Chongqing—Chongqing and Sichuan jointly announced a themed heritage route on Nov. 8, following the ancient roads that once linked Chongqing and Chengdu. The initiative connects surviving road sections and related heritage sites with historic cities, towns and villages, historic buildings, scenic areas, natural landscapes and museums along the way.
The route was jointly released by the Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, under the guidance of cultural heritage authorities in both regions. It is organized around six themes: military defense, migration, trade, the post-station system, road engineering, and religious culture.
A map showing the distribution of the East Main Route and East Small Route, which connected Chongqing and Chengdu through a network of historic towns and post stations. (Photo: CQNews, English version edited by Li Xinyi)
Two routes linking Chongqing and Chengdu
The Chengdu-Chongqing Ancient Roads were not a single road but a network built around two main routes.
Dongdalu, or the East Main Route, served as an official post road and was recorded in historical accounts as 1,080 li long, with li being a traditional Chinese unit of distance. A 2025 document from the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development puts the route's total length at about 510 kilometers, including approximately 189 kilometers within Chongqing. The 510-kilometer figure comes from a modern assessment of the route, not from converting the historical mileage.
A historical photograph of Jinguan Post Station in Chengdu, an important stop at the western end of the ancient road. (Photo: Sichuan Guan News)
It began at Tongyuan Gate in Chongqing and ran through Bishan, Yongchuan and Rongchang before entering Sichuan. It then continued through Neijiang, Ziyang and Jianyang before reaching the historic Jinguan Post Station in Chengdu. Historical records also identify a network of post stations and relay stops along the way, including Baishiyi, Zouma and Laifengyi. These were among the route's main stops, alongside smaller relay stations and settlements along the way.
Xiaodonglu, or the East Small Route, was a shorter but steeper route used mainly for private trade. Historical records put its length at 815 li, which converts to approximately 408 kilometers using the modern standard of 500 meters per li. It began in Yuzhong District in Chongqing and passed through Bishan, Tongliang and Dazu before entering Sichuan. It then continued through Anyue, Lezhi and Jianyang before reaching Chengdu. These were among the route's main locations, with smaller settlements along the way.
The roads carried more than people and goods. They also brought news, stories, and cultural traditions from one community to another.
Roads for trade, travel, and cultural exchange
Historical accounts trace the origins of the roads to the Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (202 BCE–220 CE) dynasties. The network took shape during the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties and flourished during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties.
As modern highways and railways between Chengdu and Chongqing opened, the ancient roads gradually fell out of regular use, leaving surviving sections scattered across the region.
Since 2024, archaeologists and heritage specialists from both regions have carried out a joint survey alongside China's Fourth National Cultural Relics Census. They found that most surviving sections date from the Qing dynasty, while some can be traced to the Ming or even Song dynasties.
The remains include stone-paved roads, paths cut along hillsides, and earthen tracks, as well as bridges, wharves, temples, military structures, shops, workshops, and cliff inscriptions. Together, these remains illustrate the roads' importance for transportation and trade, as well as the role of strategic mountain passes and military checkpoints in controlling access along the routes.
A stone-paved section of the Chengdu-Chongqing Ancient Road at Erlangguan in Chongqing. (Photo: Sichuan Guan News)
Heritage resources along the Chongqing section
The survey of the Chongqing section has also revealed a wide range of cultural heritage resources along the route.
The Chongqing section passes through seven districts, including Yuzhong, Shapingba, Jiulongpo, Bishan, Yongchuan, Dazu, and Rongchang.
Along the 189-kilometer Chongqing section of the East Main Route, the commission's inventory lists 39 sites classified as immovable cultural relics, nine historic buildings, nine intangible cultural heritage items, and 13 historic place names. The inventory also identifies two historic towns, Zouma and Anfu, as well as Jiaoyuan, a traditional village in Zouma. Zouma is also known for its folk storytelling tradition, which China added to its national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. The stories were created and passed down orally by people whose livelihood was transporting goods on horseback.
Visitors walk along the Zouma section of the Chengdu-Chongqing Ancient Road in Zoumapu, Chongqing. (Photo: Chongqing Daily)
Chongqing has also produced a map book covering its section of the ancient road, along with a route guide showing how to reach surviving stretches and related heritage sites.
A survey of the Chongqing section by the Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology also identified 85 leads for further investigation of cultural remains. These included 38 ancient-road and post-station remains, 12 bridge and wharf sites, four military facilities and 13 cliff-inscription sites. Other categories included shops and workshops, inscribed steles, ponds and wells, tombs, temple remains, shrines, and residential buildings.
The findings add to the historical record of the ancient roads and help researchers better understand the transportation networks, commercial activities, and daily life that once developed along them.
Laoguankou, a historic pass at Tuomucao on Longyin Mountain in Bishan District, offers a closer look at the ancient road's military role.
Archaeologists in Bishan have uncovered the remains of Laoguankou, a historic pass that remained hidden for centuries. (Photo: Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
An archaeological excavation in 2025 uncovered stone-paved roads, paths cut into the rock, cliff inscriptions, gates, walls, watchtowers, and barracks. The remains show that the pass served not only as a transport checkpoint but also as a defensive position and a place where people lived and worked.
Laoguankou connected Baishiyi to the east with Laifengyi Post Station to the west. It was a key stop for official couriers, merchants, and travelers between Chongqing and Chengdu, offering a glimpse into the trade and movement that linked the two cities during the Ming and Qing periods.
From historic links to regional cooperation
Cooperation between the two regions predates the new heritage route.
In December 2023, culture and tourism authorities from five Chongqing districts, Yongchuan, Dazu, Bishan, Tongliang and Rongchang, and two Sichuan cities, Neijiang and Ziyang, signed a memorandum on regional cooperation along the ancient roads. The agreement aimed to strengthen heritage protection and bring together tourism resources across the region.
In 2024, tourism authorities from the two regions introduced several themed itineraries, including routes connecting Chongqing and Chengdu in both directions and another linking Rongchang in Chongqing with Longchang in Sichuan.
More than 100 travel agents and social media creators from the two regions also joined on-site visits during a joint promotional campaign, helping introduce the area's cultural and tourism resources to a wider audience.
Cooperation between Dazu and Anyue offers another example of cross-regional heritage collaboration.
In May 2024, Dazu District in Chongqing and Ziyang City in Sichuan signed an agreement to develop a separate heritage route focused on grotto temples and rock carvings. Its first three itineraries were released that August, linking cultural sites in Anyue with the Dazu Rock Carvings.
The route brings together 51 core heritage resources centered on grotto-temple sites, along with 15 related resources, including other cultural heritage sites and exhibition venues. In April 2025, it was selected as one of China's outstanding themed heritage routes for 2024.
Although it is separate from the newly announced Chengdu-Chongqing Ancient Roads route, the project shows how the two regions are working together to protect, present and develop cultural heritage across administrative borders.
Places to explore along the ancient routes
For visitors interested in exploring the region, the themed itineraries released in 2024 offer a useful starting point.
The route associated with the East Main Route includes Wanling Ancient Town and cultural attractions linked to Rongchang grass cloth and pottery. During the Southern Song dynasty, Wanling served as a river port and a distribution center for goods. Its streets still retain Ming and Qing-era features. Rongchang grass cloth, traditionally handwoven from ramie, and Rongchang pottery offer visitors a closer look at the area's craftsmanship and textile traditions.
The itinerary associated with the East Small Route connects the grotto sites of Anyue in Sichuan with the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing. Dating mainly from the 9th to 13th centuries, the Dazu Rock Carvings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. Their subjects bring together Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian traditions, while also offering glimpses of everyday life in ancient China.
The tourism itineraries introduced in 2024 are related to, but separate from, the newly announced heritage route. The two regions say further work will focus on protecting surviving sections of the ancient roads, explaining their historical significance and developing the heritage route. The announcement does not mean that the entire route is already open to visitors as a continuous hiking trail.
By bringing together historic roads, archaeological sites, traditional crafts, and cultural attractions, the initiative aims to bring renewed attention to the long-standing ties between Chongqing and Chengdu, highlighting a shared history shaped by travel, trade, and cultural exchange.