The history of Gulan dates back to the Shang Dynasty. The city walls that remain today are relics from the Ming Dynasty. Although this place has a long history, it is not well-known, and the county town is small, with very few outsiders visiting.
Fatty, Big Gold Tooth, and I looked like three drowned rats as we asked around for directions. We found a guesthouse nearby, and it turned out that they only provided hot showers for one hour a day, with half an hour still left.
After a quick hot shower, we finally felt somewhat refreshed. We asked the staff at the guesthouse if there was anything to eat. They said they only had noodles, so we ordered a few bowls with extra chili, which made us sweat profusely.
While we were eating, the old man in charge of cooking the noodles came over and asked if we were from Beijing. Hearing his accent, I realized he didn’t sound like a local from the northwest, so I chatted with him for a bit. His surname was Liu, and he was originally from Tong County in Beijing. He had been living in Gulan for several decades.
Old Liu asked how we ended up in such a messy state, looking like we had just been pulled from a pot. I recounted our experience in the Yellow River, explaining how we couldn’t tell what kind of creature it was—whether it was a fish or a turtle, or something else entirely. I had never heard of anything so large in the Yellow River. Thankfully, our small boat was sturdy; if it had been a wooden one, we might have ended up in the water.
Old Liu said, “I’ve seen something like that too. The boatmen say it’s the river god. This year, with the high water, strange creatures come out. I’ve lived by the Yellow River for half my life. Back when I was under fifteen, before the liberation, someone caught one alive, and I saw it with my own eyes. If you really want to see it, I can tell you a place where you might have a chance.”
I was intrigued. Since we were new to the area and unfamiliar with it, finding antiques nearby wouldn’t be easy. Old Liu had lived in Gulan for many years and seemed to know a lot about the local situation. I thought it would be wise to ask him more about local history, such as any ancient tombs or artifacts that had been unearthed, as this information would be very useful to us.
So, I suggested to Old Liu that since it was still early, Fatty should go out and buy a few bottles of liquor and some snacks, inviting him to our room for drinks and a chat about local customs.
Old Liu was a big fan of drinking and loved a good gathering. As soon as he heard there would be alcohol, he readily agreed.
Fatty was reluctant to run errands again but was tempted by the thought of drinking. He changed into clean clothes and went to a nearby shop to buy two bottles of liquor and some canned food.
Outside, the rain continued to fall lightly. We closed the door in our room, using the bed as a table, and sat together to drink. Old Liu was already talkative, and after a couple of shots of liquor, his nose turned red, and he couldn’t stop chatting.
Big Gold Tooth asked Old Liu, “Master Liu, you mentioned earlier that you’ve seen the creature we encountered in the Yellow River. What exactly was it? Was it a giant turtle?”
Old Liu shook his head. “No, it wasn’t a giant turtle. It was actually a big fish. I don’t know its scientific name, but many locals have seen it and call it the Iron-Head Dragon King. The boatmen are superstitious and say it’s the river god in disguise. You usually don’t see it, only when there’s a flood.”
Fatty asked, “How big is this fish?”
Old Liu replied, “Let me put it this way: I once saw one when I was by the river. The water came quickly and receded just as fast, and because the Gulan riverbed is shallow, a half-sized Iron-Head Dragon King got stranded. Back then, before liberation, many superstitious people wanted to return the dragon king to the river, but before they could act, it died. People gathered by the river to burn incense and pray; it was a huge scene, with crowds everywhere. I was just there to watch.”
I asked, “Master Liu, what did this fish look like?”
Old Liu said, “This big fish has seven layers of green scales, and its head is black and harder than iron. Just the head is as big as the front of a truck.”
Fatty and I were amazed. “That sounds almost like a small whale! How could there be such a big fish in the river? There are truly all kinds of strange things in this world.” I asked what happened afterward—was the Iron-Head Dragon King buried or eaten?
Old Liu chuckled. “It wasn’t a whale, but a fish that big is very rare. You hardly ever see one; it’s almost like a mythical creature. Some superstitious folks say it’s the dragon king transformed, which is why it has such a name. I’ve heard that even if someone catches it, they have to release it. The meat is tough and old; who would dare to eat it? When the Iron-Head Dragon King died on the shore, the weather was scorching hot, and it started to rot within a day. The stench was unbearable; you could smell it from miles away. This situation could easily lead to an outbreak of disease in the area. So, everyone decided to cut the fish up and burn it, leaving just the skeleton on the riverbank.”
Big Gold Tooth sighed, “What a pity! If we could get the bones of that strange fish to a museum and make a specimen, many people would come to see it.”
Old Liu nodded. “Exactly! But back then, no one had the guts to do that. They were afraid the dragon king would punish them, and it would lead to another flood.”
I asked, “Master Liu, you mentioned there’s a place where we can see the Iron-Head Dragon King fish. Are you talking about this one? Could it be that after all these years, the fish’s bones are still preserved? Are they still lying on the riverbank?”
Old Liu replied, “That’s right, but not on the riverbank. At that time, to prevent an outbreak of disease, the locals burned the fish’s flesh and internal organs as an offering to the river god. They were discussing how to deal with the fish bones when a businessman from another province arrived. This man was very superstitious and offered some money to build a temple for the fish bones at Longling, not far from here.”
Big Gold Tooth asked, “A fish bone temple? I’ve heard of something like that in Tianjin. Isn’t it built with fish bones as beams and a fish head as the door, dedicated to the river god?”
Old Liu said, “Tianjin has one too? I hadn’t heard of that. But it’s quite similar. The businessman claimed to often travel by sea and river, so he funded the construction of this fish bone temple. It’s not very big, without even a courtyard, and it’s just like an ordinary dragon king temple. They used fish bones as the framework, and the skull of the big fish served as the temple door. It was just a small shrine with a clay statue of the dragon king. When it was first built, some people who fell ill or faced drought would go there to light incense and make wishes. It’s quite funny, really; it never worked even once. If you went to the fish bone temple to pray for rain, it would only get drier. So, it didn’t take long before the incense offerings stopped. The businessman who funded the temple never showed up again.”
I asked, “Is the fish bone temple still there?”
Old Liu nodded. “Yes, but it’s been abandoned for a long time. The clay statue of the dragon king collapsed within a couple of years. Some say it was because the businessman’s heart wasn’t sincere or that he had done something morally wrong, so the dragon king didn’t want to accept his offerings. Plus, the temple was built in a hollow of Longling Mountain, making it hard to reach. Over time, no one went there anymore, and many people even forgot about it. During the Cultural Revolution, not even the Red Guards thought to destroy the fish bone temple. In fact, even if they had, there wouldn’t have been much to destroy. But the structure and the fish bones are still there; if you have the chance, you can go take a look.”
Fatty laughed and cursed, “What’s there to see? The three of us almost became fish food today; it’s better not to go.”
However, Big Gold Tooth had other plans. He discussed with me and decided that after resting for a day or two, we should go to Longling to check out the fish bone temple. Who knows, such a large fish skeleton might be worth something. At the very least, we could sell it to a natural history museum and cover our travel expenses.
We continued to encourage Old Liu to drink and asked him if there were any antiques or ancient tombs unearthed nearby.
Old Liu, slightly tipsy, spoke with a bit of a slur, but sometimes the truth comes out after a few drinks, and he shared some local secrets.
He mentioned that recently, several ancient tombs from the Song Dynasty had been washed out by the water in Gulan. However, they weren’t noble tombs; apart from a few nearly decayed bones, there were only some broken pots and jars.
The most valuable items unearthed here were three large iron monkeys discovered during a drought when the Yellow River was nearly dry. Each weighed several hundred pounds. After removing the rust, they found beautiful and smooth carvings on the iron monkeys, which were gilded on the outside. To this day, it seems no one has figured out what these iron-cast monkeys were used for.
Some say they were used to ward off evil spirits during the Tang Dynasty, while others believe they were offerings to the river. What ultimately happened to them—whether they were sent to a museum or melted down during the Great Leap Forward—remains unknown.
The most bizarre part is that before the three iron monkeys were discovered in the mud, many people had dreamt of three old men with white beards, pleading to be spared. As the story spread, more and more people claimed that these three old men were the spirits of the iron monkeys in the river.
During that year’s Spring Festival, families with members born in the Year of the Monkey (Chinese zodiac) wore red pants and tied red sashes around their waists, fearing retaliation from the three iron monkey spirits. In the end, nothing major happened in the area, although a few people did have some bad luck, but that was mostly due to their own actions.
The Yellow River is home to many strange things, and we had heard about them. The iron bull displayed in the Yellow River Museum is said to have been used to calm the river. During the late Yuan Dynasty, there were even tales of a one-eyed stone man being pulled from the Yellow River. At that time, there was a peasant uprising, and a nursery rhyme circulated saying, “Don’t think the stone man has one eye; he stirs the Yellow River and causes chaos.” While this story is just a legend and not to be taken seriously, it still reflects the ancient mysteries of the Yellow River, which is likely hiding countless secrets beneath its muddy waters.
However, we weren’t particularly interested in iron monkeys, iron bulls, or stone men. We kept pressing Old Liu for information about nearby ancient tombs and relics, and if anyone had antiques they wanted to sell.
Iron Bulls
Old Liu thought for a moment and said, “So you’re in the antique trade. If you had come a few years earlier, you would have found a lot. Now, most of it has been collected. It’s not just local antique dealers; the government has been collecting too, often more than ten times a year. With so much being taken, there’s hardly anything left.”
He continued, “In recent years, there have been a series of tomb robberies around Gulan, and many locals have gotten involved. When autumn comes and the winds pick up, you’ll see the ground full of holes from the digging. If you’re not careful while walking, you might easily fall into one. The areas outside the city where ancient tombs are concentrated have been dug up so much that they’re practically like a sieve.”
Old Liu then said, “Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered something I heard. I’ll share it, and you can take it as you will. I once heard an old local mention that there’s a Tang Dynasty tomb in Longling, said to be quite large. In recent years, many tomb raiders have tried to find it, but no one has succeeded. The mountains in Longling are too dense, and the tomb is hidden very deep. There’s even debate about whether it really exists. After all, these stories have been passed down orally for many years, so they may not be true. There are many legends about ancient tombs in our area, and everyone has their own version. Some say it’s a large Tang Dynasty tomb, while others claim it belongs to a different dynasty. In any case, they are just legends, and no one has ever seen it.”