Huangyao Ancient Town Travel Guide: Must-Visit Attractions

Speaking of Hezhou, the first thing that comes to mind is Huangyao Ancient Town. What are some of the attractions here? Now that autumn is a good season for travel, if you are planning to go out and travel, be sure to come here after reading my guide. Let’s take a look at what attractions are worth visiting in Huangyao Ancient Town.

Huangyao is a typical karst landform, with towering peaks, deep caves, winding streams, and towering ancient trees. The whole town has eight streets, most of the houses retain the Ming and Qing style, the streets are paved with bluestone slabs. “There must be water where there are mountains, there must be bridges where there is water, there must be pavilions where there are bridges, there must be couplets where there are pavilions, and there must be plaques where there are couplets”, this phrase best describes Huangyao Ancient Town, these rich cultural landscapes are mostly Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings, are the most unique scenery of the ancient town can not be missed.

Here, you can quietly daze off, wander aimlessly around the ancient town, or dip your pen in ink to leave a trace of what you see on paper; if you can’t stand the loneliness, you can rent a bicycle and ride along the Yao River all the way to the Wenming Pavilion, on the edge of the field, leisurely and comfortably, seeing all the scenery is also good.

Attractions recommendation

Ancient Town Stone Street

Huangyao Stone Street is one of the most famous attractions in Huangyao Ancient Town, there are currently 8, namely Jin De Street, Yingxiu Street, Tianran Street, Zhongxing Street, Anle Street, Lianli Street, Longpan Street, Shanbang Street.
Yingxiu Street’s stone street is the widest, about 5 meters; the narrowest is Jin De Street Yangxiangkou, less than two meters, with a meat stall on each side, pedestrians pass each other, can only rub shoulders, every time there is a market day festival, traffic is blocked. After the re-establishment of Huangyao Town in 1964, a wider new street was built, but the old stone street still remains intact.

Dailong Bridge

Dailong Bridge was built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, is the largest of the 15 ancient bridges in Huangyao, and is also the landmark of the ancient town scenery. It is made of bluestone slabs, composed of two bridge arches, the arch bridge is crescent-shaped spanning the Xiaozhu River on the east side of Xinxing Street.

Dailong Bridge is not just a decoration, in addition to providing passage for pedestrians, the bridge deck is made of stone slabs connected by waist-shaped iron blocks, which can also be used for flood diversion when there is a flood, so Huangyao has been well preserved for thousands of years. On the right bank of Dailong Bridge is Jianlong Temple, where you can rest on a stone bench if you are tired. There are many strange rocks on the side of the bridge, you can find turtles, camels and giant snakes, each one is lifelike, with its own legend.

The scenery here is beautiful, attracting many lenses and painters, the movie “The Painted Veil” was once filmed here. To get a good picture of Dailong Bridge, you have to go early in the morning, when the water is like a mirror, the sun shines obliquely on the ancient bridge.

Guo’s Mansion

Guo’s Mansion is a typical flat courtyard-style building in Huangyao Ancient Town, built in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the ancestors of the courtyard were Guo Ziyi, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty. It covers an area of about 20 acres, with four gatehouses such as Jielongmen and Taipingmen, there is a pond and a garden in front of the gate, surrounded by high stone walls, there are nearly a hundred houses. The design of the residence is ingenious and rigorous, the bricks used are all made of one large and one small brick, layer by layer. Each brick has been hand-polished, it is said that when the owner built the house, he strictly ordered the bricklayers to make only 30 blue bricks a day, one more and they would all be destroyed, so every blue brick is carefully polished, the size, color depth are the same, until now, the hand tapping is still loud and clear.

Immortal Ancient Well

Immortal Ancient Well is one of the attractions in Huangyao Ancient Town, the well water constantly gushes and surges, no matter how dry or wet, it always remains unchanged. Legend has it that the water taken from the well on the morning of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month can be placed for three years without spoiling, and people who drink it will be free from all diseases. Legends are legends, after testing by experts, it was found that the well water really contains many trace elements, drinking it often can not only prolong life, but also health. In our eyes, the most unique thing about the Immortal Ancient Well is its appearance – it is not a round spring, but a few square pools connected together. The square pools are very functional, divided into drinking pool, vegetable washing pool and laundry pool. The water flowing from the spring first serves as drinking water, then goes into the vegetable washing pool, the laundry pool, and finally flows into the river. For hundreds of years, the people of the town have consciously abided by the rules, and this tradition continues to this day.

You might as well scoop up a handful and sip it, it is very sweet, and it is especially refreshing in the summer. By the well, there are often women gathered together, washing their clothes and chatting, water splashes with laughter, and it has become a unique scenic spot.

Things to note

Accommodation guide
Actually, if you are going to Huangtao Ancient Town, you must prepare enough cash, because in the ancient town, banks will definitely not be very many. Be sure to pay attention to your own safety and property safety, be sure not to be stolen. If you are going to stay, you can choose some of the inns in the ancient town, these inns are very unique. You can spend a few days staying in this town, to experience the local customs of this town, you can book inns or hotels online, but this you must book an inn so you can experience the local customs of the innkeepers. Of course, staying in an inn is also very cheap, then you can go to stay in some youth hostels, get to know three or five friends to chat, sing.

Coming to Huangyao Ancient Town in October to travel, this ancient town has a thousand years of history, and it already existed in the Song Dynasty. Coming here will be filled with ancient and simple atmosphere everywhere, and you can also feel the nostalgia of the national period.