Tongchengzhai Village

Tongchengzhai Village

Tongchengzhai Village is located in Liulin Town, Enyang District. The village was established during the Ming Dynasty, situated at Liulinpu, with a terrain described as “three stockades encircling one ridge.” To this day, many ancient streets, old towns, and historic temples remain well-preserved, along with numerous beautiful stories and legends.

I. Four Ancient Streets with Interconnected Homes

The four old streets of Tongchengzhai Village all feature gable-and-hip roofs with blue tiles and are built with earth and wood structures, consisting of either one or two stories. Each household has a central hall, around which the buildings are symmetrically arranged, typically spanning three or five bays, with one or two courtyards. The homes are interconnected, forming a sizable complex.

Shangdong Street faces west and stretches 122 meters in length and 50 meters in width. It stands opposite Xidong Street, with an ancient bluestone path running between them. Behind the street are scattered standalone siheyuan (courtyard houses) and sanheyuan (three-section courtyard houses).

Xiadong Street also faces west, measuring 85 meters in length and 45 meters in width. It faces Xidong Street across a central bluestone path. Legend has it that a man surnamed Zhang from Xiadong Street became quite wealthy and originally planned to build a two-story house. When construction reached the second floor, the elderly Mr. Zhang had a dream one night in which an old man emerged from a well behind the mountain and said to him: “You are blocking my view; I can’t see my friend across.” Upon waking, the old man dismantled the unfinished second floor, resulting in his house being three feet shorter than the surrounding ones.

Shangxi Street faces east, with a total length of 95 meters and a width of 45 meters. It stands opposite Shangdong Street, with a bluestone path running between them. Behind the street are scattered standalone siheyuan.

Xi xi Street faces east, stretching 65 meters in length and 40 meters in width. It stands opposite Xiadong Street, with a bluestone path running between them.

II. A Millennium-Old Stockade Leaves Behind Numerous Historic Sites

Tongchengzhai Village boasts historic sites such as ancient streets, Tongcheng Stockade, Xianglu Stockade, Guandi Temple, Guanyin Temple, Red Stele, Lingshui Bay, and ancient bridges. These are located in areas such as the old streets, Tongcheng Stockade, Xiaozhaizi (Small Stockade), Xianglu Stockade, and Lingshui Bay.

Tongchengzhai Village

Tongcheng Stockade is situated behind the old streets. Built leveraging the natural terrain and constructed with massive stones, it is rectangular in shape, covering an area of 30 mu, with an average height of 25 meters. The stockade is strategically located and has a history of approximately 900 years. It is divided into a front and rear stockade, with the rear stockade being Xiaozhaizi.

Guandi Temple was built during the Ming Dynasty and renovated in the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign. The temple consists of a rear hall, main hall, side rooms, and an opera stage. Around Guandi Temple, there are five stone stelae commemorating deceased monks, including one stone pagoda and one ancient coin pagoda, both covered with poems and inscriptions. In the past, Guandi Temple was commonly referred to as Wusheng Palace, hence classifying it as a martial temple.

In 1932, Xu Xiangqian, Commander-in-Chief of the Fourth Red Army, led troops to be stationed in Liulin and set up an office here. A stone inkstone, a bed, a small ancient Bodhisattva statue, and a pair of ancient stone items used by Xu Xiangqian are still preserved. In the early 1950s, shortly after the liberation, the Liulin Township Government was located in Guandi Temple for several decades.

Every year on the 13th day of the fifth lunar month, the “Mojian Meeting” is held. The feast includes chicken, duck, fish, and meat, featuring large portions of meat and generous drinks, in commemoration of Guan Yu’s solo meeting bearing only his sword. During certain historical periods, Guandi Temple served as an administrative site and a hub for cultural dissemination, bearing the political, economic, and cultural legacy of the local community.

Guanyin Temple was first built during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. The main hall spans 160 square meters and remains well-preserved. Inside the hall are 17 Buddha statues, with side halls on both sides. Outside the hall stands a character pagoda built in the eighth year of the Guangxu reign. The Guanyin Temple Fair is held annually on the 19th days of the second, sixth, and ninth lunar months. During the fair, vegetarian banquets are offered to worshippers, attracting large numbers of visitors.

III. Two Clans Choose an Auspicious Land to Settle

At the top of the stockade stands a giant General Stone (also called Human Head Stone), standing tall and striking, adding scenic beauty to the area. Liulinpu lies along an ancient route — historically, the stone path from Chengdu to Langzhong passed right by the “chest” of the Human Head Stone, with merchants traveling back and forth constantly, bringing prosperity. Beneath the Human Head Stone is a fountain that provides drinking water for hundreds of people. In the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign, a ?Fenxianmiao (local term, exact translation unclear) was built near the spring. Due to the mountainous terrain, scholars and officials often visited, contributing to the area's cultural richness. The settlement gradually expanded from the foot of the mountain upwards, eventually developing into the architectural complex seen today.

According to the stele records of the Du family, the Dus settled in this village during the late Ming Dynasty. Later, in the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, the Wang family migrated from Zhongmei Village, Anhua, Hunan to Sichuan. The founding ancestor of the Wangs in Sichuan settled in Tongcheng Stockade, where generations have lived, thrived, and gradually built and refined their home and cultural heritage.