Gongtan Ancient Town is the first historical and cultural town in Chongqing. It’s suitable for strolling here, feeling the life breath of the Bashu people, very comfortable. In the morning, watch the misty Wujia River, and in the evening, watch the twinkling twilight. So how should you arrange a one-day trip to the ancient town?
1、Travel Guide
Gongtan Ancient Town is located on the bank of the Wujia River. It was built because of the shoals and prospered because of salt. It has a history of over 1800 years. It is a national historical and cultural town and is known as “China’s Top Ten Ancient Towns”.
The stilt houses built along the river are known as “notes on the cliff”, and the 100-mile gallery of the Wujia River is in full view. The cliff on the opposite bank is towering and a masterpiece of nature.
From Gongtan Ancient Town, go upstream along the Wujia River, through Tutupu Gorge, Baijixia Gorge, and up to Lizi Gorge. This is the essence of the 100-mile gallery of the Wujia River. The Qing Dynasty poet Mei Ruoweng praised it with the poem “The mountains and waters of Shu are peculiar, and this should be considered the first”.
The ancient town is not big. It takes about two or three hours to walk around. If you get tired, you can go to the old street. Here you can find many of the ancient town’s delicacies, such as fragrant mushroom balls, old bacon fried mountain fern, pork knuckle wind radish, cold tofu, bean curd, etc. The ancient town also has many guesthouses. If you like the leisure of the ancient town, you can stay for a couple of days, which is also a good choice.
2、Tour Route
Sleep in late in the morning and get up feeling refreshed. When you stroll leisurely along the old street, you might as well go to visit the scenic spots in the ancient town that contain thousands of years of history and culture: Amitabha Buddha Bridge, Yangjia Lane, Half-Side Granary, Old Boatman, Giant Ladder, Yongding Chenggui Stele, Bridge on Bridge, Ranjia Courtyard (extra charge), Xiqin Guild Hall, Chuanzhu Temple, Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, First Pass, Sanfu Temple, Wenchang Pavilion. It’s almost noon. You can walk into any restaurant on the old street and taste authentic Tujia cuisine. In the afternoon, you can buy tickets at the ancient town reception center to take a boat trip to visit the Apong River Gorge and the 100-mile gallery of the Wujia River (boat contact number: 02375677000 Shanshui Gallery Tourism Development Co., Ltd.). When you are surrounded by nature and mountains and rivers, don’t think about anything, just close your eyes quietly, breathe the fresh air, and enjoy this rare leisure time. When you return to the ancient town, it will be about 5 or 6 in the afternoon. Have a chat with your friends in a teahouse or find a place to taste the deliciousness of wild fish from the Wujia River. It’s a wonderful experience. After dinner, the sky slowly darkens. On holidays, the bonfire in the small square of the ancient town burns brightly. The Tujia people put on their festive clothes, dance the Tujia hand-waving dance, sing folk songs, and welcome guests from afar. Everyone has a great time. After dancing and singing, you can go to the bar in the ancient town to have fun. You might even have an unexpected surprise. Return to your guesthouse with a relaxed and tired body, listening to the sound of the watchman’s drum in the distance. It seems so distant yet so familiar, as if you have returned to the alleyways of your childhood. It is only in this ancient town that you can truly experience what “a dream in Gongtan, a thousand years of intoxication” means.
3、Scenic Spot Introduction
Gongtan Ancient Town is located in Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing Municipality. It is situated on the east bank of the Wujia River, where the Wujia River and the Apong River meet. It is an ancient town with a history of over 1700 years.
The ancient town currently has a stone-paved street about three kilometers long, over 150 unique fire walls, over 200 quaint courtyards, over 50 stilt houses of various shapes, and a unique local style. It is a well-preserved and large-scale group of Ming and Qing buildings in China. After inspection by experts and scholars, it is believed that Gongtan Ancient Town can be compared to the World Cultural Heritage Site of Lijiang Ancient Town.
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