History of Ciqikou

Ciqikou in Chongqing is an ancient town of 1000 years and it is called "the miniature of Chongqing". There is a common belief among the local people that "Ciqikou exists prior to the existence of Chongqing".It was named "Ciqikou" as it had supplied large sum of chinaware during Ming and Qing Dynasty.

Ciqikou had always been a vital dock and material distribution center in history. In the Three Kingdoms period, there was a saying that Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou, Zhang Fei guarded Langzhong and Zhao Yun guarded Chongqing (Ciqikou).Since the Ciqikou was the junction of the water and land traffic in eastern Sichuan and northern Sichuan, it was the strategic outreach office of the old Chongqing. It is said that Shu Kingdom's general Zhao Yun handled official business once a month in Ciqikou. This was an usual practice which lasted to the early Republican period.

Ciqikou Old Town was first built in Song Dynasty (998-1003) when Emperor Zhenzong governed the country.

According to the legend, in early Ming Dynasty Zhu Yunwen (the second emperor of Ming Dynasty) was forced to cut his hair and became a monk. He came to Yu (now Chongqing) and took the Baoyan Temple in Ciqikou Old Town as his shelter. Therefore, the old town is also called Longyin (Hidden Dragon) Old Town.

In the transitional period from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, it obtained a good reputation because of the production and selling of porcelain (in Chineses porcelain is called "ciqi"). Thus it was renamed "Ciqikou". At that time, the land transportation was not as convenient as today. As an important commercial dock at the bank of Jialing River, Ciqikou became very prosperous and reached its climax. It had been written in a poem as "one thousand people greet each other during the day, and ten thousand lamps flicker at night".

In 1918, the local businessmen established a Shu porcelain factory in Qingcaopo of Ciqikou, producing high-qualified porcelain with bright colors, fine texture, multiple varieties and good reputation. The products were sold throughout the whole country.

In 1998, Ciqikou Old Town was declared by the State Council as the traditional street under key protection in Chongqing and is now created as the world-class tourism brand, attracting the visitors both from home and abroad.