Nine Towns Must See in China

Location: North of Tongxiang city in Zhejiang province, 80 km from Hangzhou and Suzhou, 14k km from Shanghai

Wuzhen Water Town has a long history of 6,000 years. It is a typical ancient water towns in southern Yangtze River, known as the “a land flowing with milk and honey, House of Silk”. In 1991, it was named as historical and cultural city of Zhejiang Province.

Even on a cold, rainy spring day, Wuzhen, a town surrounded by rivers, has a special beauty which has not yet been overrun by tourists. The water town will show tourists a fascinating historical picture which is an innate beauty. They run through the town and main scenic spots all gather along rivers, which run 1.3 km from east to west. Visitors walked through the long pavilion and in front of shops, as the cries of vendors rise and fall on the ear. The air is full of the smells of fresh vegetables, walnuts, fish and shrimp. The signboards of coppersmiths and grain shops still swing in the wind, reminding tourists of their history, but the doors are tightly closed.

♦ 2. Lijiang

Location: Lijiangcounty, northwest of Yunnan province

Lijiang is favored with plentiful sunlight, an east wind and clear spring water, which flows in three streams and reaches every family. The streets are paved with the local stone slabs, which do not get muddy in the rainy season and are free of dust in the dry season. Many stone bridges and arches in the city were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and orderly roads and lanes extend to four directions from the central square. Residential houses are made of timber; most have a screen wall in front and some have a quadruple courtyard, in which local people plant many flowers. The ancient traditional culture of the Naxi ethnic group is the Dongba culture, which is based on the Dongba Religion. Believers practice witchcraft, are skilled in medicine and the culture is passed on through literature and art.

♦ 3. Wuyuan

Location: Northeast of Jiangxi province, in adjacent to Jingdezhen city in the west and close to Huangshan city in the north.

Known as the “most beautiful countryside in China”, Wuyuan is a famous cultural and ecological tourist county as well as tourist demonstration center of China.

Wuyuan has become a well known town in the world features in famous Huizhou local culture as well as charming idyllic scenery. Beijing Opera, Hui Opera, the Luo Dance known as the “Dance Live Fossil” as well as the charming tea performance, all these make Wuyuan fascinating tourism destination. Wuyuan is home to a few of the well-preserved ancient architecture in China. Each of those ancient structures has a unique appearance as well as structure. The ancient Architectural complexes, caves, blue water, trees as well as rural sceneries; all these form a typical Chinese countryside scene

♦ 4. Fenghuang Ancient City

Location: south Xiangxi Automomous Prefecture of Hunan Province

Fenghuang is a county in Huaihua City, Hunan Province. In Chinese, Fenghuang is a word referring to “phoenix”. It is a well-known ancient town in the world for its fantastic landscapes and the mysterious ancient town culture. It has an exceptionally well-preserved ancient town that harbors unique ethnic languages, customs, arts as well as many distinctive architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles.

Being endowed with beautiful scenery, Fenghuang (Phoenix) Ancient City is also a famous historic and cultural city. From time immemorial, lots of virtuous and outstanding personages have been cultivated here. Ranking as the top ancient town in China, Fenghuang Ancient Town is a guidebook for people to know the past life in the pre-modernization period. The wooden houses and stone roads are the typical scenes here. When sightseeing in this town in a misty day, you will really find why it is so famous and popular all the time. The scenery after rain or in the misty morning is more like a Chinese traditional painting rather than a real world.

♦ 5. Hongjiang Ancient Commercial City

Location: Hongjiang district, Huaihua city, Hunan Province

Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town is a characteristic scenic spot in China’s Hunan Province. The town boasts more than 380 intact ancient structures erected during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, covering an area of 100,000 square meters. Hongjiang area has a long history and human landscape and colorful natural landscape, heritage is very rich. Hongjiang ancient city with a long history is the post since ancient times, is a commercial port, and is a major fireworks town, more than 3000 years history of civilization. The buildings endured the ages with some wear, but they remain vivid reminders of the luxurious lifestyle of wealthy merchants.

Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town is located in Yuanshui River, Wushui water confluence, it originated in the Spring and Autumn dynasty, forming in the Tang dynasty, and it is the best preserved ancient building group. Hongjiang ancient commercial town is our country modern commercial development of a specimen, is also the most complete one of the most abundant ancient city, named by experts as “the interior of the living fossil” of capitalism with the historical and cultural protection and tourism development value.

♦ 6. Jiuzhaigou

Location: Jiuzhaigou County, original as Nanping County, is located in the western Sichuan.

Jiuzhaigou is one the boundary between Sichuan Province and Gansu Province. Covering an area of 5,290 sq km, Jiuzhaigou County is administratively divided into 17 towns. And the world famous scenic sport Jiuzhai Valley lies in the southwest direction of Jiuzhaigou County, about 41km away from the county. The various geographical characters and various scenic types make Jiuzhai Valley as the unique site in the karst geography in the world.

Jiuzhaigou Valley is located in the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, covering a land of natural beauty. This land features perennially snow-capped mountain peaks, verdant and lush forest, stretches of serene lakes, and various birds and animals, all contributing to the unique view of Jiuzhai Valley. Upon entering the resort, you will find yourself strolling in a fairyland, leaving behind nothing but earthly troubles and vexations. It is a world of water, the clearest in the world. Water brings Jiuzhai Valley its most enchanting views, which is the soul of the place. Whether you are met with serene lakes or plunging waterfalls, you will enjoy yourself so much among the charming sights as to linger on with no thoughts for home.

♦ 7. Pingyao Ancient City

Location: the middle of Shanxi Province at north China

Pingyao Ancient City is located in the middle of Shanxi Province at north China, with a history more than 2,700 years. Pingyao was the home of a powerful trading family with significant commercial influence even beyond Shanxi, as they were in the trade sector, a nationwide business. Once served as a bustling economic center of feudal China, the current Pingyao Old Town looks like pretty much as the same as it did about 600 years ago. Either Pingyao History or Pingyao Culture plays an important role in China.

Pingyao is not only famous for its antiquity, but also for being the merchant center with the nation’s earliest bank established in the 19th century, and furthermore it was once served as the financial center of the Qing government. The ancient city of Pingyao had been emerged gradually along with the city wall during the Zhou Dynasty 11th century -256 BC. It is the only ancient city in China completely reserved as it was hundreds of years ago without any modern architecture, but only the narrow street flanking with Chinese shops in old style and the road plated with the original stone.

♦ 8. Dunhuang

Location: northwest of China, Gansu Province

Dunhuang is located at the western end of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province in northwest of China. It is 2000 kilometers west of Beijing , right on the silk road that caravans would take to get from China to the Middle East. It is a small oasis surrounded by high mountain, deserts and the Gobi Desert with Dang River as the city’s water supply. The city boasts 241 places of historic interests, and many of them are world-famous for its long history, such as Mogao Grottoes , one of the greatest reminders of the silk trade in ancient time. Other sights include the White Horse Pagoda, the Yangguan Pass and the Yumenguan Pass. These sights cannot rival in beauty with the caves, but it is quite some fun getting there through the desertlike landscape.

Dunhuang is the important ancient city in the Silk Road, and it is the hub of highway communication in the northwestern plateau in China. Dunhuang means magnificent. The government of Dunhuang changed many times, but Dunhuang was always the capital of county, government office, town and province. And at that time, it was called Dunhuang or Shazhou. In Song dynasty, it belonged to Western Hsia, and province was abolished. In Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty, Shazhou was changed into a province, later on; it was changed into Dunhuang province.

♦ 9. Burqin Baihaba Village

Location: alongside Haba River in Burqin, Xinjiang

If Kanas is primitive and simple xanadu, Baihaba is the world of fairy tales in the original natural environment, the natural landscape in Baihaba can match with Kanas, especially in autumn, here become a colorful world, the poplar leaves in the valley is golden, birch leaves in the foot of the mountain are red, the edge of the larch needles is yellow, the hills on the meadow is brown red, snowy peak, white clouds blue sky, the scenery is like a place in a paintings, a picture of breathtaking masterpiece drawing by master of impressionist.

Baihaba Village , known as the “Number One Village of Northwest China”, is located alongside Haba River – the natural border between China and Kazakhstan. It is one of the most touristy towns in Northern Xinjiang. It maintains ancient traditions, modest customs, a primitive natural environment and original features, much the same as in centuries past.