The ancient niche town in Hejiang, Sichuan, was named after the "flourishing temples", and the buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were one after another.

Hejiang county in Sichuan province has a long history. It was established as early as two years in Ding Yuan in the Western Han Dynasty, and it is also one of the earliest three counties in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Because of its long history, Hejiang County has many ancient towns, eight of which are very famous, and they are called "Eight Towns in Hejiang". Besides the Yaoba ancient town mentioned earlier, another ancient town worth visiting is Fu Bao ancient town.

On the banks of the Dacao River, about 42 kilometers southeast of this ancient town, the unhurried river water wraps the town, which is quite charming. Before entering the ancient town, there was a path beside the mountain and an observation deck on the mountainside. This is the best position overlooking the whole ancient town, so there is no need to go up. On the way, I met an old man who lives in the mountain and just went to the foot of the mountain to sell things and go home. Fireworks are coming soon.

Standing on the observation deck overlooking the ancient town, with blue tiles and white walls, or covered with green trees or moss, it looks very quiet at first glance. Although the ancient town of Fu Bao is so quiet now, it used to be the political, economic and cultural exchange center of the Dacao River Basin, especially in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the ancient town of Fu Bao has become a "giant town".

The ancient town doesn't accept tickets, so you can enter the town directly from the observation deck, which is not in line with the hustle and bustle of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but it is no different from the tranquility seen on the observation deck. There are no bars in the ancient town, and there are no vendors selling Yiwu goods. Even there are not many tourists and there is no business atmosphere. Most of them are local residents who have lived here for generations. Even if there are a few department stores occasionally, most of them are run by local residents. Outside the house, you can see some old people sitting in the street, which is very lively.

The ancient town is not big, and the main street is called Huilong Street, which is also the best preserved street in the ancient town. The street is not long, with a total length of about 450 meters, but there are houses of different sizes on both sides of the street, which is very compact. The streets are paved with large bluestones and the stone steps are undulating. While winding forward, the main street is divided into five lanes, namely Jiulong Lane, Liu Jia Lane, Baoqing Lane, Chaishi Lane and Jishi Lane. If it rains occasionally in Mao Mao, I wonder if it is like Dai Wangshu's "long and lonely" rain lane.

Just now, I said that the buildings in the ancient town are mainly in Ming and Qing dynasties. The biggest feature is that in these buildings, hollow windows and gray walls are all telling history. You know, there was no reinforced concrete before, and you couldn't dig caves directly like northerners. Can only rely on mud and wood, but also built rows of wooden buildings with hanging feet. Except for uninhabited houses, most buildings are still strong. If you look carefully, there are exquisite carvings on the arches under the eaves. This must be a big family in the past.

Many people will think, why is this ancient town called Fu Bao Ancient Town? From the initial bird's eye view, we can know that the whole ancient town of Fu Bao is in a heavy mountainous area, and there was no direct highway before. When the town was built, many people found it difficult to make a living because of the extremely inconvenient transportation. At that time, technology was underdeveloped, and most people believed in heaven. Therefore, it was named Fobaochang after the name of "Temple Prosperity", and was renamed Fu Bao after liberation. However, it was that period of history that left the ancient town with only "three palaces and eight temples", so small. Although most of the shrines of Buddha statues were destroyed in a special period, the main part of the building was preserved, which is really rare. If you are careful, you can see two stone lions at the gate of Yu Palace. Is it a little different?

It is precisely because of the tranquility of the ancient town of Fu Bao that many photographers and painters flock here. Not too many tourists or vendors disturb them, they can enjoy a person's creative time. Not only that, it is also the shooting place of the Sichuan drama "Silly Commander", and there are folk traditions such as performing lantern shows, singing folk songs, playing with guns, playing lanterns and dancing lions, which are praised as "rare treasures of folk culture and art" by the famous aesthetician Wang Chaowen.

Travel tips:

From 6: 00 a.m. to about 6: 00 p.m., there is a shuttle bus to the ancient town of Fu Bao at Hejiang County Bus Station, and foreign tourists can transfer to Luzhou City or Hejiang County. Of course, self-driving is more convenient!