The ancient town of Louta, a strategic location that must be contested by military strategists, is the birthplace of the delicate and refined Shifan music

Louta, also known as 'Xianyan', is a key strategic location in Zhejiang province, established in 897 AD during the late Tang Dynasty. 'Surrounded by mountains and a winding stream, half is a fairy source and half is a city'. The beauty of Louta lies in its landscape, its delicate Shifan music, and its thousand-year-old elegance. During the Battle of Hangyue, Qian Liu's generals, Lou Jin and Xu Hong, chose to live on a hill at the mouth of Zhoukou Creek, which later developed into a market town called 'Loujia Tower'. Louta has no tower, the 'tower' actually refers to a mound. Continuing the Liangzhu culture from 5000 years ago, Louta is a small town with a continuous cultural vein and ecological vitality. It is one of the birthplaces of the Lou clan in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and a strategic location that must be contested by military strategists. King Qian Liu of Wuyue wanted to establish a state here, and he split the rock on Qianyan Mountain with an axe, leaving eighteen axe marks, commonly known as 'Eighteen Axes'. Xu Xun, a representative of the Xuan Yan poetry school, once lived in seclusion on Yongxing Jue Mountain, which is today's Xiaoshan Xuandu Rock. Because of 'building a hall with trees, and being naturally elegant', Xiaoshan got its name, and Louta got the name 'Xianyan'. The story of the hermitage of the famous scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the poems of Wang Bo and Meng Haoran on the road of Tang poetry, add a bit of poetry and romance to Louta. Zhidun preached and taught here, Huang Chao abandoned his sword and built the 'Tangtuan Temple', Lou Shougao devoted himself to education and created the reputation of the 'Zhuangyuan Building', Yang Weizhen studied in the Paicui Building, Lou Ying wrote books and propagated Shifan music, and the scholar Mao Qiling of the early Qing Dynasty lived in seclusion on Baiyao Mountain (Pen Holder Mountain), and the prince Li Shixian stationed in Shangxinwu... Lou Ying, a medical scientist of the Ming Dynasty, wrote 'Medical Outline', which later became a reference for Li Shizhen's 'Compendium of Materia Medica'. He also passed on the court music Shifan to later generations, which is now listed as a national intangible cultural heritage project. The people of Louta gather from all over the place to worship Lou Ying at the lower ancestral hall on the 15th of the third lunar month and the 19th of the eleventh lunar month, which are Lou Ying's birthday and death day. The Lou Ying Festival, Lou Ying's internal medicine, the Tower Bench Dragon, Louta's lanterns, and the Louta Half-Year Festival (June 14th) are all listed as intangible cultural heritage projects at the district level in Xiaoshan. The streets and alleys of Louta are crisscrossed, with many wells from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 'every household has a clear spring', which never dries up all year round. The Louta water system was established in the Ming Dynasty, with a winding water network and ingenious design, it is a model of coexistence between man and nature. Louta has a profound heritage, and there are many ancient buildings and cultural protection units, such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Prince's Mansion, the city-level cultural protection Zhoukou Bridge, the Zhuangyuan Building (Qing Yan Building), Chongxing Temple, Xingjiao Temple, Yanjiang Temple ruins. 'Looking at its clear radiance, making it joyful', the element of swallows runs through the entire ancient town. The village history museum also displays many farming tools, making nostalgia tangible. The tilted pole, straw shoe bed, bamboo hat, iron foot pillar, big foot cloth, etc., are eye-opening. Louta has a tradition of farming and reading, and promoting education. Xiaoshan has always had the saying, 'No Lou does not take the exam, no coming does not make the list'. Lou Bingtai is good at painting bamboo, known as the 'Living Bamboo Book', and today's Louta people are still known as the 'Hangzhou Calligraphy Famous Town' for carrying a hoe during the day and a pen at night. The ancestors of the Lou clan were Dayu and Houyi, the people of Louta are righteous and generous, respect learning and martial arts, and have never given up the glory of their ancestors. There are as many as 10 plaques in the ancestral hall alone, such as the Grand Marshal, Hanlin, Jinshi, Wenkui, Wukui, and Gongyuan. Louta is also the hometown of basketball in Zhejiang, and has established the only Shaoju children's troupe in China. The heavenly Shifan ancient music has been sung for six hundred years. The story of the divine doctor is still vivid and moving, and between the green mountains and rivers, a new style of the times is composed.