Cinnabar in Tongren: A historical treasure and medicinal gold.

🌈Tongren, Guizhou, is located on the mysterious Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and is famous for its abundant natural resources and long history and culture. Tongren is a famous cinnabar producing area in China and even the world. Cinnabar is undoubtedly a shining pearl of Tongren.
✨Tongren City is located in the northeast of Guizhou Province, in the heart of the Wuling Mountains. The natural environment here is unique, with beautiful mountains and rivers and abundant mineral resources. In the Tongren area, many places produce cinnabar, among which Wanshan District and Jiangkou County are the most famous. The cinnabar crystals in these places have a tight structure and bright color, and are known for their high quality and large quantity. They have been highly regarded since ancient times.
🔴Historical Status of Cinnabar
In ancient China, cinnabar was widely used in religious, cultural and medical fields due to its unique color and efficacy.
Cinnabar was regarded as a treasure by the royal family and was even included in the list of tributes. Many emperors and generals loved cinnabar, believing that it could bring good luck and longevity.
Cinnabar occupies an important position in Taoist culture. The Taoist classic "Baopuzi" records the magical effects of cinnabar, making Taoists highly admire cinnabar.
🔵Folklore
In Tongren City, there are countless folklores about cinnabar. It is said that in ancient times, a ferocious monster wreaked havoc on the villagers. A Taoist priest used cinnabar to draw a talisman to drive away the monster, so that the villagers could live in peace. Since then, every Spring Festival, every household in Tongren City will light cinnabar to ward off evil and pray for peace and good fortune in the new year. This traditional custom is still passed down in the streets and alleys of Tongren City.
🟣Medicinal Value
Cinnabar has the effect of calming the mind and calming the spirit, and is very effective for insomnia and dreaminess. In traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, a moderate amount of cinnabar is often added to achieve the purpose of calming the mind and relieving anxiety.
The heat-clearing and detoxifying effects of cinnabar are widely recognized. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, cinnabar is yang in nature and can dispel heat toxins from the body. It has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on hot diseases such as colds and coughs.
Modern medical research shows that mercuric sulfide in cinnabar has good anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral effects. This makes cinnabar have high research and development value in the field of antiviral drugs.
🏮In addition, traditional Chinese medicine classics such as "Compendium of Materia Medica" also record the medicinal value of cinnabar in detail. These classics show that cinnabar has a certain therapeutic effect on auxiliary treatment of nervous system diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
🚗Transportation: To get from Tongren City to Cinnabar Ancient Town, you can choose to drive yourself or take public transportation. By car, drive in the direction of Jiangkou-Tongren, the whole journey is about 32 kilometers. By public transportation, you can take a bus to Cinnabar Ancient Town from the passenger station or train station in Tongren City.
📝Recommended Must-Sees:
🏡Cinnabar Ancient Town is a nostalgic mining town that preserves old buildings from the 1950s to 1980s. Here, you can visit the Mining Park and Dansha Valley Trail, and experience the historical weight and natural beauty.
💛Wanshan Mercury Mine Industrial Heritage Museum showcases the distribution of mercury resources in the world and China, as well as the history of mining and smelting in Wanshan Mercury Mine. It is a good place to learn about local history and culture.
❤️Cinnabar Grand View Garden is a place to comprehensively introduce and display cinnabar culture. You can appreciate precious cinnabar cultural collections here.
💜Special Souvenirs: In Cinnabar Ancient Town, you can buy some cinnabar crafts as souvenirs, not only as a memory, but also as a gift to friends and relatives.
✨In short, cinnabar in Tongren, Guizhou attracts worldwide attention for its high quality and rich cultural connotation. It not only occupies an important position in history and culture, but also shows great potential in modern medicine. In the future, with the continuous advancement of science and technology and the in-depth research of natural medicines, the value of cinnabar will be further explored and utilized.