Arguably the oldest mountain village in Henan, beautiful scenery, few people, free, just 4 hours from Zhengzhou

After seeing the hustle and bustle of big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, people begin to yearn for remote small villages. It could be human nature, or it could be the influence of countless period TV dramas, but I prefer to believe that more and more people realize that, compared to 5A scenic spots like Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple, Longtan Gorge, and Laojun Mountain, small villages have a natural beauty.

In Luoyang, Henan, such sparsely populated and economically underdeveloped villages are countless. In Luoning County, Luoyang, there is a small village called Gudong Village, named for being east of Guxian Town, just a 4-hour drive from Zhengzhou. Like most villages, due to a lack of economic development, the young people have gone out to work, leaving only some elderly people to hold on to this land.

However, in the past two years, more and more people have been visiting the village. On weekends or holidays, groups of people stream into the village—some are painters, some are families, some are backpackers—all just to take two days away from their busy and complicated lives to experience the tranquility and simplicity of an ancient village, to live like the locals, and to give their souls a moment of rest.

I remember in "The Ordinary World," the characters worked hard for half a lifetime just to build a few cave dwellings! In Gudong Village, there are also many cave dwellings scattered about. If you trace their history, they likely date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Moreover, these cave dwellings are not like modern residential buildings, neatly arranged; they are irregularly distributed, built according to the terrain, not only uneven in layout but also varying in the size of the entrances and the depth of the caves—perhaps because each cave owner had different tastes.

Even though these cave dwellings are now dilapidated, you can still see the care that went into their construction back then, because in those days, having a cave dwelling was necessary to marry and start a family, to settle down. Some cave dwellings still have residents, and they might tell you stories about the construction of the caves!

After seeing the cave dwellings, driving 25 kilometers takes you to Xizi Lake in Guxian. If you come in late autumn, you can see the most beautiful side of Xizi Lake—the mountains across the lake covered with red leaves, reflected in the clear water, and various birds skimming over the water—it's like an oil painting. "Boats floating on water, people wandering in a painting" is no exaggeration; but forget it in winter.

After a day of fun, as dusk falls, nearby visitors rush home, while those from farther away quickly look for nearby accommodation. After settling in, they wander the small streets to find which place serves the most fragrant and authentic Luoning steamed meat!