is 20 kilometers north of Laiyang city. Under a cliff, at the intersection of Xian River and Xiliu River, there is a natural large inlet. Laiyang Beixiang and nearby Qixia, Zhaoyuan, Laixi, Haiyang and other places have known that this bay is called Shennan Bay a long time ago.
There are many mysteries in Shennan Bay, which are full of gods and fairy spirits. Many allusions and myths have been passed down among the people for hundreds of years, and they are even miraculous. Of course, some mysterious phenomena can now be solved using science, but there are also some mysteries that are difficult to solve.
The mystery of not drying up
No matter how dry the weather is, even in the year of severe drought, no one has seen the water level of Shennan Bay drop, and the water level is always level with the beach by the river. According to folklore about this phenomenon, there is a dragon in the bay (a dragon is a legendary dragon that can produce water, but it is not a dragon) . When there is a drought or water shortage, the dragon will produce water in the bay. There are also legends that the bottom of Shennan Bay is connected with the Laiyang South China Sea (i.e. the Yellow Sea). When the water level drops, the water from the South China Sea flows back. Scientifically explained, it should be that the entire southern slope of the bay is rocky, and the rocky layer is rich in groundwater.
Taking advantage of this phenomenon, in the early 1970s, Dongjiangezhuang Village, Tangezhuang Town, near Shennan Bay, broke through the shackles of the gods and built a water pumping station on the south slope, which has benefited the people to this day.
The mystery of the water depth
Shennan Bay doesn’t look big, but no one can tell the depth of the water clearly yet. There are many young and middle-aged people in the surrounding villages who are good at swimming and can dive. They have gone into the water many times to explore the bottom, but they always gave up because the water temperature was too low and their bodies shivered from the cold.
In the winter of 1970, the People's Liberation Army went to Xijiang Gezhuang Village for training. After hearing the mysterious legend, taking advantage of the training opportunity, they took a pickaxe and a diving suit to the nearby Shennan Bay. Breaking open the ice and diving underwater, there was no success. The divers said that there was a large rock hole deep in the water towards the south slope, and the bottom of the hole could not be seen. Later, someone also tied a rope with a large weight and lowered it all the way down. They prepared more than 80 meters of rope but did not try it to the end.
Why is there such a deep inlet beside the river beach? This can be explained by its special geographical location. After the confluence of the Xiliu River and the Xiliu River, the water flows directly from the northwest direction to the rocky slope of Shennan Bay, forming a large whirlpool. Over time, the inlet under the rock will swirl deeper and deeper. When floods occur, the vortex will be larger, and there will be no sediment deposition. The deeper you go, the more it slopes inward along the rocky slope. It’s no surprise that the depth of the water is unpredictable.
The Mystery of Shenshui
Shennan Bay is also called Shenshui Bay outside. For hundreds of years, not only people from three miles and five villages have come to ladle the sacred water, but also people from hundreds of miles away have come here specifically to worship the gods and ladle water. It is said that the divine water can cure diseases by drinking it or externally, such as gastrointestinal diseases, skin diseases, coughs, insomnia , etc. It is even more effective for minor problems such as headache and brain fever after drinking it.
In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there was a temple built on the south slope, called the gate. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Shennan Bay is very lively. There are people singing, performing arts, performing Yangko dances, selling sugar balls, and selling steamed buns on the hillside and on the ice. It’s like going to a big fair. On the July 22nd God of Wealth Festival , people come here one after another to burn incense, kowtow, set off firecrackers, throw cakes and wine into the bay, make wishes and pray for God's blessing.
It was not until after the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially after the "Cultural Revolution", that the place became quiet. But in the early 1980s, a peasant woman "became a god" appeared in Dongjiang Gezhuang Village, and the trend of worshiping gods and scooping water suddenly emerged, and its influence was even greater. For a few years, people lined up at the bay every day to scoop water, and the water surface floated. Full of various tributes.
The water in Shennan Bay is really so magical. Can it cure diseases? If it is completely impossible, I think it is impossible for so many people to believe it and it has been prevalent for hundreds of years. From a scientific point of view, water may contain some special ingredients, such as minerals, trace elements, etc., coupled with psychological effects, which is often said to be "three parts of the disease and seven parts of the spirit". After drinking the magic water, the condition will be natural. It will be reduced by half.
The Mystery of Ice Flowers
It is said that in the coldest winter, beautiful ice flowers will form on the ice of Shennan Bay. There are blooming flowers, including plum blossoms, peach blossoms, pear ... There are also groups of ducks, goslings, and small fish... What you see looks like something, what you see is what you see, the ice flowers in Shennan Bay have become a cloud. Great spectacle.
During the severe winter, there is an endless stream of people who come to see the ice flowers, burn incense, kowtow and worship gods. I heard from the living elderly people in their 80s and 90s that they had seen it before when they could remember. Later, as the climate warmed, the ice became less thick and the water became less clear, so this spectacle disappeared.
The Mystery of the Turtle Spirit
Before the construction of the Bathing Reservoir, Shennan Bay was rich in various aquatic animals and plants, and there were many freshwater fish and turtles. On midsummer afternoons, you can often see turtles of all sizes sunning themselves on the beach on the shore of Shennan Bay. Someone once saw a black sea on the shore, and one of them was in the center of a group of turtles. The turtle cover was as big as the mouth of the Bayin pot. It was guessed that it was the legendary turtle spirit (actually it is a name for the turtle that has become a demon and an immortal) . After the construction of the Bathing Reservoir, there were no longer large groups of turtles coming out to bask in the sun. Perhaps most of the fish and turtles in the bay floated into the reservoir.
The Mystery of Death
Many lives have been mysteriously lost in Shennan Bay. Some people drowned while swimming, some accidentally slipped into the water and could not get out, some were cast into fishing nets and fell into the water, and some used explosives to blow up fish and blew themselves up. etc. Legend has it that some people disappeared in Shennan Bay for no reason. It was horrifying to hear that it was true and false. Some people said that the dragon was causing trouble, while others speculated that the turtle spirit was offended. But one thing is certain, Shennan Bay is the water area with the highest mortality rate in nearby reservoirs, ponds, rivers, etc.
The Bathing Reservoir was built in 1958. Shennan Bay, located in the upstream, is often submerged by the reservoir water and is only revealed during the dry season.
Today’s Shennan Bay is less mysterious and lively, and it is gradually forgotten by people. But the bay is still there, the rocks on the south slope are there, and the water in the bay is still clear. What is left for us to think about is: How to use the magic and mysterious legends of Shennan Bay to benefit the people? Can we develop tourism resources and integrate them with surrounding rural tourism while protecting water sources?
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