The panorama of Xiliutuo Ancient Town at night
By Xinyi Li, EDITOR
People will think about the 3D city and the amazing traffic when mentioning Chongqing. Lots of people already know Hongyadong and Liziba, and there are many trip plans about these two places online. However, there is another town – Xiliutuo Town, which is a beautiful place to view the night skyline in Chongqing.
Xiliutuo Ancient Town during daytime
Xiliutuo Ancient Town has hundreds of years’ history, and opened to the public recently, after repairment. It is hidden in Chongqing with few people know. Nonetheless, the town lies besides the Yangtze River and half-surrounded by some skyscrapers. At night, the skyline is gorgeous under warm lights.
The night skyline of the town
This town locates at Huibei Road at Lijiatuo at Ba’nan District, nearby the Lijiatuo Bridge. Visitors can enjoy the shadow of lights on the river, as well as the breeze on Babin Road.
The front gate of the town
An old horizontal inscribed board against red lanterns, which hand over the front gate, instills a feeling of quaint. There is a pagoda with 7 stories, called Bao’en Pagoda. Bao’en refers “gratitude” in English, to express the appreciation to ancestors or god.
The Bao'en Pagoda
It was built during Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799) and repaired recently. Under the soft lights, the pagoda is particularly beautiful. The visitor can view the Ronghui peninsula on the top of the pagoda. In front of the pagoda, there is a drama stage for Sichuan Opera. Face-changing, story-telling, etc. are for visitors to enjoy local culture in Chongqing.
The drama stage is free-open to the public
Explore Things Around the Xiliutuo Ancient Town
Chahua Square (Camellia Square): There is a camellia carving in the center of the square. The camellia flower is lifelike, presenting the city flower to visitors.
The camellia carving at the square
Fengsheng Ancient Town: The ancient town survives from the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279). It is a town without commercial elements, but vintage and quaint only. Local people there live in leisure and simple lifestyle.
A tea house at Fengsheng Ancient Town
Transportation Guide to Xiliutuo Ancient Town
Address: Xiliutuo Ancient Town, Babin Road, Ba’nan District, Chongqing
Drive route: Inner Ring – Huatao Interchange – Ronghui Avenue – Babin Road – Xiliutuo Town
Transportation: CRT line 3 to Jiugongli, Bus 349/319/858/340 to Ronghui Avenue Er’zhan
Source: CQCB