Mysterious Journey - 50 Utopias in China

Author: Compiled by the Editorial Team of the Series
Publisher:
Publish Date: July 1, 2004
Features: After taking the hot spring bath, I wanted to learn more, so I grabbed a local. The local was very enthusiastic and told me two stories of history: In the 30th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1850 AD), the Zhalang of the Hulunbuir Vice Commandery invited a lama doctor to come personally to Suyuerji Mountain. At the foot of the slope along the Harabahantai River (now the Arxan River), he discovered 32 springs. Together with the lama doctor, he climbed to a high point and overlooks the layout of these 32 springs, which resemble an giant. The head is on the slope, the chest and abdomen are in the middle of the mountain, and the hands and feet stretch naturally to both sides. The head has a mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. Then, he brought along the lama doctor, Mongolian doctors, and craftsmen to build therapeutic facilities and pools made of wood in Arxan, and marked the names and effects of each spring in Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan scripts. The nearby people all came here to drink this spring water, so to this day, no cancer or cardiovascular disease patients have been found among the local residents. Every spring, when the flowers bloom, herdsmen drive their yurt carriages and ride horses to Harlan Arxan. Some even walk to Harlan Arxan to bathe in the sacred spring to show their piety. According to the local, every year, people who come to Arxan to bathe in the sacred spring hold some sacrificial activities for the sacred spring, forming a traditional Sacred Water Festival. Arxan people hold the "Sacred Water Festival" every one or two years, in addition to the traditional activities of sacrificing to the sacred water, drinking the sacred water, and bathing in the sacred spring, they also carry out activities such as mountain climbing, bonfire parties, ethnic singing and dancing, tourism promotions, and economic and trade negotiations, making the "Sacred Water Festival" a local festival that combines tradition and modernity. Next time I come, I will definitely arrive on the day of the "Sacred Water Festival" to dance with the local people.
The international river Haralga River—the birthplace of the Xianbei and the Xiongnu—I originally planned to return to my accommodation after the hot spring bath, but the driver said it was still early and suggested we visit the international river Haralga River. So I turned back and came to the river with the driver. The driver told me that from a high point in Arxan, looking toward Mongolia, you can see the entire section of the Haralga River flowing through Arxan City. The Haralga River basin was once the home of the northern Xiongnu and Xianbei nomads and had nurtured the Mongolian Haralga tribe, including Genghis Khan. Most rivers in China flow from west to east, but the Haralga River flows quietly to the west. The driver said it originates from the southern of the Arxan Forestry Bureau in the Daxing'anling Mountains, flows through Arxan City, and then heads west into the Xingan Left Banner of Hulunbuir Grassland, exits China south of the Handagai Forest Farm, enters Mongolia, and then makes a turn before naturally and smoothly returning to the land of China, flowing back to Lake Baikal. It is 399 kilometers long, with a basin area of 7,520 square kilometers in China. The Haralga River is like a loving daughter-in-law who married far away, and more like a mother, giving birth to northern nomadic peoples and forest-grassland civilization. It is not as turbulent as I imagined, but pure and joyful, with clear water like the face of a young girl. You can take a kayak from Rose Peak and glide down the river, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way.