By Xinyi Li, iChongqing
The Zouma Town is located in Jiulongpo District of Chongqing City, in the center of Bayu region. Meanwhile, the history of Zouma Town is originated in the Han Dynasties. It began to flourish in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It is close to Bishan District (former Bishan County) in the west and Jiangjin District (former Jiangjin County) in the south. Hence people call it “one foot on three counties”.
Visitors love to enjoy peach blossoms here
In addition, it is on the must-pass place from Chongqing to Chengdu. Also, it is an important post on Chengdu-Chongqing route. With endless streams of merchants and laborers, it was famous for the folk proverb of “A wise man would stop for a rest at Zouma Hummock”. Baxian County Annals represents the ancient post road in the Zouma Town by recording “Heading west on the (Chongqing) land route for 80 miles and then arriving at the junction between Zouma Post and Bishan County, which is the post connecting Chengdu.”
Moreover, “Zouma Hummock is actually another name of the Zouma Courtyard.” The ancient Zouma Town was built on a horse-shaped hummock. Therefore, the local people also call it “Zouma Hummock” since ancient times. In 2008, the State Council listed it in the fourth batch of “National Historical and Cultural Towns”.
The beautiful peach blossoms at Zouma Town
It is famous for peach blossoms, and the peach blossoms on the banks of the Jinma Lake are the most attractive. The Peach Blossom Festival is one of the eco-tourism brand events of Chongqing. Evening spring, it kicked off in March and lasts for more than ten days. The “Zouma Town Folk Art Performance” Tourism Cultural Festival is with grand performance programs. It is themed with “Decade of Art Performances, Century of Folktales and Millennium of Zouma Town”. It aims to foster parade performances of “cross-gender performance, walking on stilts, land boat show, dragon-lantern show, and lion dance”.
Zouma Town is famous for peach blossoms
The flowering period of the peach blossoms in this festival of Zouma Town is from March to early April. The ticket price of the festival is 15 yuan/person from Monday to Thursday and 25 yuan/person at other time.
Transportation: Taking Bus No. 281 at the Zhanxi Road Station in Shapingba District of Chongqing to the Baishiyi Fifth People’s Hospital Bus Terminal Station. Then, you need to transfer to Bus No. 286 to directly arrive at Zouma Town. The whole journey takes about one hour.
Recommended food:
There are Jiu Da Wan (commonly known as Ba Ba Feast), Tofu Pudding with Rice, Fried Dough Twist and Handmade Noodles. Jiu Da Wan, one of the traditional specialties in Sichuan, is the most famous. Featuring with steamed dishes, it is named after nine steamed dishes. They contain Steamed Soft-Fried Streaky Pork, Steamed Pork Ribs, Steamed Beef with Rice Flour, Steamed Soft-Shelled Turtle, Steamed Whole Chicken, Steamed Whole Duck, Steamed Pork Leg, Steamed Sweetened Bean Paste between Sliced Streaky Pork and Salty Steamed Streaky Pork with Preserved Mustard Leaves. In the Sichuan dialect, “dou” means a large container. Therefore, these dishes have another name of “Jiu Dou Wan (nine great dishes)” collectively, implying the wide variety and large amounts.