China ＂hometown of gunpowder＂ will build China’s first gunpowder industry museum.

　　Although the birthplace of gunpowder, one of China’s four great inventions, is still a mystery, there is no doubt that Laojunshan area in Jiangyou is a veritable "hometown of gunpowder" as the largest industrial site of gunpowder discovered in China at present. A few days ago, the reporter learned from Laojun Mountain Scenic Area in Jiangyou City that the first gunpowder industry museum in China will be opened in October this year in Laojun Mountain in Zhonghua Town, and the history of the ancients collecting and smelting nitrate will be restored in the museum, and the gunpowder museum will also witness the eternal mystery of China’s gunpowder production. It is reported that the Laojunshan Ancient Glauber Site is actively making a lot of preliminary preparations for declaring the world cultural heritage.

　　find

　　More than 20 rich cultural relics in the ancient Xiaodong site

　　In December 2003, some cultural relics experts who planned tourism development for the local area first discovered many caves densely covered on the cliffs of Laojun Mountain, and since then, the ancient cave site of Laojun Mountain has attracted attention. Laojunshan Ancient Nitrate Cave Site is located in six towns and villages in jiangyou city, including Zhong Hua, Xinchun, Yongsheng and Wensheng, with a length of 21 kilometers. More than 20 ancient nitrate caves have been found, and Zhonghua Town is located between Sichuan and Gansu ancient roads, which is said to be the intersection of ancient important Yinping Road and Jinniu Road.

　　Professor Xu Xiangdong, a Beijing cultural relic expert (founder of National Cultural Heritage Administration Museum of Ancient Architecture), took the lead in exploring the ancient nitrate site in Laojun Mountain. According to him, Laojun Mountain is in a dangerous terrain. The local people call it "the nitrate cave" not only the Chaoyang cave, the largest nitrate cave in China, but also the Tianyu cave, the official cave, the rhinoceros cave, the goblin cave, the white cave, the dry cave, the horn cave, the Jiuxian cave and the Yanzi cave, which are several hundred meters deep. Xu Xiangdong and other experts felt "shocked" after entering the Nitrate Cave for inspection. They gave a high evaluation: "Its early time, large scale and high output rank first in the ancient gunpowder raw material sites discovered so far." On-the-spot investigation found that Laojunshan area is also an area rich in gunpowder-related cultural relics, and pottery fragments of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties were found in Chaoyang Cave, most of which were living utensils. Smoke and dust accumulated due to salting and lighting, the thickest part is 13.5 cm. Chaoyang cave is about 7.5 kilometers long, and there are stoves, nitrate pools and scraps everywhere. In the adjacent Yanzi Cave and Gaoguan Cave, such relics can also be seen everywhere. Therefore, it is more appropriate to build a gunpowder museum on Laojun Mountain.

　　conceive

　　Visitors can personally experience the process of making nitrate.

　　Rows of neat cooktops, nitrate pits and pools of different sizes … Visitors can even touch the labor tools and daily necessities used by the ancients themselves, and imagine the scene of the ancients cooking nitrate with wooden sticks at the hearth … The reporter saw the scene of the future gunpowder industry museum through three-dimensional animation in the office of Laojunshan Scenic Area. According to the preliminary plan, on the basis of Laojun Mountain Scenic Area, the museum complex will use special stone to imitate the working site of the ancient people making nitrate at that time along the path of climbing the nitrate cave, and the whole planned area will reach 3000 square meters. The gate of the Gunpowder Museum will be designed to look like a cave mouth, and the exhibition directors, widths and heights in the museum will also be simulated with reference to the real cave. The tunnels and working tables will try their best to be original, and relevant knowledge will be hung on the two walls of the tunnels. Stark Chan, general manager of Laojunshan Scenic Area, said: "This will enable tourists to experience industrial activities such as boiling and making nitrate in the nitrate field, and at the same time have a systematic understanding of the development of China’s gunpowder industry."

　　probe the secrets

　　How to smelt nitrate in the nitrate cave?

　　How is the nitrate in the cave formed? How did the ancients find nitrate caves in such dangerous mountains? And collect nitrate in the harsh natural environment of ancient times for the production of gunpowder? The reporter decided to go to the Xiaodong site with the staff of the scenic spot to find out.

　　Because the cave is almost opaque, the staff in the scenic spot have prepared torches in advance. The torches are made of local materials and diesel oil in bamboo tubes. Our destination is Tianyu Cave on Laojun Mountain in Zhong Hua. Along the rugged mountain road, under the leadership of Lao Zeng, a scenic spot worker, we quickly climbed Tianyu Cave. At the mouth of the cave, the reporter felt the temperature plummet. On the stone wall of the cave, Lao Zeng gently dug some white powder with his forefinger. He said, "This is nitrate. From the geological point of view, it is inferred that caves such as rain and rain are naturally formed, and nitrate is’ hidden’ in the soil layer, which was discovered by the ancients and mined. The mined nitrate soil must be soaked in water first, so there are nitrate pools. After the nitrate soil soaked to a certain degree is taken out of the nitrate pool, it is boiled in the boiler on the stove, and the boiled nitrate is crystal. "

　　Under the guidance of Lao Zeng, through the dim light of the torch, the reporter saw several stoves and nitrate pools in several corners of the cave, and obvious traces of smoking could be seen. The diameter of the stove is between 60 cm and 150 cm. Locals say that the hole is about 100 meters long and five or six meters wide. According to this estimate, Tianyu Cave can accommodate dozens or even hundreds of people working at the same time. Go to the end of the cave, you can hear the sound of rushing water. At the top of the cave tens of meters high, clear springs pour down, and there are ditches in the cave. It seems that people already knew how to draw water. All indications show that this place is a production base of advanced technology.

　　Coming out of the cave, Lao Zeng told the reporter: "This cave is not large in scale compared with the other 20 nitrate caves on Laojun Mountain, but the nitrate residue and scraps left by the ancients in the nitrate cave are piled up like mountains, and the traces of artificial mining are clearly visible. Regrettably, the age of Tianyu Cave and other nitrate caves on Laojun Mountain cannot be accurately demonstrated, but according to the rough judgment of the physical objects in the caves, it is certain that these nitrate caves and crafts were left over from the Qing Dynasty at the latest. "

　　prospect

　　The ancient mirabilite site is actively preparing for the application for World Heritage.

　　In May 2006, Laojunshan Ancient Glauber Site was approved by the State Council as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units, and now Laojunshan Ancient Glauber Site has launched a sprint to the world cultural heritage. In order to declare the site of ancient glauber’s salt in Laojun Mountain as a world cultural heritage, in September 2006, Jiangyou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government also invited international experts on ancient sites and cultural relics to inspect Laojun Mountain. Experts agree that Laojunshan Ancient Glauber Site is an ancient industrial civilization, which has a certain foundation for applying for the World Heritage because it is related to China’s "Four Great Inventions".

　　Sharla Cheung, director of the jiangyou city Cultural Management Institute, said that there are some problems to be verified in the Laojunshan Ancient Nitrate Site itself, such as the historical dating of the ancient Nitrate Cave and the excavation management of the Nitrate Cave. At present, jiangyou city is doing a lot of argumentation work on these problems, and will conduct in-depth archaeological excavation when conditions are ripe, and strive to make all preparations for the application for the World Heritage. (Reporter Liu Wenting Photography Li Yang)

Editor: Jufu