Reverse Travel Diary: 'Zhao Yuan'

🌸 Gaojiazhuangzi Village got its name because the Gao family moved here at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. It is a model where the coastal defense village, commercial village, and family village on the ancient official road of Deng Lai merge into one. During the Qing Dynasty, the Xu family from the village went to Beijing to do business. They became wealthy and returned to their hometown to build houses and courtyards, inheriting the architectural culture of Beijing, thus earning the village the nickname 'Little Beijing'. 🔥 Gaojiazhuangzi is currently the largest, best-preserved ancient village in the Jiaodong area with the most complete types of historical buildings. 🌈 Zhenlong An and the Three Officials Temple ruins and bell tower Zhenlong An is said to have been built during the Eastern Han Dynasty's Guangwu period, and was rebuilt in the 19th year of Kangxi (1681). It was known locally as the East Hall, originally with three bays and double columns, and the door plaque reads 'Zhenlong An'. The Three Officials Temple, also known as the West Great Temple, has a three-foot-wide alleyway between it and Zhenlong An, and the door plaque reads 'Three Officials Temple', with statues of the three officials inside. Both temples were destroyed in the 1960s, but the foundations in the courtyard are well preserved. 🌙 Xu Family's Three Branches Ancestral Hall Built in the 14th year of Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty (1809), it was funded by Xu Yunfeng, a royal guard of the three branches of the Xu family. Later generations donated the ancestral hall to the public ownership of the three branches of the Xu family, making it the Three Branches Ancestral Hall. ☁️ Earth Rampart Built in the first year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1862), due to the plundering by the Nian Army in the 11th year of Xianfeng (1861), the village leader 'Xu Limen' combined with wealthy households like Xu Qianxiu to raise a large sum of money to rebuild the earth rampart in the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), costing tens of thousands of taels of silver, with villagers bearing the cost voluntarily, and contributions from both large and small households. 🌸 Bird Clam with Horseradish: The cooking is just right, giving it a crispy texture that's great to bite into, and the bird clams are very fresh. 🔥 Stir-fried Large Intestines: Cleanly prepared, tender when stir-fried, but can be greasy if eaten too much. 💧 Spicy Stir-fried Crawfish: The crawfish are quite plump, but a bit troublesome to peel and eat. ☀️ Stir-fried Green Beans: Quite refreshing and crisp, but I don't like them much; they feel undercooked. 🌟 Sea Cucumber Rice: It's a specialty dish! The portion is really huge! Enough for four or five people! There's a lot of sea cucumber, very fresh, and it's fantastic mixed with rice.