Chapter 905 - 537: Night City
"Mr. Xia Liang, where will we go to play tonight?"
In the car, Lu Ruian looked at Xia Liang with some excitement and asked. Ever since witnessing the beautiful sights of the Great Tang Nightless City last night, he had been eagerly anticipating what other beautiful scenery awaited them tonight.
"Mr. Lu Ruian, there are many night scenes in Qingyun, such as the Great Tang Furong Garden, the largest cultural theme park in the Northwest, with countless lights at night and the world's largest water screen movie."
"Then there's the Little Goose Pagoda, built during the Tang Dynasty. The 'Morning Bell of the Goose Pagoda' is one of the Eight Views of Qinzhong in Qingyun."
"And there's also the Qingyun City Wall, which is over six hundred years old. It is the largest and most completely preserved ancient city wall currently existing in the Dragon Country. You can ride a bike on it and leisurely explore the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties."
"..."
Listening to Xia Liang's introduction, Lu Ruian suddenly became quite conflicted. With so many great places, he really didn't know how to choose.
"Mr. Xia Liang, how about you pick one for me."
Lu Ruian thought for a moment and said.
"We're not far from the Qingyun City Wall right now, so if Mr. Lu Ruian doesn't mind, let's go to the Qingyun City Wall."
"Okay, I'll follow Mr. Xia Liang's lead."
After Lu Ruian finished speaking, he also took out his camera and began to record some footage.
It didn't take long before the two arrived in front of the Qingyun City Wall. When Lu Ruian got out of the car, he was once again stunned by the sight of the city wall in front of him.
The city wall was incredibly magnificent, with countless lights illuminating the entire night sky. At this moment, there were people everywhere, and the bustling atmosphere was no less than that of the Great Tang Nightless City he visited last night.
"OMG, the nights in the Dragon Country are truly lively."
Lu Ruian exclaimed, and Xia Liang brought him to buy tickets and also rented two bicycles.
When they reached the city wall, Lu Ruian looked around and once again revealed a look of astonishment. From a distance, the entire Qingyun City was visible.
"So this is what the night of Qingyun City is like!"
He cast his gaze around and saw countless lights brightening up what was originally a pitch-black and silent night, dispelling the darkness completely.
The streets were a stream of cars and people, and apart from the darkness of the night, there was no difference from the daytime.
"Mr. Lu Ruian, let's get going. This journey will take at least two hours."
Xia Liang said with a smile.
The Qingyun City Wall is 13.74 kilometers long. If walking, it might take until dawn.
Even riding bicycles, it wouldn't be a short time.
Lu Ruian nodded, and then the two of them rode their bikes, feeling the nighttime breeze on their faces, heading in the direction of the city wall.
On the city wall, besides Xia Liang and Lu Ruian, there were also quite a few people riding bicycles.
When they saw Lu Ruian, the foreigner, these people showed curious eyes. After all, foreigners are still a rare sight in the Dragon Country.
"Mr. Lu Ruian, this Qingyun City Wall is a Ming Dynasty construction, built in the third year of Ming Emperor Hongwu, and it wasn't completed until the eleventh year of Hongwu. Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang once said, 'Build high walls, accumulate grain widely, and proclaim yourself king slowly.' This Qingyun City Wall was built on the foundation of the Sui and Tang imperial city walls."
As they rode bicycles, Xia Liang started to explain the history of the city wall to him.
"The strategic purpose of the Qingyun City Wall was for defense, so the thickness of the wall is even greater than its height, so it can be as stable as a mountain. Horses could even run and drills could be conducted on top."
As Xia Liang spoke, a main tower appeared not far away.
This main tower is over thirty meters tall and more than forty meters long. It has a hip-and-gable roof with upturned corners and triple eaves, and the bottom floor is surrounded by a corridor.
Especially at night, under the illumination of lights, this main tower appears even more ancient and majestic.
In addition, there are moats, drawbridges, corner towers, parapets, and other military facilities on the city wall.
"Mr. Xia Liang, this city wall is so spectacular, how did the people of the Dragon Country manage to build such a wall hundreds of years ago?"
Listening to Xia Liang's introduction, Lu Ruian was astonished. Even building this city wall today would be a huge project, not to mention hundreds of years ago.
"Mr. Lu Ruian, this Qingyun City Wall embodies the wisdom of our ancient Dragon Country laborers. Every stone here was forged with their blood and sweat. Although I am from the Dragon Country, I am still deeply impressed every time I see such a magnificent city wall."
Xia Liang said seriously, with a bit of longing. He seemed to see the image of ancient people hundreds of years ago arduously stacking stone by stone to build this city wall.
The two continued forward, and Lu Ruian's eyes turned toward the scenery outside the city wall, appreciating the sights of Qingyun City.
"Mr. Xia Liang, why are there these gaps in the city wall?"
Lu Ruian asked, looking at the continuous crenellated low wall built on the outer side of the city wall.
"Mr. Lu Ruian, this is called a battlement, also known as a parapet. There are nearly six thousand such parapets on the entire city wall."
"The parapets have embrasures, which can be used for shooting arrows and observing, while the low wall on the other side is called a breast wall, without embrasures, mainly to prevent ancient soldiers from falling off while walking."
Xia Liang explained with a smile.
"Mr. Xia Liang, what is this then?"
"This is called a watchtower. Every 120 meters along the city wall, a watchtower is built, protruding from the wall, with the top flush with the wall surface. It is specially designed for defeating enemies climbing the walls.
The distance to the watchtower is exactly half, just within the effective range of a bow, making it convenient to shoot invading enemies from the side.
There are ninety-eight watchtowers on the Qingyun City Wall, each with a garrison tower on top."
"..."
The two did not move quickly. When they saw some peculiar structures on the city wall, Lu Ruian would stop to ask questions, waiting for Xia Liang to explain.
In this way, the two walked and stopped, also visiting many sights on the city wall.
There is the grand and magnificent Vermilion Bird Gate, with gate posts made of marble and door sills made of bluestone engraved with beautifully lined foliage patterns.
There's the Hanguang Gate inside, equipped with artificial lighting and air conditioning systems, where they visited the Tang Imperial City Wall Hanguang Gate Site Museum.
There's also the Kui Star Tower built on the Wenchang Gate, the only non-military related facility on the Qingyun City Wall.
...
Standing on the city wall and gazing into the distance, the two suddenly felt a surge of immense pride.
It was as if they had traveled back to ancient times, becoming soldiers on the city wall, holding weapons to face countless enemies about to besiege the city below.
"The culture of the Dragon Country is indeed profound. Just a city wall has such history."
Lu Ruian couldn't help but marvel once more.
Originally, it was supposed to end in about two hours, but due to their stopping from time to time, it ended up taking four hours to conclude.