Night tour of Qilin City, I traveled back to the Northern Song Dynasty’s Daming Prefecture!

Standing beneath the 600-year-old ancient city wall, as light and shadow flow over the mottled bricks telling the heroic tales of "Water Margin," I suddenly realize—this small county town holds half of China’s epic history. A summer night breeze gently brushes past as I stand in Meicheng Square, before me a 340-meter-long street glows with dazzling lights. This is the newly opened "Daming Jihui" market as of July 18, with 36 stalls lined up. The air is filled with the savory aroma of Ermao roast chicken, the crispy fragrance of Guo Ba’s baked goods, and the rich smoky scent of Wubai Ju sausages. Daming County has somehow “moved” the entire ancient city’s lively atmosphere right into the heart of Handan City! Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums shakes the air. A group of dancers with vividly painted faces strides in boldly, their colorful sticks flashing like lightning—this is the nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage, the "Daming Yingge Dance"! The dancers’ agile movements and powerful rhythm ignite the crowd, with applause and cheers rising in waves. An elderly man beside me excitedly slaps his thigh: “This spirit is exactly like the heroic vigor of Daming Prefecture in ‘Water Margin’!” 🌃 Night Tour of Daming Prefecture: A Magical 24 Hours of Ancient and Modern Collision As night falls, I enter the city wall light and shadow show. The over 600-year-old Ming Dynasty bricks suddenly transform into a giant screen. Amid the neighing of warhorses, the Five Rites Stele inscribed by Su Shi and scenes of the Northern Song Dynasty’s Zhouqiao night market appear one after another. At the musical climax, a six-meter-tall mechanical Qilin emerges from the mist, its head gently swaying amid swirling clouds, parading alongside the Yingge Dance troupe—technology and millennia-old tradition perfectly fused at this moment! The ancient city revival plan is even more astonishing: - In the Metaverse D6 district, wearing AR glasses, I actually see Di Renjie judging cases in a virtual government office, and with a light touch, I can “pick up” a Northern Song porcelain vase to examine it closely. - In the immersive market on South Street, a flower girl dressed in Song Dynasty attire hands me a jasmine bracelet, while a coppersmith teaches me how to craft a Qilin-patterned copper lock on site. - Under the Hongjing Pavilion light show, the "Fish Leaping Lotus Glow" lanterns change with the music, young people sing along to "Small Town Story," and the air is filled with romance. The highlight is the Shuangtai Village script murder game! I drew the role of “Escorting the Birthday Tribute” and solved puzzles in real alleys. When I found the secret letter hidden in the sesame oil workshop, the sesame grinder winked and handed me a freshly baked fire cake: “Lord Yang Zhi, you need to eat well to have the strength to catch thieves!” 🍗 Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Guide: The Millennial Code on Your Taste Buds “You haven’t truly been to Daming if you haven’t burned your mouth on its snacks!” At 5:30 a.m., I crouch by the Huihui sesame cake stall. The third-generation inheritor, Uncle Ma, lifts the oven lid, releasing the fragrant burst of sesame. Grabbing a sesame paste and sugar double-flavored cake, the syrup mixed with rich sesame paste flows as I bite—1.5 yuan of happiness instantly explains why tourists buy thousands daily! The must-eat list is well known: - Ermao Roast Chicken Old Shop: 180 years of marinade soaking into free-range chicken, so tender the meat falls off the bone at a touch, with medicinal herbs scent rushing from tongue to nose (half chicken 38 yuan, perfect with sesame fire cake). - Guo Ba Fire Cake Main Store: The crisp “crack” sound is the ritual of eating fire cakes, the fresh meat filling’s oil fragrance mixed with the spicy lamb offal soup, 10 yuan per person to eat until you can barely stand. - Sesame Oil Workshop Experience: Grinding sesame by hand with a stone mill, watching amber-colored oil slowly seep out. Hot steamed buns dipped in freshly pressed oil smell so good neighbors might knock on your door! Surprises hide in the 330-meter-long Song Street banquet table. When lanterns light up at dusk, the “Hot and Spicy Skewers Feast” begins! A local auntie teaches me to dip secret recipe bean curd rolls: “We’ve been using this broth to entertain guests since the Northern Song!” Sitting on carved wooden stools, the hot pot steam warms my face, as if I can hear merchants’ laughter from a thousand years ago. 🏯 Exploring “City upon City”: The Temporal Fold of the Eastern Pompeii Daming Prefecture’s ancient city is called the “Eastern Pompeii” by scholars due to the rare “city upon city” phenomenon caused by Yellow River floods. Standing in the newly opened Ancient City Exploration Hall in 2025, 3D projections recreate astonishing scenes: Ming Dynasty city walls overlay the Northern Song Zhouqiao ruins, and deeper still, the Tang Dynasty Buddhist pagoda foundations faintly appear—seven dynasties’ relics converse vertically in space. The Stone Carving Museum is my secret treasure: - Facing the 12.23-meter-high Five Rites Stele, scanning the QR code activates AR, and the broken stele suddenly “restores”! Su Shi’s golden inscriptions float on the stone as a voice explains through headphones: “This stele survived the Tang Kaiyuan and Northern Song Zhenghe eras, and was damaged during the Jurchen invasion...” - In the experience area, children are rubbing copies of the Thousand Buddha Stele. A nine-year-old girl carefully lifts the rice paper, revealing 400 small Tang Dynasty Buddhas, exclaiming: “I’ve seen these Buddha images in my history book!” The most unforgettable is the Di Renjie Temple case-solving experience. Wearing a green official robe, I struck the judgment block and deduced the cattle thief from the “evidence.” When the verdict “Punish with three days of canal repair” was read, the staff playing the clerk stifled a laugh and handed me a bamboo slip: “Your honor is wise! Di Gong was just as kind back then.” 📜 Daming Must-Experience TOP 5 List 1. Climb the city wall at the hour of the Tiger: Spend 30 yuan to climb the wall in the dark, the blue-gray bricks reflecting the morning mist as the sun rises over the “Qilin City” ridge. 2. Sesame oil workshop breakfast: Freshly ground sesame paste on baked cakes, paired with lamb offal soup—5 yuan to taste the heroic spirit of "Water Margin." 3. Hanfu night tour at Jihui Market: Check in at Qilin Gate and Small Town Flower Alley, compose poetry with a two-person tumbler to win cultural souvenirs. 4. Ride the Rainbow Path along the Zhang River: Rent a bike for 15 yuan to weave through reed marshes, with autumn red cassia flowers white as snow. 5. Learn straw weaving and bring spring home: Follow intangible cultural heritage inheritors to weave dragonflies from wheat straw, reviving a living millennial craft in your hands. 📍 Practical Guide - Transportation: Take the free shuttle from Handan High-Speed Rail Station (with souvenirs!), taxi in the county costs 5-15 yuan. - Accommodation: Stay for 150 yuan in a Ming-Qing old house converted into a prefecture city inn, or 120 yuan at Daming Hotel with roast chicken just downstairs. - Tips: Rush to Huihui sesame cakes at 6 a.m., watch the mechanical Qilin parade at 7 p.m., and don’t forget to activate the AR function at the Stone Carving Museum! On the morning I left the city, I met volunteer guide Old Zhou at the city gate. Pointing to the wildflowers blooming outside the Weng City, he said: “These grew from seeds scattered by tourists last year—our Daming’s stories never end.” Suddenly, I understood why 2.97 million visitors flock to this small town: in the sound of the stone mill at the sesame oil workshop, in the fingers of the straw weaving elder, in the cracks of the ancient city wall, living history has never gone far. > While other attractions are busy building faux ancient streets, the people of Daming Prefecture pick up a piece of city brick, and it is the moonlight of the Northern Song.