Every city has a fondness for a certain architectural culture. For Chongqing, it is the stilt house, a characterful ethnic structure backed by mountains and facing rivers.

Hongya Cave brimming with Bayu charm is a prime example. Here is a list of some virgin stilt house groups in Chongqing. With a large area and a pleasant climate, these places are perfect summer getaways to enjoy a weekend of slow-paced life.

Zhongshan Ancient Town

Tucked away in the depths of lush mountains, Zhongshan Ancient Town is not only home to zigzag trickles and childhood snacks, but also nostalgic stilt houses.

Location: Zhongshan Town, Jiangjin District

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing—Inner Ring Expressway—Chongqing Ring Expressway—Jiangxi Expressway—Zhongshan Ancient Town

Surrounding areas: Simian Mountain, Love Ladder and Qingxi Gully in Jiangjin District

Baisha Ancient Town

Baisha Old Street is more fascinating than many old-world scenic spots. There are labyrinthine blue flagstone lanes, characterful Banban streets with a vibrant interplay of light and shadow, diverse stilt houses lining the riverside, and more. You can find a tea house to have a cup of tea while enjoying interesting stories by onstage folk storytellers. Even if you just sit around there, a feeling of enjoyment will well up in your heart.

Location: Baisha Town, Jiangjin District

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing—Inner Ring Expressway—Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway—Chongqing Ring Expressway—Chengyu Ring Expressway— Baisha Town, Jiangjin District

Surrounding areas: Dayuandong National Forest Park and Jukui Academy, Jiangjin District

Anju Ancient Town

Traditional residential dwellings nestle snugly at the foot of verdant hills, antique streets and lanes twist and turn into the depths, and stilt houses dot around in a class of their own. Every nook and cranny is steeped in nostalgia.

Location: Anju Town, Tongliang District

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing—Inner Ring Expressway—Shuangbei Tunnel—Chengyu Ring Expressway—S106—Anju Ancient Town, Tongliang District

Surrounding areas: Huangjiaba National Wetland Park

Tujia Stilt Houses in Zhongyi Township

Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County is reputed as a gem of stilt architectural art and one of the origins of Tujia-style carpentry. At Zhongyi Township, Tujia stilt houses are in perfect harmony with surrounding farmlands, presenting a picturesque rustic landscape. There are old-world flagstone lanes, limpid mountain trickles, and ethnic Tujia villages where you can savor authentic stilt houses and Tujia-style life.

Location: Jianfeng Village, Zhongyi Township, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing—Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway South—Yinchuan–Baise Expressway—Zhongyi Township, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County

Surrounding areas: Dafengbao Scenic Area, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County

Wanshou Ancient Village

Surrounded by luxuriant forests, Wanshou Ancient Village boasts its Tujia characteristics everywhere. In the village, you can appreciate beautiful flowers, taste fragrant tea, listen to folk songs, and eat country-style cuisine. Also, you can dance a hand-waving dance, drink shuaiwan (smashing bowl) wine, and sing a song in Tujia Luoer Tune. If lucky enough, you might encounter the Tujia girls' festival.

Location: Baoding Mountain, Huayuan Group, Hongxing Village, Nanbin Town, Shizhu County

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing-Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway South-Shizhu County-Wanshou Ancient Village

Surrounding areas: Wanshou Mountain

Xiniu Ancient Village

Located far from densely-populated areas, Xiniu Ancient Village is a well-preserved traditional Tujia village in its most original state. In the village, similar stilted buildings stand along the hill. Cornices, brooks, bamboos, etc., everything in the village makes it look like a hidden paradise. The village sits above five karst caves that have unique landscapes. In the caves there are stalactites, stalagmites, and torrential rivers, which make other areas in the caves quieter.

Location: Tiansheng Village, Tudi Town, Wulong District

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing-Chongqing-Chengdu Expressway-Baotou-Maoming Expressway-Longqiao Street-Xiniu Ancient Village

Surrounding areas: Xiannv Mountain, Wulong Tiankeng Three Bridges Site

Chiyou Jiuli City

Chiyou Jiuli City, located in Chongqing's Pengshui Town, carries the thousand-year dream of the Miao people, worships Chiyou (a mythological tribe leader who fought against the future Yellow Emperor) as the ancestor, and holds Chiyou worship ceremony every year in memory of the Nine Li tribe. The most eye-catching thing in Chiyou Jiuli City is the stilted building complex along the hill. Consisting of more than 300 buildings, the complex is the world's largest stilted building complex with a vertical drop of 81 meters. At the foot of the hill lies a Siheyuan (quadrangle dwellings), which is also the largest in the world.

Location: East bank of Wujiang River, Pengshui District

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing-Inner Ring Expressway-Baotou-Maoming Expressway-Chiyou Jiuli City

Surrounding areas: Ayi River, Mowei Mountain

Zhuoshui Ancient Town

The stilted buildings in Zhuoshui Ancient Town are built on the embankments of the Apeng River. Built with stone bars, the embankments of four to five meters high don't tilt at all even after more than two hundred years of vicissitudes. If you look up from under the river embankment, the stilted buildings seem to stand in the clouds.

Location: Zhuoshui Town, Qianjiang District

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing-Inner Ring Expressway-Baotou-Maoming Expressway-Zhuoshui Ancient Town

Surrounding areas: Apeng River, Qianjiang Xiaonanhai

Gongtan Ancient Town

Gongtan, the former "first ancient town in Chongqing", is a town of quietness where tourists can stroll leisurely, and its magnificent, gorgeous Wujiang Gorge Scenic Area is comparable to the Three Gorges.

Location: Baishui Cave, Xiaoyin Village, Youyang County

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing-Inner Ring Expressway-Baotou-Maoming Expressway-Gongtan Ancient Town

Surrounding areas: Taohuayuan Scenic Area, Cangpugai Grassland

Hongan Old Street

Hongan Ancient Town, a prototype of the haunting ancient town in Shen Congwen's novel Border Town, boasts its large number of ancient buildings and unique Tujia and Miao villages.

Location: Hongan Town, Xiushan County

Self-driving route: Downtown Chongqing-Inner Ring Expressway-Baotou-Maoming Expressway-Hongan Old Street

Surrounding areas: Xiushan Chuanhegai Scenic Area