Wan'an Ancient Town

Wan'an Ancient Town

Wan'an Ancient Town is located 4 kilometers due east of Xiuning County. It nestles along the northern bank of the Hengjiang River, standing by the water’s edge. The Anhui–Jiangxi Railway and the Tunjing Highway run across the town. At the eastern end of the town lies the picturesque Gu Cheng Mountain. From the first year of the Yong'an era of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period (258 AD) to the ninth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (589 AD), Gu Cheng Mountain served as the seat of the county government. In the late Sui Dynasty, Wang Hua raised an army, governed over six prefectures—She, Xu, Hang, Mu, Wu, and Rao—and also established his administration here. He renamed Gu Cheng Mountain to “Wanshou Mountain,” constructing fortifications and temples on the mountain and launching large-scale construction projects.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the national hero Jin Sheng recruited several thousand volunteer soldiers and stationed them here. Later, they marched north to resist the Qing forces but were defeated, and Jin Sheng was killed. Surrounded by a basin and situated along the Hengjiang River, Wan'an also lies on the key route from Xiuning County to the prefectural capital, making it an early settlement area for incoming residents. When land transport was underdeveloped, Wan'an served as an important water transport hub in ancient Huizhou, attracting numerous traveling merchants and gradually developing into a market town. The town street stretches about 5 li in length and ranked first among the nine major markets of Xiuning County during both the Ming and Qing dynasties, earning the reputation of “Tiny Xiuning Town, Grand Wan'an Street.”