Among many provinces and cities in China, Guizhou Province was once ridiculed as "a low-key province with little sense of existence".
However, this province, known as the "green corridor" of China, is a quiet and tranquil "Xanadu" with beautiful green mountains and lush greenery that are not lost anywhere.
And between this beautiful landscape, there is a "mysterious valley" far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, that is Yelang Valley. This magical valley with beautiful scenery, everything in it is mostly built of stones.
and the most amazing thing is that such a picturesque scenic spot is an old man who is now over 8 years old, and it took more than 2 years to build it with more than 3 million loans and painstaking efforts.
who is this old man and why did he build such a valley?
All this can be traced back to an "adventure" ...
In 194, Song Peilun was born in Meitan County, Guizhou Province.
Perhaps because of talent, or influenced by local culture, Song Peilun showed amazing artistic talent at an early age.
As an ancient town with a long history, there are many ancient buildings in Meitan County.
In Song Peilun's eyes, these mottled buildings that have experienced wind and rain have their own unique temperature and life:
The bricks and tiles on them, and even every piece of moss, represent the changes of time, which makes Song Peilun very fascinated.
While his peers were still playing games such as "playing house" and throwing mud, Song Peilun began to study the corners and patterns of various ancient buildings after school every day.
I even want to describe them one by one.
At first, Song Peilun, who was hard up at home, couldn't afford painting tools, so he had to practice on the mud with a wooden stick.
And his persistence and persistence finally moved his parents.
With every effort to scrimp and save, Song Peilun finally embarked on the road of art as he wished.
And he really showed his talents quickly:
At the age of 17, Song Peilun began to publish his works frequently in major newspapers and magazines.
And in the following years, it has won many awards in the cartoon industry and gained a lot of fame.
In 1985, Song Peilun won the national patent of China with the Invention of Wood Hot Engraving Technology.
Later, his works were exhibited in Guiyang, Beijing, Shenzhen and other parts of the country, and some of his paintings were collected by China Art Museum.
For an artist, these achievements are enough for Song Peilun to spend a wonderful and stable life.
However, in 1993, Song Peilun was invited to participate in an art activity called "splendid china" in the United States.
It was in this activity that Song Peilun saw an "adventure" that changed the rest of his life.
It's a sculpture of "Crazy Horse Mountain" located in the United States. It was painted by the famous sculptor Kezak, and started carving around 1948, and it is still under construction.
When Song Peilun saw that an ordinary sculptor spent the rest of his life for such a huge mountain, and even his descendants were inheriting this unfinished carving career, his inner shock was self-evident.
It was also at that moment that Song Peilun suddenly understood what he wanted to make all his life: he also wanted to leave a huge landscape art work for his hometown and future generations.
At that time, Song Peilun had already entered middle age, and had his own art studio and a stable and well-paid job as a university professor.
But in the face of his great ambition, many people don't quite understand it, and even advise him not to "take risks": why not retire soon and spend a leisure time at home with flowers and grass?
However, among many objections, Song Peilun got his wife's understanding and support.
In this way, the husband and wife spent all their savings to buy more than 3 mu of land in the Grand Canyon of Huaxi, Guizhou, and began to build the "ideal kingdom" in his heart.
In fact, before he finally settled in Guizhou, Song Peilun tried to build a special village with cultural connotations in other places.
unfortunately, for various reasons, all those villages died in the beginning.
As he grew older, Song Peilun's desire to build a "secluded place" away from the noise became stronger and stronger.
So, after returning to China, when Song Peilun saw the beautiful mountains and rivers in his hometown and the various local villages full of ethnic customs, the artist suddenly had a wonderful inspiration:
With his own artistic ideas, he built a quiet and leisurely old-age sanctuary in the local area.
When the word "Yelang" is mentioned, many people will think of an idiom, that is, "Yelang is arrogant"-in fact, Song Peilun's "Yelang Valley" is also based on this story:
In the Biography of Shi Ji Southwest Yi compiled by Sima Qian, there was a mention of a king named Yelang Kingdom, who faced the Han Dynasty because he didn't know the vastness outside.
this question has left an idiom that has been passed down through the ages.
However, in the long river of history, the ancient Yelang country is not as small as people think:
During the Warring States Period, Yelang country was the first country established by the ancestors of southwest ethnic minorities.
It first appeared in China's ancient records because King Xiang of Chu sent troops to attack.
In addition, the culture of Yelang country once had a glorious time, which was as famous as Guloulan and other countries.
in the historical textual research, the geographical position of Yelang ancient country is exactly where Guizhou is now.
Song Peilun learned from this period of history, thus putting his ideal "seclusion place" in Guizhou.
However, because his location is in the suburbs, it takes Song Peilun four hours to travel from home to Yelang Valley every day.
For him, this is only the first difficulty on the road of "chasing dreams".
In order to build this ideal castle, Song Peilun hired many local residents to take charge of chores and maintenance.
And he went into battle himself, looking for usable stones in Yelang Valley.
Not only that, Song Peilun also needs to trim the bluestone into what he needs, and then combine it with other materials to piece together a portrait work.
In this process, Song Peilun's hands were grinded with countless blood bubbles just by grinding each stone into the desired shape.
When the stone materials are ready, Song Peilun needs to integrate these huge figures with the local scenery one by one, so that the environment and manpower can naturally join together and become a brand-new world;
Apart from these, Song Peilun has to worry about whether his statues can withstand the heavy tests of nature when bad weather such as thunder and lightning storm comes.
Even in 1998, the Grand Canyon in Huaxi was closed by a rare snow.
In order to keep his works of art, Song Peilun was also "shut up" in Yelang Valley.
At that time, there was no water and electricity in the valley, so Ye Peilun had to cut wood and make a fire by himself. When he was hungry, he cooked the wild mushrooms dug up in the field, and when he was thirsty, he melted the snow in the mountains into water to drink.
However, although life seems to have returned to ancient society, Song Peilun did not feel bitter at all, and even felt "full of joy".
in his view, all these things he volunteered to do brought happiness, and even difficulties became a pleasure.
what he didn't expect, however, was that a bigger problem was yet to come.
The construction of Yelang Valley had just started, when Song Peilun was suddenly informed that the road leading to Yelang Valley needed to be cut off due to the construction of a university town nearby.
Without transport vehicles, the construction of Yelang Valley has to come to a standstill.
Although the construction has stopped, the completed part of Yelang Valley needs regular maintenance.
Song Peilun also needs to pay the salaries of the villagers who are in charge of chores as usual.
These expenses, which amount to hundreds of thousands every year, soon emptied Song Peilun's family property.
In order to persist in this dream, Song Peilun had to start borrowing money from relatives and friends.
He even mortgaged the house he had built in Yelang Valley in exchange for cash flow.
However, as long as Yelang Valley doesn't start work, Song Peilun can't pay back the money.
In this way, Yelang Valley was shut down for six years due to traffic problems.
In the past six years, Song Peilun has borrowed more than three million yuan from relatives and friends.
In addition to these financial pressures, Song Peilun has to face the incomprehension and ridicule from the outside world.
All this makes him bear great psychological pressure.
No one knows whether the great artist regretted his decision for a moment when he dreamt back at midnight.
however, it may be that the boat will come to the bridge, or it may be that the willow tree has a bright future.
With the government's investigation and coordination, the traffic road problem leading to Yelang Valley has finally been solved.
The construction project that has been stagnant for several years has finally started slowly again ...
After experiencing many difficulties and 22 years of hard work, Yelang Valley has finally taken shape.
For Song Peilun, the other half of Yelang Valley has not been perfected, and he prefers to "leave a suspense".
It is not only to leave this half of the "blank" for future generations to play freely, but also to hope that art can "grow at will" with the passage of time and fill the blank with time.
When Yelang Valley was just completed, Song Peilun chose to open Yelang Valley to the outside world under the persuasion of others.
Let more people experience a quiet pleasure brought by the unique culture of Yelang ancient country.
Naturally, Yelang Valley is full of its unique and wonderful charm, both from the artistic point of view and from the perspective of pure tourists.
A large forest completely isolates Yelang Valley from the noisy city.
In this place like a paradise, plants and flowing water have dyed everything green, which makes people involuntarily want to stop and savor this unique scenery.
Because most of the buildings, sculptures and decorations in the valley are made of various stones, some ceramics and wood are mixed in them.
Therefore, under the sunshine, these weathered objects show a wonderful harmony.
They were combined by the builders in a unique way to form portraits with unique charm.
And these portraits with different shapes constitute an interesting and mysterious stone castle, which is the main building of Yelang Valley.
In fact, this stone castle is not big, and the average person can walk to the end in 2 minutes.
In this castle, there is only one family, that is, Mr. and Mrs. Song Peilun, who are responsible for building here and living in seclusion here.
for more than 2 years, he and his wife, Wu Ping, lived in a stone castle and lived an isolated life as a fairy couple.
However, with the development of the city, high-rise buildings are gradually built around Yelang Valley.
In order to protect the "original flavor" of Yelang Valley, Song Peilun tried his best and even planned to control the passenger flow to protect the simplicity of Yelang Valley.
However, the more it is combined with nature, the more it attracts people to "relax".
After 217, many people noticed this place, and the ticket revenue reached 7 million in just one year.
Song Peilun's early investment has been fully earned back, and Song Peilun has also turned into a billionaire.
However, unexpectedly, at the moment when Yelang Valley was so famous, Song Peilun made an amazing decision:
Around 22, Song Peilun signed an intention agreement with Guizhou University of Finance and Economics to donate Yelang Valley to Guizhou University of Finance and Economics.
and it will be managed by the Alumni Association of the University of Finance and Economics and the Education Fund Development Association.
As for the reason for the donation, Song Peilun said:
At the same time, he also hopes to create another work of art in the remaining years, leaving more memories for the future.
In May, 221, Song Peilun even broadcast live on CCTV with the help of his daughter.
When talking about donating Yelang Valley, my daughter Song Yu expressed her support and understanding for her father's decision to donate.
"The management of scenic spots is a very complicated job, and I still hope to put more energy into artistic creation."
Nowadays, the annual ticket price of Yelang Valley can reach 78 million yuan, and the scenic spot has changed from rocky desertification to today's stone culture.
The persistence and dedication of Song Peilun and local farmers for more than 2 years not only solved the problem of the park's own development, but also indirectly promoted the employment and eating of more than 3 local people.
After leaving Yelang Valley, Song Peilun joined hands with the villagers in Aweizhai Village, Anshun City, Guizhou Province, and once again created a "Tengjia Valley" with local flavor.
This "Fujia Valley" is more like a companion piece of Yelang Valley.
However, besides the stone figures with different shapes, there are also a lot of rattan armor soldiers with different looks in the Fujia Valley, and all the rattan armor cultures in the Three Kingdoms are exhibited.
For most people in modern times, Song Peilun's behavior of not seeking fame and wealth is unimaginable.
However, in today's impetuous society, countless people have lost themselves on the road of pursuing fame and profit. How many people can still remember and stick to their initial "heart"?
Just like this, Song Peilun seems to be a "clean stream" in this world, and this persistent pursuit of dreams may be a mentality that we are particularly lacking now.
When we live in this fast-paced era, we may slow down occasionally while running, listen to our inner voice and think about why we are standing here.