Qianjiang

Brief Introduction of Qianjiang

Qianjiang Prefecture is located in southwestern Chongqing. It used to have five counties under it, and now with its new division of districts and counties, it is part of the municipality of Chongqing.

This area is attractive in its landscape and rich in cultural relics. As the area is inhabited by a number of ethnic groups, it is well known for the colorful customs and habits of the local people.

At present, three major tourist areas have been developed: the Qianjiang national customs and biological tourist area, the tourist area of Dayou Cave in Youyang County and the ancient town of Longtan, and the Huangshui Forest Park tourist area in Shizhu County.

Qianjiang National Customs and Biological Tourist Area

The Qianjiang national customs and biological tourist area consists of the Xiaonanhai Lake, Yangtou Mountain, Dazhong Square, the tourist center and the village of customs of different ethnic groups.

Xiaonanhai Lake

The Xiaonanhai Lake is 32 kilometers north of the urban area of Qianjiang. It is a lake formed in an earthquake in 1956. The lake covers an area of 2.87 square kilometers and over 30 meters deep on the average. In the lake there are three islands, and around the lake stand a number of peaks: Erxian Mountain, Bamian Mountain, Jigong Mountain, and Lujin Mountain. With its vast expanse of rippling waves, the lake is known as "the Fairyland on Earth", and "the West Lake in East Chongqing".

Yangtou Mountain

Yangtou (looking up) Mountain also stands north of the urban area, occupying an area of 6 square kilometers. This is a mountain with towering peaks and full of birds and fragrant flowers, in the shape of a human head looking up at the sky, hence its name.

Dazhong Square

Dazhong (masses) Square lies in the city of Qianjiang, covering an area of 40,000 square meters. At night, with numerous light in the air, thousands of local people will dance the hand-waving dance of the Tujia People to the cheerful music on the square.

Tourist Center

The Tourist Center standing by the square provides the tourist bed and board, sightseeing, sport activities, and songs and dances of the local national minorities.

Qiaoliang Village

The Qiaoliang Village is a stockade village 2 kilometers south of the Xiaonanhai Lake. Besides the dwelling houses with wooden supports, the village is especially noted for its songs and dances and other performances of the Tujia people.

Dayou Cave

The Dayou Cave is a limestone cave about 500 meters northwest of the county seat of Youyang. The cave is over 30 meters wide, and over 180 meters deep. An underground river coming from the cave empties into the Youyang River. Statistics hang from the roof and the dripping of water makes a pleasant musical sound. On the walls of the cave there are traces of ancient inscriptions of the past, but apart from the four characters meaning "Library of Ancient Age", the rest are no longer recognizable.

Once out of the opening at the other end, there appears another wide world with peach trees and farmhouses scattered in the vast expanse of fertile fields. Since the Qing Dynasty this place has been believed to be the Land of Peach Blossoms described in an essay by Tao Yuanming, a scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At present, twelve scenic spots are open to tourists, and there are inscriptions of poems or essays by contemporary poets or writers such as Ma Shitu and Liu Shahe.

Old Town of Longtan

The old town of Longtan is located on the southern border of Youyang County deep in the Wuyi Mountains. In this area of 7.2 square kilometers live 35,000 people of the Tujia, Miao and Han nationalities.

The present town was built in 1735 in the Qing Dynasty on the Longtan River. This large old town has been well preserved. The 3-kilometer long main street paved with blue flagstone plates. Fossils of ancient marine life may be found on these flagstone plates. The sewage system built more than 260 years ago is still working.

More than 50 dwellings houses on wooden supports with their graceful roofs are typical of dwellings of the Tujia people. The old town is divided by more than 150 walls into over 200 quadrangle houses around courtyards, and the houses with their small courtyards have an air of primitive simplicity, quiet, peaceful and secluded. Some of the most famous houses include the former residence of Zhao Shiyan, the former residence of Wang Boshan, the Wu's house, the Longevity Palace, and so on. There are also some old wells and bridges, such as the Longquan well, the Bajiao well, and the Longtou Bridge, giving the town an ancient look.

There are some other historical cultural relics about the town: the bridge on another bridge, the lane that faces another lane, the stone carvings described in a novel by Shen Congwen, a noted contemporary writer, and the Osmanthus Garden where Zhao Shiyan, a revolutionary and a leader of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1920s, received his education in his early days. According to a plan drawn by the Chongqing Tourist Bureau, the old town of Longtan will become an important tourist area on the Chongqing-Wujiang River-Zhangjiajie route.

The Huangshui National Forest Park

The Huangshui National Forest Park in Shizhu County occupies an area of 50,400 hectares of land, averaging 1,600 meters above sea level. It is the largest of the five national forest parks in Chongqing, and the only one that has been developed by national minorities. Up to now there are 36 scenic spots and tourist attractions in the park, including the Bizika Green Palace, China's No.1 mother metasequoia, the Dafengbao virgin forest, Xituo, an old town of the Ming and Qing dynasty, the manor of Yao, a former landlord. Some sports and other activities of traditional Tujia customs are popular in this area: the hand-waving dance, attacking a stronghold on water, throwing sickles, dragon-boat racing and weeping at the wedding. Located at the center of the Big Gold Triangle of the tourist route Chongqing-Three Gorges-Zhangjiajie, this forest park has a very promising prospect.