At the junction of southern Anhui and western Zhejiang, there are endless mountains and beautiful peaks. There are as many as four or five peaks with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters. During the long years when traffic was blocked and travel was inconvenient, the mountain people of Longtian in Xiuning County, who lived deep in the mountains, had to carry their bags on their backs, climb rocks and stairs, and climb mountains and ridges to reach Majin Town, Zhejiang, which was dozens of miles away to sell mountain products and purchase daily necessities.
In the late 1960s, due to war preparations, a road was built to Longtian Commune. Perhaps it's because the hillsides on both sides of the road are covered with green wild camellia trees. Mountain people habitually call this mountain range "Tea Seed Ridge" and call this winding road with steep slopes and sharp turns "Cha Seed Ridge Highway". Over time, Majinling and its mountain trails were gradually abandoned and forgotten by the mountain people.
Chazi Ridge is not only where wild camellia trees grow densely and vigorously, but is also the watershed between the two major tributaries of the Qiantang River, the Xin'an River and the Qujiang River. It is like a pair of lovers who parted ways, leaning on each other on Chazi Ridge and parting again on Chazi Ridge. The two clear springs gushing from Chazi Ridge merge into two streams, one flowing to the Qujiang River in western Zhejiang, and the other flowing into the Xin'an River in southern Anhui. The two clear springs arrive at the same place by different routes, and finally merge into one at the Qiantang River.
After more than half a century, when I took a bus and drove on this winding mountain road in Chaziling that left me with memories of my youth and dreams, I couldn't calm down and appreciate the beautiful scenery in the mountains. Looking out the car window at the mountain peaks towering into the clouds, and the sharp turns and dangerous passes that come towards me, my mind seems to have suddenly returned to those unforgettable years...
Purpose: To recall the author's hardships and optimistic spirit of the educated youth who went to the mountains and countryside half a century ago in the New Year, and to describe the customs and customs of the countryside in the 1960s as well as the simple, kind and hard-working humanistic sentiments of the villagers.