Longxi Ancient Town in Xinhuang

Longxi Ancient Town in Xinhuang

As one of the three major commercial hubs in the 1930s, Longxi Ancient Town originated where people gathered at the meeting point of the Longxi River and the Wushui River. This led to the development of the Longxikou Market, which thrived during the Qing Dynasty’s Tongzhi era and was a key stop along the “Southern Silk Road on Water.” The area also boasts intricately designed Ming and Qing dynasty “yinzi houses” (a type of traditional Chinese building), with buildings standing close together and eaves nearly touching. It stands as a historical testament to the fusion of economic and cultural exchanges between China’s eastern and western ethnic groups. The development of its waterborne commerce predates Zhang Qian’s opening of the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty by over 1,000 years.

Like other Ming and Qing dynasty yinzi houses, those in Longxi share the same layout: a courtyard house with double doors, small windows, and high fireproof walls. Their roofs slope inward proportionally from all four sides toward the center, helping to capture air and rainwater—an idea that resonated with merchants’ belief that “wealth should not flow beyond one’s own domain.” The rainwater gifted by nature could also be collected via these courtyards for fire prevention. There were two main methods for fireproofing yinzi houses: one was using tall fireproof walls to prevent the spread of flames, and the other was storing the “wealthy water” (rainwater) collected from the courtyards for firefighting during emergencies. As a result, every yinzi house had a large water tank placed in its courtyard to collect this “heaven-sent wealth,” known as the “Peace Tank.” Stepping inside the inner rooms, you’ll notice what sets Longxi’s yinzi houses apart—the interior is entirely built with wooden structures typical of the traditional Dong people’s stilted buildings.

“The blossoms have fallen, the cuckoo cries; I hear the Dragon Standard has passed the Five Streams. I send my sorrowful heart to the bright moon, to follow you westward to the Land of Night.” These are the immortal lines written by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai for his friend Wang Changling when the latter was demoted to the post of magistrate of Longbiao. The Zhenjiang Pavilion in Longxi was originally built during the Tang Dynasty but was later destroyed in a fire during the Cultural Revolution. In 1989, the Xinhuang County Government rebuilt it on the original site and established Longxi Park.