A trip to Xinchang Ancient Town in Dayi County, Chengdu, travel notes

How is Xinchang Ancient Town, which has many titles including the last Bazi in Western Sichuan, Tianfu Water Town, China’s famous historical and cultural town, now? Come with me and take a look!

Xinchang Ancient Town is located in the west of the Chengdu Plain; it is located in the intersection of mountains, hills and Pingba; it covers an area of ??34.9 square kilometers; it is located 10 kilometers away from Dayi County; 58 kilometers away from Chengdu in the east; and Xiling in the north Connected by snow-capped mountains, it is known as "one main river and three irrigation mouths".

Xinchang Ancient Town was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty and flourished during the Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty. It was first called Qingyuan and has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is the largest and most well-preserved ancient town in Sichuan; it is a national 4A-level scenic spot.

The folk houses in the ancient town are houses from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. They have architectural features such as bucket-type wooden structures, green tile sloping roofs, columns facing the street, front houses and backyards, combination of corridors and buildings, and lanes leading into the courtyard; houses facing the street The door still maintains its original appearance and is made of wooden boards. The architecture of the Republic of China has the following characteristics: blue bricks and black tiles, high walls and roofs, horse heads and horns, and brick-carved doors and windows.

The ancient town has a long history and now has seven well-preserved old and small streets, namely: Xiazheng Street, Shangzheng Street, Taiping Street, Taiping Street, Taipingheng Street, Xiangshi Street and Heba Street; the alleys are Six, namely: Shui Alley, Zhangyimiao Alley, Xiejia Alley, Maoshi Alley, Tongshi Alley, and Shangziku Alley.

The location of the ancient town is close to Xiling Snow Mountain. The water resources are extremely rich, and the endless river water runs through the entire ancient town in the form of "one main river and three irrigation mouths". There is constant flow of water in the ancient town all year round, and clear river water flows through every street and in front of and behind the houses, forming a unique landscape where water is in the town and the town is in the water. The so-called Sanguankou refers to: Touyan River, Eryan River and Sanyan River, which are the tributaries of the river. In the ancient town, small stone bridges of different shapes are scattered at the intersections of rivers and roads; simple, elegant and beautiful, they are not really a beautiful scenery.

In the past, water transportation was developed here and commerce was prosperous. Merchants from all provinces came to Xinchang to build guild halls and engage in commercial activities. This has brought about the prosperity and development of Xinchang Town's timber, tea, rice and other markets.

The history of the ancient town has profound cultural heritage, rich folk culture and farming culture; on every festival or temple fair day, various activities are held, such as Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival, etc. In addition, the ancient town has maintained the custom of meeting people for thousands of years. Every 2nd, 4th, 7th and 10th, people from all over the world come to Xinchang to attend the market; it is very lively.

When you walk into the ancient town, you will see two watchtowers of the same shape and size at the entrance of Si'an Square. Diaolou, as the name suggests: a tower-like building used for defense. This kind of building has relatively small windows; the doors, windows, and screen walls are all inlaid with brick carvings; it is a typical combination of Chinese and Western products. Behind the watchtower, there is a screen made of blue bricks; the four characters "正本清源" (正本清元) are clearly carved on it, which is very distinctive. After bypassing the screen, we came to the nine-hole stone bridge. The Jiudong Bridge was built during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (1867 AD). It was called the "No. 1 Bridge at the Source of the River" in the old days. Because it was built along the direction of the river, it was also called the Shunhe Bridge. Its structure is: a stone bridge in the form of a nine-hole half-garden arch; the maximum bridge hole is about 2.7 meters high, and the bridge height is about 3.3 meters. The bridge body is made of red sandstone; the bridge rails are made of cinnabar stone, with a unique and beautiful shape. It can be used by pedestrians, buses and small carriages. Standing on the bridge and looking around, you can see dense bamboo forests, towering ancient trees, and lush branches and leaves on the banks of the river. The chirping of birds is sweet to the ear. The rolling river water flows under the bridge, and the sun shines through the gaps in the trees and reflects on the water. On the sparkling waves. There are many teahouses along both sides of the river. People sit leisurely under the trees on the bank, drinking tea, setting up dragon gate arrays, and enjoying life at a slow pace; it is a Jiangnan water town scenery.

Continue walking along the stone road and you will come to Xiazheng Old Street. Xiazheng Street, built during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, is 492 meters long and is the earliest old street in the ancient town. The commercial atmosphere here is not very strong, with some snack bars, grocery stores, bamboo weaving shops, teahouses and other shops scattered here and there. Walking down the street, you can see elderly people sitting under the eaves in front of their homes, relaxing and playing chess everywhere. In the early morning, people habitually take down the wooden doors of their houses; take out the woven bamboo, rattan, brown weaving and wooden products and place them on the street in front of their doors; then they sit in front of their homes and smoke slowly and carelessly. Smoking leaf cigarettes, waiting for the buyer to arrive. At night, I habitually close the wooden door and close the stall to rest. Year after year, living the same ordinary life.

Along Xiazheng Old Street, you will come to the former residence of Liu Chengxun located here. Liu Chengxun (1883-1945), a native of Xinchang Town, Dayi, served as commander and commander-in-chief of the Third Army of the Sichuan Army; governor of Sichuan Province; commander of the 23rd Army of the National Revolutionary Army and army general. The former residence is a Qing Dynasty tile-roofed wooden structure building, covering an area of ??about 340 square meters, with a courtyard-style courtyard layout and a three-entry layout. The rooms inside display Liu Chengxun's life story and some used items, clothing, etc.; there is a stone jar in the corner of the second courtyard. The former residence has a front door and a back door, and the back door is opened from time to time. There is a lot of moss growing along the stone steps in the courtyard, and the road is slippery and wet. Walking inside gives a sense of tranquility.

As you walk along Xiazheng Street, there are several shops selling leaf cakes, parfaits, and tofu curtains along the way.

At a Yeerba shop called Kong Po Po Yeerba, I bought some Yeerba and tried it. It tasted really good! At the intersection, there are all kinds of gourmet snack bars, such as Zhou Xuewang, Fat Chang Xuewang, Sesame Oil Duck, Zhang Duck, Jiulong Wang Dabao, Bean Curd Corn Rice, Qingyuan Noodle House, Xie You Cake, He Mutton and so on. ! There are quite a few shops selling Xuewang here. According to a local fellow, Xuewang is a very famous dish in the ancient town; it has even been featured on CCTV!

In addition to food and snacks, the bamboo, rattan, brown and wooden products here are also very good. There are all kinds of handicrafts with different shapes, and the prices are relatively reasonable. You can see it everywhere in the ancient town. Bamboo weaving, rattan weaving and wooden products are relatively common in western Sichuan; of course Xinchang Ancient Town is no exception; this may be related to the extremely rich bamboo forest and rattan resources in western Sichuan! When you come to the ancient town, why not take a look.

After wandering around, I came to Bishan Temple located on Xiazheng Street. Bishan Temple was built in the late Ming Dynasty; this temple is also called "Thanksgiving Temple"; it is said to be "built in memory of Li Changchun, the magistrate of Bishan County, Chongqing." ’ The temple is divided into a front hall and a back hall. The front hall is the Main Hall and the back hall is the Guanyin Hall. Both sides of the courtyard are used as wing rooms and other purposes. Entering the temple, you pass through the patio-style courtyard; you pass through a small stone arch bridge and enter the apse courtyard; under the small stone arch bridge and pavilion corridor, there is a river flowing through it. Every temple fair day, the incense here is very strong, and there is an endless stream of pilgrims who come here to burn incense and pray for blessings. The gate building of the temple has a nine-ridged terrace roof, a blue tile roof, an eaves with its head raised to the sky; a three-open wooden door and columns; the whole building looks very grand and beautiful.

After visiting Bishan Temple, walk along Xiazheng Old Street and arrive at the Yongan Covered Bridge at the intersection of Xiangshi Lane and Zhangyimiao Lane. Yong'an Covered Bridge spans the Qijiang River and is an important passage to Qionglai Tea Garden Township. The bridge is about 90 meters long and 3.3 meters wide. The bridge is supported by six stone piers; there are spaces for people on the bridge. Corridor for passage, leisure and shelter from rain. Walking up the stone stairs to the covered bridge, there are quite a few people on the bridge. There are local elderly people sitting and playing chess and relaxing; there are also pedestrians passing by and resting here and children playing. Standing on the bridge, the view suddenly broadens; looking around, you can have a panoramic view of the ancient town. The antique, row upon row, and well-proportioned residential houses are distributed on both sides of the river; the river rolling and flowing under the bridge; and along both sides of the river, people sit leisurely under umbrellas on the shore, drinking tea and setting up dragon gate formations. People enjoying life at a slow pace; all this is like an ink painting of a water town in Western Sichuan, which is intoxicating.

When visiting the ancient town, the transportation is relatively convenient. If you come from Chengdu, you can use two ways: the first way is to take the train at Chengdu West Railway Station. After arriving in Dayi, take the bus to Xinchang Ancient Town at the passenger terminal. The second option can be reached by taking the shuttle bus to Xinchang Ancient Town at Xinnanmen Passenger Terminal.

Regarding the trip to Xinchang Ancient Town in Dayi County, Chengdu, let’s continue the travel notes here! Thanks for reading!