weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Today, we make a stop at the ancient city of Songpan and have a look at the interesting gates, buildings and the street life in this city. This first post introduces one of the city gates, some artwork displayed at the gate and then finishes with candid shots of the city's street life.

SONGPAN ANCIENT TOWN, situated in Jin'an Town of Songpan, is 322 km (200 miles) from Sichuan's capital Chengdu. Historically, it was known as Songzhou Town and was considered the 'West Portal of Sichuan'. Due to its advantageous situation geographically, it functioned as a military base from the time of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It has recently gained a reputation as one of the most interesting historical towns in Sichuan Province.

Upon entering Songpan Ancient Town, visitors will immediately be impressed by the grand and ancient constructions before them. Although founded in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the city gates and city wall here have all been fairly well-preserved through the centuries.

Songpan Ancient Town as a whole consists of both an inner city and an outer city. There are five city gates in the inner city, facing north, south, east, west and southwest. There are also two city gates in the outer city. Each gate was built from vast flagstones, with its ceiling shaped in a semi circle. Stones at the base of the gates are embellished with delicate engravings.

Constructed from giant blue bricks, each of which is twenty inches long, ten inches wide and five inches thick, the city wall is approximately four miles long and over 10m (33 feet) high, enclosing an area of nine square miles. The bricks were made of sticky rice, lime and Chinese wood oil and each weighs 30 kilograms, guaranteeing the strength of the city wall.

The above information on Songpan is taken from the "Travel China Guide", the full article can be viewed here:
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/jiuzhaigou/songpan-ancient-town.htm


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to this series. The link below lets you review this intro:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-724330-1.html

COUNTRY INFO: Set # 2 provides more information on Sichuan/China, here is the link to review it:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-724445-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thanks for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

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1 - Songpan North Gate aka Songzhou Gate, grandest of the 3 gates into the old city, made of bricks from sticky rice, lime and Chinese wood oil, each weighing 30 kg

(Download)

2 - Larger view of the wall, gate and local traffic including a pedal-powered rickshaw

(Download)

3 - Statue of a mounted warrior at the Songpan North Gate

(Download)

4 - Statues of pink sandstone depicting 7th century Chinese princess Wencheng and Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo erected in 2002 just outside the Songpan North Gate

(Download)

5 - Closer view of the upper part of the statues

(Download)

6 - Street scene: Store-front artisan with hammer and cigarette, working on an elaborate Tibetan belt buckle/element, we will see such belts buckles later worn by the local Tibetan women

(Download)

7 - A street shop seamstress

(Download)

8 - Woman selling yoghurt made from yak-milk

(Download)

9 - Vegetable vendor

(Download)

10 - Discussion at a food vendor stall over pancakes, cornbread or whatever prepared on the spot

(Download)

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Trip map of the Sichuan segment for your reference

(Download)

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Excellent street series, Joe, I love your colors of your photos, they are always great, I will always enjoy the journeys you take us on, keep them coming.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Another excellent series of "Chinese" images. Try to get one with you in it taken by your wife.

lnl Loc: SWFL

Sticky rice, lime and Chinese wood oil used to fabricate bricks. Very interesting and obviously long-lasting.
#7, the seamstress must be using an old-fashioned treadle sewing machine. I actually remember those from school! In #8, it looks as though the yoghurt maker may have her phone number on her apron?
As always, you present a great travelog for all your armchair fans. Thanks for the photos and the descriptions.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Love this series, Joe. That wall must be quite thick as well as tall per the first photo.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you very much Earnest for your more than kind words, I am very happy to you enjoy this set and my journeys thus far - this one will keep coming for quite a while!

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Mike, glad you liked the continuation of the "Chinese" images. As for getting myself into the picture: My pat answer is that "I don't want to break my camera" and I normally am quite reticent to show my wife or myself in these presentations - you will see her a few times in the coming posts and maybe I'll but in a shot of the two of us one of these days.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks Ellen, very unusual ingredients to manufacture bricks - and in enough quantities to build a sturdy city wall 4 miles long and 33 feet high that has endured for many centuries! I have never even heard of wood oil and know sticky rice only from some Chinese dishes which I don't particularly enjoy - maybe that sentiment was more widespread and so they used it to manufacture bricks??? (Now I have a good answer when offered sticky rice: "They should keep using this stuff to make bricks instead of bringing it on dinner plates" .....). But seriously, it is really quite interesting that they would have come up with such a concoction to create everlasting bricks.

As to the sewing machine, I am sure you are right and of course, using these contraptions on the city sidewalks makes a lot of sense, no need for electrical supplies, batteries, etc. They are actually ingenious contraptions! How long these will still last in today's modern societies, which China is also more and more moving towards, remains to be seen. As for the yoghurt lady (I had to consult my wife Susan on this): She is wearing a apron with an imprint of a company, whether this has anything to do with her yoghurt business or not is not clear and the digits shown there most likely are part of the telephone number of the company - rather than of the lady.

Good and observant eye - Ellen - I enjoy your observations and questions!

Umnak Loc: Mount Vernon, Wa.

It's so great that you present life as you saw it during your travels. Quite the impressive structure and statues and well shot as usual!
Just curious, did you try the yak yogurt?
Rob

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

I am happy to hear that you love this series Barbara, there are going to be plenty of interesting (in my humble opinion) shots of people, buildings, mountains, water and landscape sceneries in this series - unlike the last major series I did on the North European Plain which also covered an interesting area, but was very heavily architecture-oriented.

I have not seen any reference to the thickness of the wall, and cannot remember from my own observation, but yes, it must be quite thick and massive as it is 33 feet high - just imagine the amount of sticky rice they needed to manufacture each brick to build this immense wall of some 4 miles - and that many hundred years ago! Mind-boggling!

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

That is what I like about this particular trip Rob, we really came into close contact with people doing their business on the streets and this will be very much true on all 4 components of this very lengthy trip. And some of these structures are just mind-boggling, as you start to reflect that for instance this city wall was built partially of sticky rice and has lasted hundreds of years .... I also do like this particular sculpture of the Chinese princess and the Tibetan King - did you notice the details of her hand in #5 - they are so amazingly life-like, helped of course also by the color hues of the stone. Also, I forgot to mention this: the belt-buckle on which the artisan is working in #6 can be very well seen in frame 5 above, worn by the king and (a bit hidden) by the princess.

I did not try the yak yoghurt at this stand, but would not be surprised if I had it along the way somewhere in the food we consumed, cannot remember specifically though.

Annie-Get-Your-Gun Loc: Byron Center, Mi

Fantastic set, Joe. Interesting narrative.

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

More great shots and commentary Joe! Those bricks actually weigh 66 pounds apiece?

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Great "street set", Joe.