Shangli Ancient Town

Shangli Ancient Town

Shangli Ancient Town is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a national water conservancy scenic area.

Shangli Town is located in the northern part of Yucheng District, Ya'an City, about 27 kilometers from the city center. Situated at the junction of four counties, it connects to Mingshan and Qionglai in the east and reaches Lushan and Yucheng in the west. It is a famous historical and cultural town in Sichuan and one of the "Top Ten Ancient Towns" in the province.

The town was originally named "Luosheng" and was an important post station on the ancient Linqiong Road of the Southern Silk Road during history. It was also a key border tea checkpoint and the site of the Tea-Horse Office on the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road, as well as a place crossed by the Red Army during the Long March in modern times. Additionally, because five major families—the Han, Yang, Chen, Xu, and Zhang (Han family known for wealth, Yang for official status, Chen for farmland, Xu for beautiful women, and Zhang for grain storage)—lived here, it was commonly called "Wujiakou" (Mouth of Five Families).

The streets of the ancient town are all paved with stone slabs, and the buildings are wooden structures with upturned eaves and colorful tiles. The windows, beams, and eaves are adorned with relief carvings, openwork carvings, and inlaid designs, creating vivid images. Although the exquisite artistry has faded over time, losing its former luster, the craftsmanship and intricate designs remain unmistakable, highlighting the richness of ethnic culture.

Shangli Town, bordering Mingshan and Qionglai to the east and Lushan and Ya'an to the west, is situated at the junction of four counties and was an important stop on the Southern Silk Road. The so-called Southern Silk Road is China's oldest international trade route, which emerged as early as over 2,000 years ago during the Western Han Dynasty. Starting from Sichuan, it passed through Zhaotong, Qujing, Dali, Baoshan, and Tengchong in Yunnan, exited from Dehong, entered Myanmar and Thailand, and eventually reached India and the Middle East. It is also known as the "Shu-Shendu Road."

(Group photo [20 images]), with a total length of 200 kilometers, the "Southern Silk Road," like the northwest "Silk Road," has made great contributions to world civilization.

In ancient times, Shangli Ancient Town was part of the Southern Silk Road and also an important post station on the ancient Linqiong Road entering Ya'an. The town lies within the angle formed by the confluence of two rivers, locally believed to be a treasured spot where "wealth converges." Nestled against mountains and water, with small hills, wooden houses, and stone-paved streets, it also features the "Eighteen Arhats Worshipping Guanyin"—18 hills. Among its historic bridges, eight ancient stone bridges, represented by the "Erxian Bridge," boast long histories and varied architectural styles.

In ancient times, five major families lived in Shangli Town, commonly referred to as "Wujiakou" (Mouth of Five Families), namely the Han, Yang, Chen, Zhang, and Xu clans. Legends about these five families are diverse: the Han family had wealth ("silver"), the Yang family had status ("official hats"), the Chen family had abundant grain ("grain fields"), the Zhang family was known for martial arts and bone-setting ("sticks"), and the Xu family had beautiful and hardworking women ("women"). Their stories are intriguing.

The architectural layout of Shangli Ancient Town is characterized mainly by residential buildings, with architectural styles predominantly from the Ming and Qing periods. The streets primarily follow a "well" pattern and are not wide, lined with old-fashioned shops on both sides. The town's buildings are mainly wooden structures, symbolizing the idea that "water in a well prevents fire disasters," expressing the wish for the town's safety.

(Group photo [20 images]) The ancient residences in Shangli Town are relatively well-preserved, mostly featuring blue-tiled homes. The town center has a spacious stage area, and the original double-eaved hip-and-gable opera house is a rare and ingenious design among Sichuan town theaters. Several stone bridges still exist, among which the "Erxian Bridge" is the most representative. Due to inconvenient transportation and limited information, the economy here was underdeveloped. However, the infiltration of non-agricultural sectors has contributed to some economic growth, leading to new planning layouts.

In 1935, the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army passed through Shangli during the Long March and stayed for six months, leaving behind dozens of stone-carved slogans that are valuable revolutionary historical relics.

As recorded in the book "China's Ancient Towns" and written by Dr. Zhu Xiaolin (from Tongji University, Shanghai) of the Northwest Sichuan Research Team at the Chinese Ancient Capital Research Institute, "The town features stone-paved streets, wooden houses, and a scattered yet well-preserved ancient architectural complex; the grand courtyards boast intricately carved beams and painted rafters, flying eaves and flowing colors, with exquisite openwork carvings—true masterpieces of the Qing Dynasty. In terms of overall appearance and the scale of the residential complexes, Shangli Town is a remarkably well-preserved rural settlement."

In recent years, films and TV dramas such as "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," "A Good Place Over There," "I'm Not Going Home Tonight," and "The Defendant Mountain Gang" have used this location as a filming site, attracting a growing number of tourists each year.

History of Shangli Ancient Town

Shangli Town has a long history. According to extant cultural relics, the town was originally named "Luosheng," derived from its role as a post station and checkpoint on the ancient road, serving as one of the gateways from the Bashu Plain to ethnic regions. By the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, due to increasing population and economic prosperity, the town was renamed "Wujiakou" after the five major families, whose respective legends still circulate: the Yang family (official status), the Han family (wealth), the Chen family (abundant grain), the Xu family (beautiful women), and the Zhang family (martial arts and medicine).

After liberation, based on the flow direction of the Longxi River, the upstream township was designated as Shangli. The origins of the town’s population, according to historical records, show that before the Han Dynasty, it was inhabited by the Qiang people of the Qingyi ethnicity. From the Han to the Sui Dynasties, it was under the jurisdiction of Yan Dao County, briefly belonged to the Linqiong Commandery in the late Sui and early Tang, and later came under the Ya Zhou Prefecture. In ancient Shu, the "Southwestern Yi" peoples were referred to as such. To develop this treasure land, several large-scale migration movements occurred from the pre-Qin to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as the relocation of Zhao subjects to Bashu after the Qin conquest of Zhao, the migration of Chu subjects to Qingyi during the Han Dynasty, and the massive Hu-Guang填充Sichuan migration in the late Ming and early Qing.

Shangli was initially an ethnic settlement area, mainly inhabited by the indigenous Qiang people of Bashu—the Qingyi Qiang. Because Shangli Town

With the continuous prosperity of the Southern Silk Road, people from other ethnic groups often settled here, bringing advanced Central Plains culture and foreign cultures that merged with local traditions into a unified Han culture. To this day, the town is dotted with cultural relics and historical sites, immersing visitors in the depths of history.

Shangli Town is located in the northern part of Yucheng District, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province. It was an important post station on the historical Southern Silk Road and a place crossed by the Red Army during the Long March in modern times. The town boasts a long history, rich cultural heritage, and a superior natural ecological environment. It has eight provincial and municipal-level cultural heritage sites and has been designated as a Sichuan Historical and Cultural Town, a Revolutionary Base Area, and one of the "Top Ten Ancient Towns in Sichuan."

An ancient poem reads: “Two rivers cradle a bright mirror, twin bridges arch like rainbows,” vividly depicting Shangli Ancient Town. Surrounded by two rivers, the town features Ming and Qing architecture scattered among ancient trees, numerous relics of the Tea-Horse Road from the Tang and Song Dynasties, and ubiquitous stone slogans from the Red Army in modern times. Visitors can tread on stone-paved paths to feel the weight of history, stroll along bubbling streams to enjoy pastoral scenery, stand on ancient stone bridges to appreciate nature’s gifts, or linger by the White Horse Spirit Spring to hear tales of the rise and fall of the ancient "Luosheng."

Shangli Town: a town under the jurisdiction of Ya'an City. Established as Shangli Township in 1928, it became a commune in 1958, reverted to township in 1983, and was upgraded to a town in 1992. Located in the northern part of the city, 22 kilometers from downtown, it covers an area of 75.8 square kilometers with a population of 10,000. The Ya’an–Shangli Highway ends here. It administers nine village committees: Sijia, Wujia, Liujia, Qijia, Miaobao, Muping, Dawa, Gulin, and Baima. The main agricultural products are rice, wheat, corn, rapeseed, and tea. The town’s cultural heritage includes the Baima Spring (a constant-temperature intermittent spring built in the Song Dynasty), Baima Temple, and the Qing Dynasty "Double Filial Piety Stone Archway," all provincial-level protected sites. ... More details on Shangli Town ++