The 9 most unpopular ancient towns worth visiting in China

When visiting an ancient town, what one wants to feel most is its simplicity and quietness. However, nowadays too many ancient towns have been invaded by commerce and buried by tourists; for example, Wuzhen, Zhouzhuang, Tongli, Xitang, Nanxun, etc. There are many ancient towns in China that truly have an ancient flavor, ancient style, and ancient atmosphere, far away from commercial packaging. Today, I recommend 9 unpopular but beautiful ancient towns for you. Go quickly while there are still few people!

Daxu Ancient Town

Dayu Ancient Town is located on the east bank of the Li River. It is an ancient town with a history of thousands of years. However, there are very few traces of business here nowadays, so few that even public toilets are hard to find. As far back as 600 years ago, Dayu became the largest of the four major market towns in Guangxi (Luyu in Binyang, Rongyu in Cangwu and Qiaoyu in Guixian) because of its "bigness".

The ancient Daxu Old Street stretches for 2 kilometers along the Li River. The narrow street is paved with bluestone slabs, and there are well-preserved old houses on both sides of the stone road. The Wanshou Bridge, a single-arch stone bridge first built in the Ming Dynasty, still spans the southern part of the town; the Gaozu Temple, Hanhuang Temple, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi Guild Halls built in the Qing Dynasty, as well as the 5-mile-long bluestone road and the blue brick and tile buildings in the town have all become witnesses of the ancient market town.

Geographical location: 18 kilometers southeast of Guilin, Guangxi, 30 kilometers from Lingchuan County, in the middle reaches of the Lijiang River

Pianyan Ancient Town

It is located between two branches of the Huaying Mountains in the southwest. Because there is a steep and sloping rock wall in the north of the town, it is named Pianyan Town. The ancient street is paved along the Heishuitan River, with wooden houses scattered along the way, small bridges over flowing water and green trees. The ancient town of Pianyan has a history of more than 300 years and is well preserved. Since the middle of the ancient town, a bluestone bridge spans the small river to connect to the outside of the town. With the bridge as the boundary, the main street is divided into upper and lower streets. Shangjie is a transportation hub with many shops. Its northern end is a gathering place for the public. The existing Martial Temple, Yuwang Temple and theater exist here. The ends of the upper and lower streets are both built with semi-corridors along the river and connected to the countryside. It is a good place for transportation, socializing, sightseeing and leisure.

Geographical location: Northeast of Beibei District, Chongqing City, southwest foot of Huaying Mountain, located at the transportation hub of Lingshui, Hechuan and Yubei.

Chaji Ancient Village

Chaji is an ancient village in Jingxian County with the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the largest village in southern Anhui and one of the largest existing ancient residential complexes in China. Its dilapidated and decadent beauty allows people to see the glorious history of China's rural era. In Chazhi, apart from residential buildings, the existing relics are mainly ancestral halls and memorial archways, all of which are deeply marked with the imprint of filial piety and ancestor worship from the clan era. There are many ancestral halls in Chazhi because the area has a large population of people with the surname Cha.

Geographical location: Hou'an Township, 60 kilometers west of Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province

Qianyang Ancient City

Qianyang Ancient City is one of the best-preserved ancient cities from the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the country. Surrounded by water on three sides, the ancient city is an important border town in the Hunan, Chu and Miao areas. It is known as the "Gateway to Yunnan and Guizhou" and the "No. 1 Ancient Town in Western Hunan". It is 1,400 years earlier than Dayan Ancient Town in Lijiang, Yunnan, and 900 years earlier than Fenghuang Ancient Town in Hunan Province. Various cultures blend here. The classic poem "A heart as pure as ice in a jade pot" was written by Wang Changling in front of the local Furong Tower.

Geographical location: Hongjiang City, Huaihua City, Hunan Province (formerly Qiannan County)

Heshun Overseas Chinese Hometown

Heshun Overseas Chinese Hometown is located 3 kilometers west of Tengchong City. Its ancient name was Yangwentun Village. The name Heshun comes from the poem "Clouds surge with auspiciousness, wind blows with harmony", which embodies the local people's yearning for a better life. Since ancient times, Heshun has been a place with developed culture, beautiful scenery and outstanding people. In Heshun villages, plaques such as "A Family of Scholars" and "Poetry and Rites Passed Down from Generation to Generation" can be seen hanging high on the lintels everywhere, which cannot be obscured by years of dust. They all record the once prosperous history and profound traditional cultural heritage of the overseas Chinese hometown.

Geographical location: 3 kilometers southwest of Tengchong County, Yunnan Province

Qianshan County

Qianshan County, which belongs to Shangrao City, is located in the northeastern part of Jiangxi Province, on the upper reaches of the Xinjiang River, and borders Wuyishan City, Fujian Province to the south. The county has beautiful scenery, abundant resources, rich products, and rich cultural landscapes. Qianshan County was named after the lead production in history. The place name Qianshan is pronounced YAN.

SHAN. As early as the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Qianshan had developed into one of the five major handicraft areas in the Jiangnan region, and its handmade papermaking industry was as famous as Songjiang's cotton spinning, Suzhou and Hangzhou's silk weaving, Wuhu's pulp and dyeing industry, and Jingdezhen's porcelain making industry.

Geographical location: Qianshan County, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province

Temple Street

The Yunnan-Tibet "Ancient Tea-Horse Road" was formed in the late sixth century to early seventh century AD. Sideng Street is located in the center of the dam. It is the economic and cultural center of Shaxi and the distribution center of Shaxi's trade from ancient times to the present. From a distance, Sideng Street is shaded by ancient trees, the houses are simple and quiet, and the scenery of "small bridges, flowing water and houses" is beautiful and elegant. It can be called the only surviving ancient market on the "Ancient Tea-Horse Road".

Geographical location: Shaxi Town, southern Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province

Bing'an Ancient Town

The ancient town was built on steep rocks by the Chishui River, with its back against green mountains and surrounded by water on three sides. It has stone gates and stone walls, and wooden stilt houses built against the mountain. After a hundred years of wind and rain, it is still as solid as a rock. The Yingke Waterfall in the ancient town gushes out from the foot of a century-old banyan tree, like a white dragon jumping into the water and leaping over the river. The dangerous and ancient rapids of Dabingtan are located at Xiabingtan, where the rapids are dozens of feet high. The houses on the cliffs and rocks along the river in the ancient town are all in stilt style, with suspended buildings, empty-leg buildings, bottomless buildings, and single-column stilt buildings. They are uneven and scattered, with a unique charm.

Geographical location: Chishui City, Guizhou Province, 25 kilometers away from Chishui City

Zhangzhou Zhaojiabao

It is located at the foot of Shuogao Mountain in Huxi Township, Zhangpu County, 90 kilometers away from Zhangzhou City. It is not an ordinary Zhao castle. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, the descendants of the Zhao royal family hid their identities and built it based on the layout of Bianjing, the former capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, out of longing for their ancestors' empire. It is the only existing castle in the world built by the royal family of a destroyed dynasty.

Geographical location: At the foot of Shuogao Mountain, Huxi Township, Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, 90 kilometers away from downtown Zhangzhou