Chongqing Surrounding Niche Self-driving Tour Route Recommendations

The three-day holiday for this year’s Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon, and it’s time for travel. However, many places in China are crowded with tourists during the holiday. Are there any niche self-driving tour routes around Chongqing? See the details below.

Suggested itinerary

Day1: Main city – Longtan Ancient Town – Hewan Mountain Village

Day2: Hewan Mountain Village – Chuanhegai Scenic Area

Day3: Chuanhegai Scenic Area – Xiushan

Day4: Xiushan – Hong’an Ancient Town – Return to the city

Highlights: Boat trip/Experience Tujia culture/Mountains and clouds/See the border town described by Shen Congwen

Longtan Ancient Town

Longtan Ancient Town is located in the east of Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, and has been an important passage to Jiangsu and Zhejiang since ancient times. Merchants gathered in Longtan Ancient Town, and salt shops, trading houses and shops lined the streets, giving it the title of “Huolongtan”.

Longtan Ancient Town is a national 4A-level tourist attraction, with historical sites including a stone street, courtyards, ancient wooden houses and more that have been preserved for over 200 years.

Those who love human architectural structures should not miss this place. Longtan Ancient Town is very niche, with few tourists coming and going. Because of this, the original flavor of the old town streets remains, full of the daily life of the old town and filled with a strong sense of human touch and poetic imagery.

Quietly watching the old street, the scene of “Withered vines, old trees, crows, small bridges, flowing water, and families” seems to leap out in front of you. There is a rare peace here.

Hewan Mountain Village

Hewan Mountain Village is located in Xizhen, Youyang County, and was built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. It is a well-preserved traditional mountain village of ethnic minorities.

It has a history of 600 years and combines green mountains, clear waters, ancient villages and Tujia culture into one primitive mountain village.

To get to the mountain village, you need to take a boat. Along the way, you can take a boat tour, watch the green mountains and waters, and enjoy the peace of the moment.

Hewan Mountain Village is surrounded by water on three sides, and ethnic minorities, mainly the Tujia and Miao people, gather here. The villagers live in wooden houses with distinctive ethnic characteristics, surrounded by towering trees, living a leisurely and carefree life. It is truly a place to be desired!

Chuanhegai Scenic Area

Chuanhegai is located in Xiushan and is mainly characterized by its alpine grasslands. It covers an area of 28 square kilometers. There are natural four-season vegetation landscapes here, and when you arrive here, it is as if you have entered a small Sichuan and West, the scenery is truly beautiful!

“Gai” is a local dialect of Xiushan, which describes the flat land on the mountain, and is affectionately called Zhuoshan by everyone.

Before entering the scenic area, self-driving friends will pass through 45 turns on the mountain road. This section of the road is comparable to the 180,000 and 72 turns of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, and it is very exciting and thrilling.

When you drive to the scenic area, you will be amazed by the flat land in front of you. After driving such a thrilling mountain road, the end point is actually such a flat and open place! You can’t help but marvel at the wonders of nature!

Hong’an Ancient Town

Speaking of Hong’an Ancient Town, one must mention its title of “Stepping on Three Provinces with One Foot”. It is located at the junction of Chongqing, Hunan and Guizhou.

And when people mention Hong’an Ancient Town, many people think of Shen Congwen’s “Border Town”.

Today’s Hong’an has become a well-known tourist destination, and is also a famous red revolutionary base area.

It is said that during the Liberation War, when the Liu and Deng armies marched into Southwest China, Hong’an was the first stop in Sichuan.

Hong’an Ancient Town is not that big, so there are not many ways to play here. It is suitable for friends who want to find a quiet place to stay for two days.

But if you come to the ancient town, there are still a few things worth experiencing~

Boat trip

Boat trips are also a major feature here. It is very pleasant to take a boat tour on the Qingjiang River when it is cool.

But be aware of the price, ¥10/person can get you on a boat.

One foot steps on three provinces

Under the west bridge of Chahong Bridge (near Chongqing), there is a triangular pavilion, in front of which is a stele with the inscription “One foot steps on three provinces, three provinces hear the rooster crow”, which is the place where the three provinces of Chongqing, Hunan and Guizhou meet.