Lantian--The Rural China Series

Author: Zhang Xiaojun (text), Li Yuxiang (photography)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features:
Lantian is an ancient village with a history of over a thousand years, located in the valley of the Dadongshan area in Gutian County, southeastern Fujian. Historically, an ancient road from Ningde along the coast to northern Fujian passed through the village, and one can imagine the strong figures of mountain carriers on the paths and the flickering lights of inns by the streams in those days. Today, the Ningde-Gutian provincial highway runs through the center of the village, the solid cement road carrying the dust raised by wheels, dividing this once prosperous and secluded mountain village into two halves. Under the main road in the west of the village, it is said that ancient steles are still buried, dating back to the time when the Confucian scholar Zhu Xi came to Lantian Academy to give lectures, spreading Confucianism throughout the Lantian countryside. The steles bear the historical pride of the people of Lantian: "A land where sages once passed and transformed."