Fenghuang Ancient Town
Fenghuang Ancient City is located in the southwest of Hunan Province. It borders Luxi County in the East, Mayang County in the South, Jishou City and Huayuan County in the north， and Tongren of Guizhou province to the west, serving as the strategic gateway connecting Hunan and Guizhou provinces. Fenghuang, or "phoenix", are mythological birds in China that reign over all other birds. It gets its name from a legend that two of these fantastic birds flew over the town and found the town so beautiful that they were reluctant to leave.
Fenghuang Ancient City，the 300 years old town, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on March 28, 2008. The charm of this ancient town goes beyond the natural beauty. It is placed in a remote mountain area, incorporating the natural flow of water into city layout and claimed to be one of the two most beautiful towns in China. This ancient city harbors its unique languages, cultures and arts. Besides, it has a number of old gardens, distinctive architectures, elegant bridges as well as many mysterious towers and pagodas. In Fenghuang Ancient City, tourists can also get a glimpse of the Southern Great Wall, which once was built in the Ming Dynasty to protect the local Han Chinese from Miao attacks. Most of the ethnic Miao people live in highlands. Story goes that the ancestors of the Miao people originally lived in the plains with richer resources. By reason of tribal conflicts, they had to retreat towards the highlands and rebuilt their world. But today the Miao people live with local Han people.
In the local shops, travelers will find a great amount of handmade objects full of ethnic flavors including silver accessories, homemade textiles, and batik fabric. Food here is of local style and most of them are with pickled red peppers.
The town is exceptional well- preserved and untouched. It will be a wonderful experience to following the windings of these impressive lanes in the ancient town. Dozens of the lanes are paved with flagstones that extend between the wooden houses. In rainy days, smoke blurred the landscape and the ancient town. It’s so fantastic that as if in a wonderland.
