Ancient Town of Pushi

Ancient Town of Pushi

Pushi was once a prominent town and a key river port in western Hunan during ancient times, earning the elegant nickname “Little Nanjing.” During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was famous for its thriving production of pig iron, timber, cinnabar, and tung oil. "Five-mile-long bustling streets, thousands of illuminated homes, constant flow of merchants, and a multitude of boats," along with thirteen provincial guildhalls and sixty-four temples, showcased the town’s past prosperity and cultural richness.

Located 20 kilometers upstream from Baisha Town, the county seat of Luxi County in Jishou City, Hunan Province, lies Pushi Town—one of the four renowned “famous towns” in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Pushi is situated in the southeastern part of the county, on the western bank of the Yuan River, facing Chenxi County in Huaihua region across the river. The town covers an area of 238.68 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 60,000.

The northwestern part of the town features overlapping mountain ranges, the central area has undulating hills, and it is not until reaching the banks of the Yuan River that the terrain becomes flat. Hills and plains each account for two-fifths of the land.

Due to its well-developed waterway transportation, Pushi enjoyed remarkable commercial and cultural prosperity throughout history. From the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Republican era, within this ancient town of less than two square kilometers, three ancient commercial streets, six historic theaters, thirteen provincial guildhalls, over twenty freight docks, forty-five lanes, more than fifty enclosed-firewall merchant houses, seventy-two temples and Taoist shrines, and over ninety workshops were established. Owing to active trade exchanges and cultural blending, it earned the esteemed title “Little Nanjing.”

Against the backdrop of convenient transportation, a gathering of merchants, and the accumulation of wealth, the grand, symmetrically laid out, exquisitely carved, simple yet elegant, compactly structured, and fully functional residences of Pushi gradually matured and became refined.

Pushi Town: a town under the jurisdiction of Luxi County. It was designated as the Special Town of Pushi in 1949, established as Pushi Town in 1953, reorganized as the Pushi Commune in 1958, restored as a town in 1984, and in 1987, Pushiyang Township was merged into Pushi Town. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, covering an area of 134.7 square kilometers with a population of 34,000. The town government is based in Pushi, which is 26 kilometers away from the county seat by waterway. Roads connect to the county seat, and the Yuan River is navigable year-round. The town administers four neighborhood committees—Shizijie, Taipingjie, Xinjianjie, and Yanfangjie—as well as the villages of Yinjiaqiao, Chengxiang, Huangjiaqiao, Pushi, Xia'anping, Gaoqiao, Qingcao, Yinjingchong, Xinbao, Doqi, Tianjiaxi, … Pushi Town detailed information++