Huaihua’s South Grape Valley Scenic Area (also known as Tongmu Grape Valley Scenic Area) is located in the southern suburb of Huaihua City, with a total area of 50 square kilometers. It is close to the Chinese Ecological City and Hongjiang City. Baotou-Maoming Expressway runs through the scenic area, which is set up with Tongmu Toll Station. Now it is a national 3A tourist attraction, a national leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration site, and a provincial agricultural tourism demonstration site. Huaihua South Grape Valley Scenic Area is the main producing area of wild grapes. Because of the species variation environment in the snow peak, the grape has different attributes from ordinary ones. It integrates fresh fruit and wine making, and is unique in Chinese convention. It belongs to the same species value as Eurasia. At present, there are more than 20,000 mu of grape planting area here. The vast grape trees are magnificent, beautiful, large-scale, and of great tourist value. It was registered to be the scientific research base of Hunan Agricultural University, and the Hunan pearl varieties under the research were listed in China’s geographical trademark protection list. Thanks to the protection of Xuefeng Mountain and the moisture of Wushui River, the climate in the territory is suitable, and the scenery is charming. The green mountains, a sea of grapes, fields, cottages, small bridges, flowing water, clear wind and bright moon, and the pastoral sound are the visual poetry and the unveiling painting. The century-old vine, the scenery of Nishui River, the fairyland of Taoyuan in Skateboard Creek, the blessed land in Dongkan Cave, the thousand-year-old ancient trees, the carving building of Xiangxi farmhouses hidden in the green water and green mountains, the melodious dance and toasting songs, and the aroma of cured meat smoked by the wanton floating raisin shells decorate the Grape Valley beautifully and vividly. In 2013, the Grape Valley was awarded the title of “the hometown of thorny grapes in China”, and was established as the mountain biking leisure sports base in Hunan Province. Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice in the world, wrote an inscription in his own hand, and praised Tongmu Putaogou as “the grape valley in southern China”.

Main Resource Distribution

1. Grape Valley: Centered on Dasongpo Nishuixi, Tongmu Town, more than 20,000 mu of wild thorny grapes are planted, with vines connected, and fruit leaves lined and green. Far away from the mountain and near the water, farmhouses are interlaced with each other, giving out the atmosphere of labor and poetic life here and there. (1) Grape Grand View Garden, with thousands of mu of vines connected, is spectacular. In the middle, there is a long corridor for viewing the grapes. (2) A Sea of Grapes, the original Nishuixi Reservoir, has mountains and rivers against each other. The farmhouses are vaguely embellished in grapes, like a paradise. (3) Hundred-year-old vine, or two hundred-year-old vines, with branches spread over ten mu. (4) A century-old well goes deep underground. (5) Winery is a demonstration of traditional wine processing process. (6) Agritainment flourishes by now with more than 10 families, entertaining the tourists themed with grapes.

2. Fengpo Village  (1) The ancestral hall of Tang Shiyuan Family, the first in the Imperial Examinations for Military Personnel, has a large courtyard and is relatively empty inside. Quotations of Chairman Mao are written inside and outside the courtyard, leaving an impressive historical trace of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). (2) The aqueduct during the Cultural Revolution is about 60 meters long on the right side of the Tang Family Ancestral Hall, which is walkable. (3) The mandarin duck tree in Fengpo is connected with the ancient bridge of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The root of the mandarin duck tree is connected and contains a stone. The ancient bridge is a stone arch bridge. It was built in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). There was a stone tablet as evidence, and the rear stone tablet was damaged. It has the artistic conception of an ancient vine, an old tree, and a crow.

3. Dongkan Village: (1) Fengshui  Dongkan Village is the Fengshui theme of hanging beams and ringing bells, that is, the top of the main peak of the village’s backward mountain goes as mild as a beam, and the top of the mountain where the village is located is like an ancient bell hanging on the beam formed by the top of the main peak, forming a Fengshui pattern of hanging beams and ringing bells. There are also relatively high mountains on the opposite side of the village, and two low ridges on the left and right sides of the village form two exits, but they have a certain height relative to the rice fields at the bottom of the valley, thus forming a paradise. (2) Villages  Most of them are stilted buildings, with a total of 30-40 buildings, which are distributed on bell shaped hills in the shape of “fish”. (3) Entrance to the village—Yanquan Cave  The cave has a diameter of about 300 meters, with seven bays inside, and two branch caves, with a total sightseeing distance of 800-1,000 meters. The seven bends in the cave form a number of “portals”, each of which can make people feel suddenly enlightened. Due to water dripping, certain cave features such as stalactites, stone mantles, terraced fields, stalagmites, goose tubes and so on, have been formed in the cave, which has a certain ornamental value. There are two small skylights in the tunnel, which form a light column when the sun shines. In the cave, three layers of cave sky are formed, and several large halls are shaped. If the water level in the tunnel is properly treated, you can also travel by boat. As a separate karst cave scenic area, there is a certain gap in resource endowments, but as an entrance to a village like a paradise, the effect has exceeded expectations. (4) Yanquan Ancient Well  At the foot of the mountain on the right side of the village, there was a huge spring, which was the source of the village’s former name, Yanquan Village. (5) Small Stone Forest+Red Beech Wood  There is a small stone forest with an area of about 1,000 square meters on the Yanquan Well. There are about 10 stone shapes in the stone forest. Four extremely precious ancient red beech trees and other kinds of ancient trees growing in the stone forest, which has a certain visual value. (6) Temple  On the north edge of the village, there are seven ancient maple trees in parallel, the ruins of the old temple, and a mountain spring below. (7) Hidden resources  There are hundreds of exposed stones on the hillsides on both sides of the village.

4. Mandongxi Village  (1) Village   There are nearly 100 characteristic dwellings on the foothills on both sides of Mandongxi, forming a broken circular village. (2) Features   Nearly 10 farmhouses in the village reflect the architectural style of “laughing eaves”, “single wheelbarrow” and three floor attics. (3) Others   There are 3 or 4 houses with window carvings, quotations from Chairman Mao and other technological features or characteristics of the times. (4) Grapes   The hills behind the village and the front terrace of the courtyard are widely planted with grapes.

(Translated by Tian Xia)