INTRODUCTION
Located around 26 kilometers Northeast of the downtown area, you will find Longxing ancient town. It is a famous historical town and cultural town in Chongqing. The town contains two communities and 21 administrative villages under its jurisdiction and retains many traditional folk activities. It boasts a rich cultural heritage, fresh air, beautiful scenery, and distinctive Bayu characteristics making it a place absolutely worth visiting. Longxing ancient town is, in many ways, similar to Ciqikou but is less developed and so retains more of its original old charm.
The old streets of Longxing Ancient Town nestled in between more modern developments /Mikkel Larsen
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Longxing Ancient town is a prosperous town and has been for many years. You will see more modern developments surrounding the ancient town when you go there now, but it still retains its charm. Longxing ancient town is especially famous for being the birthplace of more than 200 people contributing to Chinese history.
The town has existed for more than 600 years and originally started as a market in the late Yuan Dynasty, and commerce has always been the main component of the city’s growth. Supposedly, Emperor Wen of the Ming Dynasty is said to have taken refuge in this town, leading to an increase in popularity.
Longxing is also a city known for its three modernizations. It contains numerous ancient relics such as ancestral halls, temples, stone bridges, residential homes, modern cultural sports squares, office buildings, and commercial buildings. Lying on the Yangtze River, it is also a strong economic town.
Winemaking is a longstanding tradition in China, and in many places such as old towns, you can find many different kinds. /Mikkel Larsen
MAIN ATTRACTIONS
Longxing Old Street
One of the main attractions of Longxing Ancient Town is the old streets themselves. Along the way, you will see old buildings, ancestral halls, and countless small local restaurants selling noodles, steamed buns, and more. There is a shop in Tingziguai Old Street that has used wooden pillars, beams, and arches, and black clay tiles to form a canopy that reaches 40-50 meters up. This was built to help people take refuge from the sun and the rain. The old streets themselves will show you the true characteristics of an old town, with much less modern development than Ancient Tows like Ciqikou.
Liu Family Courtyard
Originally a residence of Liu Dengji, a rich landlord, merchant, and industrialist. The courtyard was built in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. It covers an area of 1800 square meters and is surrounded by a 12-meter high firewall. It is the most complete existing landlord residence in Chongqing. It features brown Chinese Lacquer, white powder walls, and small windows with dense window lattices.
Huaxia Ancestral Shrine
An ancestral Shine, hall, or temple, also called a lineage temple, is a Chinese temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages of families in the Chinese Traditional Religion. Ancestral temples are closely linked to the Confucian culture of filial piety.
Folklore Museum
Longxing Folklore Museum has three exhibition halls that showcase farming tools, carved canopy beds, and folk art and crafts exhibitions. The hall opposite mainly displays Qing Dynasty carved canopy beds collected from Yubei District and Longxing District. The nine large carved beds are made of wide materials in large sizes, showing incredible artistry, delicate knife work, and exquisite decorations.