【Haichuan Chemical Industry Site】Baixing Wood in Laifeng, Hunan: Nitrate Cave **Site Complex
Thread Content
Baixingmu is located in Groups 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Taiping Village, Geleche Town; there are 12 different surnames among its residents, with a total population of 384 people. The most common surnames are Huang, Li, Zheng, and Zeng. It is about 10 kilometers away from the market town of Geleche. Baixing Muyuan was a forest farm in the Gele Commune; during the district-based administration period it was part of Baixingmu Township in the Geleche District. Its location was called Shentuo. When districts were abolished and townships established in the 1980s, it merged with Changtaiping Village, while the other four groups merged with Tongma Village. Bai Xing Mu is surrounded by tall mountains and dense forests, with excellent vegetation coverage. Due to its mountainous location, the crops grown there are mainly dryland crops, with a small amount of paddy fields. Within its borders are a merit stele from the 32nd year of the Qianlong era, **nitrate cave complexes that are over 300 years old, the Sun Temple renowned for its strong religious presence, Buddhist mystics famous both locally and nationally, extensive rock formations characteristic of Danxia landforms, as well as the intangible cultural heritage practice of the straw dragon dance. The highest peak in the area is Dajianshan, with an elevation of 1283.3 meters. It faces Tianyaojie, which stands at 1298.2 meters. It is close enough to Banqiao Village in Zhongbao Town, Xianfeng County, such that sounds from one place can be heard in the other; the only thing missing is a final kilometer of road connection.
If you have time to attend the following series of discussion sessions, click on the link to access them – it will take you to the compilation post for the 【HaiChuan Equipment Guessing Game】 series; all equipment enthusiasts are welcome to participate actively! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-2079686-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum) Summary post of the [Haichuan. Pioneers in the Chemical Industry] series. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-1842627-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum) Summary post for the [In-depth Discussion on Modular Installation in Haichuan]; everyone is welcome to participate in the discussion! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-1773168-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum) The compilation posts of the 【Haichuan Food Guessing】 series are being updated continuously – with thousands of different foods, can you recognize them all? https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-2142205-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum) A compilation post on the [Haichuan Chemical Industry site], with ongoing updates!!! Feel free to check it out. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-2145992-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)
At the entrance of the remote cave, there are traces of artificial steps
Originally, Baixingmu was called Tianwan; a long time ago, many people from other places came here to extract and process nitre, which led to a variety of surnames in the area. There were nitre producers from areas surrounding Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei; at their peak, their number reached 1,000 people. That’s why Tianwan was called “Bai Xing Mu”. Over time, this name evolved into “Bai Xin Mu” and “Bai Xing Mu”, and eventually became the current name, Bai Xing Mu.
The well-preserved 300-year-old \"**site complex\" of nitre caves includes the Old Nitre Cave (located in Xianfeng County) and the New Nitre Cave. Laoxiao Cave was the first place where local nitre producers processed nitre, which is why later generations called it Laoxiao Cave. According to the recollections of the elderly Long Guangmao, a long time ago, Xinxiadong was first discovered by two brothers from Sichuan: Li Zhuazi and Li Laomo (the blind man). These two brothers have lived here for over 3 years. It’s rare to see them engaged in any agricultural work, but they are very wealthy and lead a much more comfortable life than the local people. So, a few local youths followed them secretly at night and discovered that the two brothers rested during the day and carried nitrate at night. Since they were discovered by the locals, the two brothers also kindly explained to everyone how to identify and extract saltpeter. Since the soil in the new nitre caves contained a very high level of nitre, the caves were filled with white nitre powder at the beginning of mining. The miners would carry this nitre powder out of the caves and sell it in the market. As a result, merchants coming from all directions gathered in Bai Xing Mu, and one pig was consumed there every day. The entrance to the Xinniudong cave is located at mid-mountain; the vertical height inside the cave is nearly 40 meters. Outside the entrance lies the Renzì shape plain in Banqiao Village, Zhongbao Town, Xianfeng County. Elder Longguangmao said: Inside the cave, there are three horse gates, also known as “step eyes”. Upon entering the cave, one first pays homage to the cave deity and passes by the first step. To cross the first set of steps, one must use both hands and feet, and a rope must also be used; there are over 500 steps of a suspension ladder, making it extremely dangerous. The two “step eyes” are the ventilation openings in the entire cave; they are also known as “heavenly eyes”. The openings of these heavenly eyes are located in the Tianyao Realm. When people throw corn stalks down from those openings, the stalks return to the openings due to the strong wind inside the cave. Every year during the snowy periods, no snow accumulates around the Sky Eye, and it remains steaming hot. Inside the cave, there is a stone pillar about 3 meters tall; three people can stand around it holding hands. Those who are involved in nitrate production call it the General’s Rock. General Rock serves as a marker to prevent getting lost inside the cave; anyone who enters the cave can find their way out by locating General Rock. Past General Rock lies Tuluozzi — Datang — the Crossword Maze, and finally, the Three Steps Pools. Since the exit to the third stage eye is located in a cave within the territory of Zhongbao Town, it was filled in by the local people, making it impossible to find the entrance. In addition to the attractions above the dragon section of the cave, there is also a waterfall inside the cave; water flows down from cracks in the rocks at a height of nearly 50 meters. What people see is a spray of water, creating a spectacular sight, and the water is extremely cold. The dunes are connected by caves in a chain; after passing the first set of steps, what unfolds before you are endless dunes, interconnected artificial caves, and one nitrate-processing stove after another. You will be struck by this sight, and you will instinctively realize that this too is a form of culture that needs to be protected. “At its peak, over 300 people were inside the cave, digging for nitrate and living there. ”When talking about the nitre caves, Long Guangmao became extremely enthusiastic and kept speaking non-stop.
About 1 kilometer away from the Baixingmu village, on a hillside, there is an ancient path that is approximately 1.5 kilometers long; the locals also call it the Salt Road. In fact, it served as a route for transporting nitrate out of the mountains. In the 32nd year of the Qianlong era, due to the large number of people collecting nitre, a large amount of nitre and construction materials could not be brought in or taken out of the mountains. As a result, the villagers donated money (as evidenced by an inscription that reads “Their contributions will endure forever”) to have a stone staircase about 2 meters wide carved into the hillside at Leida Yan. At that time, because road construction took too long and a huge boulder blocked the path, the work came to a standstill. One night, with lightning and thunder, a loud explosion occurred; the huge rock blocking the path was blown apart by the lightning, and the road out of the mountain was quickly restored. Hence, this place is also known as Thunder Rock. As the road was opened, businesses along it emerged as a result. A shop was also opened on the Leidaiyan Ancient Road to provide accommodation and meals for passing merchants; business was very prosperous, and locals still call it Dianziping to this day.