Tongliang Anju Ancient Town

Tongliang Anju Ancient Town

Tongliang Anju Ancient Town is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural tourism destination.

Anju Ancient Town (a national AAAA-level tourist attraction) derives its name from the Da’an River (also known as the Qiongjiang River) that runs through the region, conveying the meaning of living in peace and working in contentment. The ancient town is situated in Anju Town, Tongliang District, Chongqing, with a total scenic area of 13.2 square kilometers, encompassing the 3-square-kilometer core area of Anju Ancient Town as well as cultural and tourism functional areas including Heilongzui, Pipa Island, Huangjiaba, and Bolun Temple.

Tongliang Anju Ancient Town

Boasting a superior location and convenient transportation. Since ancient times, Anju has had well-developed waterway transport, connecting upstream to western Sichuan and downstream to Chongqing, Wuhan, and Shanghai. Boats such as sampans, Shuangfeiyan boats, and Anyue ships shuttled along the routes, while various guilds flourished — including those of wine merchants, salt traders, bamboo raft makers, butchers, weavers, and dyers — making it an important goods distribution hub on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Anju Ancient Town is 17 kilometers from Tongliang District, 23 kilometers from Hechuan District, and 66 kilometers from central Chongqing. It is just 3.5 kilometers from the Shao Yun interchange of the Chongqing-Suining Expressway, serving as the central node of the western Chongqing tourism loop, which includes the Dazu Rock Carvings, Hechuan Fishing Town, and Tongnan Yang Family Residence. Its geographical advantages are evident. Located at 30 degrees north latitude, the ancient town has been shrouded in mystery since ancient times.

Rich in history and abundant in relics. As early as 20,000 years ago, humans began to settle and thrive in Anju. Villages formed during the Han Dynasty, and by the Sui and Tang dynasties, it had become a key waterway hub along the lower reaches of the Fu River. Anju was established as a county three times — in the eighth year of the Sui Kaihuang era (588 AD), the seventh year of the Northern Song Xining era (1074 AD), and the seventeenth year of the Ming Chenghua era (1481 AD) — and was incorporated into Tongliang County in the sixth year of the Qing Yongzheng era (1728 AD). Anju Ancient Town is a feng shui city with a well-preserved system, grand scale, and remarkable depth and layering. To the east rises Feifeng Mountain, to the south winds Hualong Mountain, to the west spans Wumu Stream connecting to Guanzishan, and to the north lies the Fu River, with undulating high ridges and steep cliffs along the riverbanks. Within the town, there are 197 municipal and district-level cultural relics and historic sites, as well as one national intangible cultural heritage item. Clan ancestral halls, guildhalls, chambers of commerce, and secret societies thrived; the “Nine Palaces and Eighteen Temples” shine brilliantly; streets and alleys are lined with densely packed Ming and Qing architecture; the Qiongjiang River and Chongde Academy exude enticing charm; and guildhalls from regions such as Huguang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong are renowned far and wide.

A cradle of talent and a melting pot of culture. Anju Ancient Town is a millennium-old city that integrates the cultures of ancient county governance, Bayu (Chongqing regional culture), religion, scholarship, immigration, war resistance, and the dragon. The county yamen, Confucius Temple, academies, and the City God Temple recount the tales of the county seat; traditional houses built along the mountains, winding ancient streets and alleys, distinctive stilted buildings, the sound of riverboat workers’ chants, and Anju’s dry boats depict the essence of Bayu culture; the thousand-year-old Bolun Temple and Yuantian Palace, inscriptions by Han Yu and Mi Fu, and the inland Mazu Temple express deep religious sentiments; the thousand-year-old academy produced 200 successful imperial examination candidates, 23 jinshi (advanced scholars), and 4 Hanlin academicians. The generational scholarly legacy of the Wang and Wu Hanlin families has become a celebrated tale, while the poignant and touching story of the “Jade Hairpin” speaks of human affection; immigrants from Huguang and merchants from all directions gathered at Anju’s water docks, alongside multicultural landmarks such as the Jiangxi-style Wanshou Palace, Huizhou-style Mazu Temple, and Hunan-style Lianxi Shrine; the 13th to 17th classes of the Whampoa Military Academy were stationed in Anju for five years, training 8,425 war heroes, with figures such as Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, and [name redacted] leaving their footprints here; various styles of dragon dances — including those made of cloth, straw, vitex, vegetables, shoulder poles, and fire-spewing iron flowers — thrive in Anju, with traditions like dragon lantern performances, dragon treasure grabbing, dragon horn wrestling, and dragon boat racing enduring through time, showcasing a rich and diverse dragon culture.

Nestled between mountains and water, the environment is picturesque. Anju Ancient Town lies at the confluence of the Qiongjiang and Fu Rivers. The Fu River originates from Songpan, travels a thousand miles before entering the area, and meets the Qiongjiang and Wumu Stream beneath the town, prompting the phrase “a perilous town surrounded by water on three sides.” In the early 1990s, after the construction of the Anju Hydropower Station, the unique natural landscape of “two rivers and six banks” took shape. Embracing the riverbanks are the “Eight Scenic Spots of Anju” — Hualong Zhongxiu (Hualong Showcasing Elegance), Feifeng Yuling (Feifeng Nurturing Spirit), Bolun Pengyue (Bolun Holding the Moon), Shima Chengxiang (Stone Horse Presenting Auspiciousness), Qionghua Xianrui (Qionghua Offering Fortune), Ziji Yanxia (Purple Pole Misty Glow), Guanjian Liubei (Guanjian Flowing Cups), and Shengshui Wanta (Holy Water Evening View) — all breathtakingly beautiful; the legendary and poignant Nine Dragon Stone, Crocodile Stone, Frog Stone, and Camel Stone have stood unchanged through the ages, quietly offering protection; within the Anju National Wetland Park, vast reeds and grasslands spread out, wild ducks play in the water, and egrets fly in formation in the sky; Pipa Island is surrounded by water on all sides, embraced by two rivers, shaped like two dragons playing with a pearl, and enjoys exceptional feng shui; Heilongzui faces the river with mountains at its back, standing across from the ancient town, offering enchanting scenery. An ancient poem praises it: “To live in Anju is good indeed, where the clearest waters flow; wild bamboos encircle the town in green, and flowers waft fragrance through the home; smoke drifts in the mist for miles, fishing lights dot the river; when sorrow comes, wine can soothe it, no need to wait to sober up.”

On May 25, 2014, the China Ancient Town Culture Research Institute gathered experts in ancient town culture and architecture from Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, and other places in Anju to convene the China•Tongliang Anju Ancient Town Protection and Utilization High-End Seminar. The “Anju Declaration” was issued, authoritatively establishing Anju Ancient Town as the “Fourth Great Ancient Town of China” based on factors such as its history as a county seat, the well-preserved state of its ancient architecture, and its potential for protection and development. On November 29, 2014, the “China Four Great Ancient Towns Cultural Tourism Integration Development Seminar” was grandly held. The ancient towns of Pingyao (Shanxi), Langzhong (Sichuan), She County (Anhui), and Anju (Chongqing) formed the “China Four Great Ancient Towns Strategic Alliance,” reaching a consensus to jointly promote the integrated development of cultural tourism in ancient towns, and to collaboratively protect and rationally develop the precious historical and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation — the Four Great Ancient Towns.

Currently, Anju Ancient Town has successfully been designated as a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and is striving to become a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, an Anju National Wetland Park, and a national-level tourism resort, ready to welcome you with even richer cultural depth and premium services.

When will you come again? A place that keeps your homesickness alive — the Fourth Great Ancient Town of China, Chongqing • Anju Ancient Town, welcomes you.

Source: Chongqing Anju Ancient Town Scenic Area Management Committee