China's Ancient Towns

I have always loved the ancient towns, cities and villages of China. These images come to mind when I think of them.

Part of my love for the aesthetic, environment and urbanscape is imagined, where my mind takes me down the slippery slope of fantasy. Mystery soon takes over and the historical or real world fact's diminish. I quickly find myself lost down alleyways of ancient siheyuan, tuluo or climbing pagoda's.

The reality is, many of these experiences have formed the bedrock of Middle Kingdom and it's many ancient towns. It is this blended intepretation of fact and fiction that makes it so wonderful.

The list below of real life ancient towns are definitely worth a visit and they showcase it is not such a stretch of the imagination in MK.

Ancient Towns

Many of the nations ancient towns have evolved into megacities. This is a list of the few remaining and well preserved ancient towns of historical China.

Pingyao

Forget the famous beef and rice wine, Pingyao is more interesting than any food. The walls, streets and inner city hold the secrets of several dynasties, dating back as far as 800bc. Whilst this town was originally owned by the Jin Dynasty (The Enemies of the Song Dynasty in MK) we can't hold that against it. The city is a marvellously preserved ancient town and looks to become even more of a hub for history and culture in the future.

Wuzhen Water Town- Zhejiang

What mysteries lie on the bed of this river, I can only wonder. Nothing can beat sipping your tea, overlooking the rivers of Wuzhen. It takes you back to an ancient time when life was simpler. Many of the Middle Kingdom books have moments where Fai, Chang and Li Na find themselves in similiar settings, enjoying the same kind of vibes and heritage.

Zhenyuan Ancient Town

Charm, intimidation, awe. These are three feelings that come to mind alongside the incredible excitement that Zhenyuan conjures. I am genuinely too excited to even type about it. Nevertheless I will try.

Set on the banks of the river Wuyang, this location plays a critial role in the MK series. Not only that, but the 106 surrounding rivers and streams influence the human elements of the tale. The stories of Zhenyuan in real life are equally (if not superior) to MK.

Still a strong hub for Chinese Folk Religion, Taosism and Buddhism, Zhenyuan is perhaps as close to the 'Old China' as we can get too today. The old town is both a place I want to retire and completely explore. Something tells me that there are plenty of hidden stories still to be uncovered here.

Ciqikou Old Town - Chongqing

Chongqing is doing wonders. It is the world's largest city by population and few of us in the West have ever heard about it. It's not the typical city too.

Located on high, steep hills, two merging rivers and a sprawling urbanscape the modern city is the home of hotpot and metropolitan innovation. The Ciqikou old town is hard to differentiate from the other standing historical landmarks.

When you do find it, this scale and size of anything does not detract from the beauty or fascinating history.

Wuyuan Village - Jiangxi

Wuyuan, a mountain village close to Jingdezhen is an incredibly preserved nucleus of architecture, culture and customs dating back to the year 740. In Wuyuan county there is more than just one historical village!

Dali Old Town - Yunnan

The historical home of the Bai people, Dali was once capital of the Dali empire. The dynasty fell to the Yuan, (like the Song Dynasty) but before this Dali was part of the Kingdom of Nanzha, which no doubt established it in the centre of several trade routes through the surrounding Yun Mountains, Hengduan Mountains and Tibetan plateau.

Xidi Ancient Village - Huangshan

With one of the best preserved historical landscapes in China, Xidi gives off a certain ambience. It is one of the few historical ancient towns still built on the original urban planning design. This correlates to all things within, with a focus on the numerous halls, public buildings and rivers that line the avenues. It's an important part of Song Dynasty history as shown in MK.

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village – Kaili, Guizhou

Dark woods, deep green's, intricate wooden houses on stilts and a sense of craftsmanship long lost across the rest of the world. That's my opening statement for the Capital of the Miao people. Miao culture is absolutely fantastic, with vibrant social activities, a super strong community and a good sense of tradition. I am not sure why, but I love it here and every Miao ethnic minority person I have met is a true ambassador of their heritage. The village is a hotpot of culture, where you can truly get lost in your mind and the setting.

Fenghuang Ancient Town - Hunan

Pheonix city, my personal favorite of the ancient towns in China is a place like no other. It is a pivotal city in Middle Kingdom, but the actual city is just as important. Another centre for the Miao people, this is arguably China's best preserved ancient river city site. It is easy to imagine life in the year in the 1600's being fairly similiar to how it is today. Under the Qing, the town saw massive expansion. Now, it see's similiar growth but under the hat of tourism, and it seems to be going in the right direction. 10/10 a must visit for all history lovers. The name in case you were wondering is due to a legend of two birds. Mesmerised by the beauty of the area, nestled between the Tianmen mountains, called this place their home. Much like the two birds, I think all those that visit will be mesmerised by it's beauty.

Lijiang - North West Yunnan Province

People will hate me for saying it, but Lijiang has so many comparable traits to Kyoto. Famous for it's ancient water supply system, Lijian is also one of humanities earliest settlements. During the Paleolithic age, some 100,000 years ago a community of our ancestors blossomed here, with cave drawings being found and undoubtedly more secrets yet to be discovered.

Shangri-La - North West Yunnan Province

Unfortunately half of this 100,000 year old town was lost in a recent fire. Heartbreaking.

Shangri-La is found suspiciously close to the other ancient site Lijian in Yunnan Province. It is the focal point of the Middle Season of Middle Kingdom (Books 11-18) and a hypnotic destination. Reading in more detail about Shangri-la will change your view on world hhistory and human civilisation. Duke-Zhong and the numerous monestaries are the stan out features of the city, but the charming back alleys and side streets is where most of the magic really is.

Tongling - Southern Anhui Province

Another setting for another series outside of Middle Kingdom, Tongling is everything we imagine an ancient town in China to be. It has charm, mystery, a fantastic history and a well hidden underbelly of some serious horrors. Whilst sinister and horrid at the time, for me, these past events only make it a more interesting and desirable location to visit. Dating back 1500 years of continuous history, it has maintained it's status as an industrial hub and continues to grow quickly. How this impacts the ancient elements of the city is yet to be seen.

Jingdezhen

Call me biased but Jingdezhen will forever hold a special place in my heart.

It is the ceramic capital of the world and steeped in 2000 years of history.

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If you found this article interesting, you will definitely enjoy reading Middle Kingdom, The Three Descendants. The series is based in many of the locations listed, delving into the history in a unique and interesting manner. The storyline encapsultates the charm, mystery (some nostalgia) and intrigue of the ancient towns of China and is escapism in it's purest form.

Link to paperback and kindle version in the below cover, click it to visit Amazon. Middle Kingdom is so in your field of interest if you enjoyed this article.

Middle Kingdom Book 1 Cover

I will reward one person who shares this article with a free, signed, annotated and personalised version of Middle Kingdom - The Three Descendants.