoning Provincial Government in 2013.
When it comes to Jinzhou's cuisine, the most famous is of course barbecue. Jinzhou barbecue in the Northeast belongs to the existence of "unique gear", this city near the sea and mountains, with fresh ingredients from the sea, land and air, a variety of patterns, barbecue materials sprinkled, the taste buds are immediately opened.
According to locals, Jinzhou barbecue has a long history, dating back to the mid-seventeenth century. After the eighties and nineties of the last century, it gradually spread to all parts of the country and developed rapidly in the new century. Today, Jinzhou barbecue has become an intangible cultural heritage of Jinzhou City, and in 2022, it was included in the national "Landmark Food List".
Jinzhou's Linghe Night Market has become a new business card of Jinzhou, and in the evening, more than 1,000 stalls serve tens of thousands of diners, lighting up the city's night economy.
Written in the last marathon, know a city. In Jinzhou, I obviously gained more. After a weekend, from leaving the train station, I deeply felt the simple folk customs of the most simple famous city in western Liaoning, and then, from the morning market at five or six o'clock in the morning to the bustling night market at twelve o'clock in the evening, I also had a multi-dimensional understanding of Jinzhou cuisine. Speaking of the event itself, as the first city to host the whole marathon, Jinzhou's overall performance is quite good. I would like to make a few suggestions for the problems that arise in the process: First, if the race is still held at this point in time next year, the race time can be advanced in order to minimize the exposure of runners to the sun without adjusting the course route. This year, the start at 7:30 o'clock is actually a bit late for summer, so you can refer to the road running events in Southeast Asian countries and advance the starting time to 6 o'clock in the morning; The second is to set up the supply points along the track, because it is a switchback track, the supply station can be set in the middle of the two-way track, which can serve the runners on both sides at the same time, and also avoid the problem of the event order of some runners going in the wrong direction; Third, I hope that next year's event can improve the details of salt pills and medical first-aid stations, the cost of salt pills is very low, and there are sports material sponsors to provide, the supply can be increased, and the arrangement of medical first-aid stations should also be more scientific and reasonable. Spray soothing medications.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the members of the 100 Horse Association of the China Exploration Association once again went out collectively, and a total of more than 30 "old horses" ran together in Jinzhou. It's really getting more and more lively.
Finally, I still have to sigh again, in just a few days of interacting with the locals, I was deeply impressed by the relaxation of life in the small town, there are barbecue skewers, there are mountain and sea resources, living here, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and involution, in fact, it is also another paradigm of a better life.
Dr. Mao Daqing is a scholar of demography, urban renewal and regional economics, a registered architect, and a columnist.
Founder of Ucommune (NASDAQ: UK) and founder of Youxiang Chuangzhi (Sharing).
He is a member of the 8th, 9th and 10th National Committee of the China Association for Science and Technology, deputy director of the Central Committee for Promoting Innovation of the Jiusan Society, expert consultant of the Beijing Municipal People's Government, consultant of the Beijing Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas Chinese, deputy director of the Academic Committee of Pangu Think Tank, executive director of the China and Globalization Think Tank, and expert of the expert database of the Architectural Society of China.
He is the author of "Exploration of Urban Renewal Spatial Content", "Research on the Evaluation System of Urban Habitat Quality of Life", "Unattainable Beauty", "Childhood with Nowhere to Place", "Understanding Singapore in One Breath", translated "The Power of Running", "Pilgrimage to Boston Marathon", "Shoe Dog", "For Whom Empty Chair", "Chisel the Fence Between Companies", "Bloomberg's Biography", "Achieving Slash Life", "All Blacks", "Invention: James Dyson's Creative Journey", "Endless Progress", "High Growth Mindset", " The New Global Normal.
Marathon enthusiast, president of the 100 Marathon Runners Branch of the China Exploration and Exploration Association, and founder of the "Woolen Yarn Group" public welfare running group. As of June 2024, 204 full marathons have been completed. He won the 2016 CCTV Sports Person of the Year Sportsmanship Award (Nomination Award), the honorary title of "China Marathon Person of the Year" in 2017, and was invited to carry the Olympic flame as the 97th torchbearer of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, the finisher of the 7th World Marathon WMC777 in 2023, and the 10th "Chinese Contemporary Xu Xiake".