On the vast land of the motherland, there are many well-preserved ancient cities (ancient towns), which have a positive effect on the study of Chinese architecture, history and culture.
Today, I would like to introduce you to four ancient towns (ancient cities) that are quite distinctive in China. They may be little known, but they are certainly worth visiting.
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Yaoli Ancient Town
Yaoli Ancient Town is located in Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, because it is the birthplace of Jingdezhen ceramics and is known as "the source of porcelain, the hometown of tea, the sea of forests".
The huipai buildings in the ancient town are well preserved, with high horse head walls, characteristic pink walls, old people sitting idly on the mottled thresholds of old houses, and the tranquility and comfort revealed in ordinary life, making people linger and unforgettable. It can be said that Yaoli Ancient Town is a landscape gallery frozen by time.
Kang Million Manor
Kang Million Manor is located in Gongyi City, Henan Province, and was founded in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It is a representative of the feudal fortress-style architecture of the Loess Plateau in North China in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is famous for the canonization of Empress Dowager Cixi.
The entire manor covers an area of more than 240 acres, which not only retains the form of loess plateau residences and northern courtyards, but also absorbs the characteristics of official palaces, gardens and military fortress architecture. Twelve generations of the Kang family lived here, spanning the Ming, Qing and Republic of China eras, and the manor was built from the original mountainside to the top of the mountain.
Qianyang Ancient City
Qianyang Ancient City, located in Hongjiang City, Hunan Province, is one of the best-preserved Ming and Qing ancient cities in China, and is an important town on the border of Xiangchu Miaodi, known as the "Gateway of Dianqian" and "the first ancient town in Western Hunan".
Surrounded by water on three sides, qianyang ancient city has a history of more than 2,000 years, 900 years earlier than the ancient city of Phoenix. The entire ancient city is a Ming and Qing Dynasty building, paved with bluestone slab roads. Like a labyrinth of nine streets and eighteen alleys, there are scenery at every corner. And the famous poem "A piece of ice heart in the jade pot" was written by Wang Changling in front of the Furong Tower in the ancient city of Qianyang.
Zhangbi Castle
Zhangbi Ancient Castle, located in Jiexiu City, Shanxi Province, is a relatively intact ancient pocket "castle" in China that integrates military, residence, production, astrology and religious activities.
The ancient castle makes full use of the geographical advantages of retreating by the mountains, difficult to attack and easy to defend, and has built an ancient tunnel with a length of about 3,000 meters and three layers of attack and defense underground, and builds a fortress on the ground to form a city of Tunjia Tibetan soldiers. Inside the fort, there is a "Longji Street" made of red stone blocks, and the five major temple complexes are built on both sides, and it is also known as the "First Village of Chinese Astrology".