Qingyan Ancient Town
.jpg)
Qingyan Ancient Town is one of the most important historical and cultural sites in Guizhou province, originally built in 1378 due to military reasons. It lies in the southern suburb of Guiyang, and built totally by stones. The city wall itself was built right on the cliffs with giant rocks, which divided into inner and outer town.
The town was built in Ming dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang the first emperor of Ming want to transferring military messages, he built the down as a station due to its unique geographical location. After years and years, it gradually becomes a distinct town with cultural features of Ming and Qing dynasties.
The old buildings inside the town are the must sees. There are 9 monasteries, 8 temples, 5 pavilions, 3 caves and 2 ancestral halls, 1 palace that worth a visit. Besides the traditional Chinese building, there’s also a Christian church and Catholic cathedral can be found inside the town.
The local ancient residential also keep in original style and design now; you can see the intact Chaomen (monumental gateway) and wickets of the town. There are many elegant classical wooden houses on the sides of its ancient business streets. In the shops, many shopkeepers still show their time-honored stone or wooden sales counters. If you like, you can stop at one of those tea houses to sip a cup of tea and taste of the local flavorous snacks, such as Qingyan tofu, rice tofu and rose sugar.
