Jiexiu, Shanxi, China

[Cute][Cute][Cute][Cute] Underground maze in the wrinkles of time: Exploration notes of Zhangbi Ancient Castle The moment you step into Zhangbi Ancient Castle, it’s like knocking on the secret door of time. This Ming Dynasty military fortress, embedded in the loess plateau, outlines the wrinkles of time with its layers of gray tiles and flying eaves. Walking along the rammed earth city wall, your fingertips brush against the temperature of six hundred years ago, and the arrow crenels of the city wall still retain their alert edges and corners. What's truly stunning is underground. Walking up the blue brick steps into the dark passage, my breathing suddenly became damp. The three-layer three-dimensional defense system extended in the darkness, with grain storage cellars, ambush rooms, and observation holes meshing like precision gears. Under the flickering oil lamp, the soldier caves from the Sui and Tang dynasties coexist with traces of renovations from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and time is folded into a circular maze here. The Kuixing Tower and Kongwang Buddhist Temple on the ground blend the coldness and hardness of the military fortress into the world of human life. The sunlight shines through the glazed gargoyles of the Kehan ​​Temple, casting colorful light and shadows on the Yuan Dynasty murals. The door lintel of the old house that you encounter at the corner is still engraved with the family motto of "loyalty, faithfulness, filial piety and brotherhood", and the brick-carved peony blooms stubbornly despite the erosion of time. When the setting sun dyes the city wall amber, standing in front of the ancient stage it seems as if you can hear the echoes of time and space. The clanging of armor of soldiers guarding the border, the jingling of camel bells in caravans, and the roar of gongs and drums in community operas are all quietly fermenting in the folds of the 3,000-meter tunnel, creating the richest historical treasure of the Loess Plateau.