Yongzhou Section of the Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road

Yongzhou Section of the Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road

The Yongzhou Section of the Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road (Yongzhou Section)

The Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road, also known as the Xiaoshao Ancient Road. Tracing the Xiao River downstream to the Hejiang River, the route leads from Daozhou through Jianghua into Fengcheng, Guangxi, and then to Hezhou, or via Jiangyong into Fengcheng, Guangxi, and on to Hezhou. It has been a vital transportation artery connecting the north and south of Mengzhu Ridge for thousands of years. In 2011, the People's Government of Hunan Province designated it as a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit.

Mengzhu Ridge has long served as a natural barrier separating the north and south of the Five Ridges, between Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. In the 33rd year of the reign of Qin Shi Huang (213 BCE), the court expanded the route based on the existing Chendao, turning it into a combined water and land “new road” leading south to Guangzhou. For over two thousand years, from the Qin and Han dynasties through the late Qing and early Republican periods, this Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road played a crucial role in promoting national unity, enhancing integration among ethnic groups, and fostering economic, cultural, and social exchange and development in the regions south of the Yangtze River.

After the construction of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway and the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, the functionality of the Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road began to decline. From the 1950s onward, with the building of the Shuangpai Reservoir and the Centianhe Reservoir on the Xiao River, along with the continuous development of road infrastructure—especially following the rural road construction projects of the 21st century—the ancient road suffered damage and was eventually abandoned. Along its route, many ancient city sites, military camps, pavilions, streets, and villages have been preserved.

The Hunan-Guangxi Ancient Road has now been nominated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Hunan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units