Laifeng Ancient Town

　　Laifeng Ancient Town is situated on Jiufeng Mountain, 30 kilometers east of Hechuan City in Chongqing. In 1956, the Two Buddhas of Laifeng were listed as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit. In 1995, the town was named a provincial-level historical and cultural town and one of the "Ten Scenic Spots of Bayu." In 2000, it was included by the Ministry of Construction as one of China's "Top Ten Protected Ancient Towns." In October 2003, it was recognized by the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage as one of the "First Batch of China's Historical and Cultural Famous Towns." The town is embraced by mountains and water, boasts beautiful scenery, a long history, and a flourishing culture. It is among China’s first batch of historical and cultural famous towns, a national key cultural relics protection unit, a national AAA-level tourist attraction, and one of China’s most beautiful villages and towns.

　　Laifeng Ancient Town has a long history, having taken initial shape as a market town during the Song Dynasty. The town borders the Qu River, offering picturesque natural scenery. Residential houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties are scattered across varying elevations, while the old streets and alleys are quaint and elegant. The barbican built during the Qing Dynasty remains well-preserved and is the only one of its kind in Chongqing.

　　The ancient town of Laifeng is divided into Upper Town and Lower Town, which are close to each other and resemble siblings—one high and one low, one up and one down, one strong and one gentle, complementing each other. The Upper Town is situated on Jiufeng Mountain, overlooking the Qu River. Its imposing presence exudes a majestic masculine beauty, with high fortress walls coiled around the mountain like a dragon or tiger. Within the stone-built walls, numerous Qing Dynasty residences and narrow, winding bluestone lanes are preserved. The staggered wooden structures and small blue-tiled buildings offer a sense of intimacy, tranquility, warmth, and antiquity. The ancient Eight Scenic Spots of Laifeng are like a rich town chronicle, recording the beautiful visage and the passage of time of the old fortress. The Lower Town lies by the Qu River, adjacent to the river port, featuring a single street lined with houses that mostly have a front-shop-back-residence layout.

　　The ancient temple complex within Laifeng Ancient Town was initially built in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that there were once 9 palaces (temples) and 18 temples nearby, making it a gathering place for Buddhist devotees. At its peak, it housed over a thousand monks. The HuiLong Temple and Zhangye Temple are now ruins, but two towering ancient banyan trees and the temple gates remain. The Wenchang Sheng Palace, built during the Qing Dynasty, was repurposed as an elementary school after liberation, and its main structure still stands, including the preserved ancient opera stage. The wooden carvings on the railings of the stage platform are of extremely high artistic value and are truly breathtaking. The main temple, Erfo Ancient Temple, was established in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and consists of upper and lower halls. The upper hall is located atop Jiufeng Mountain, covering an area of 5,181 square meters, with three levels that exude grandeur and a strong religious atmosphere. Along the central axis are the Mountain Gate, Jade Emperor Hall, Mahavira Hall (the main Buddha Hall), and Guanyin Hall. On the sides are auxiliary structures such as communal granaries and meditation rooms, arranged in a courtyard layout. Notably, the Mahavira Hall originally housed three five-meter-tall clay-golden main Buddha statues at its center, vivid and radiant with Buddha’s light. The surrounding eighteen arhats, also in clay, are colorful, diverse in expression, lifelike, and awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, cultural relics in the temple were severely damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Only four stone pillars in the Mahavira Hall remain, each about thirteen meters tall, carved from single massive stones—majestic and spectacular, considered a unique architectural marvel through the ages. The carved stone archway at the Mountain Gate features exquisite openwork carvings, a rare historical and cultural treasure.

　　The lower hall is situated in the mountains of Jiufeng, constructed as a two-story-with-a-base building along the mountain, with eaves and arches. The cliff carvings and group sculptures here represent the concentrated expression of Laifeng’s humanistic landscape, embodying profound artistic connotations of Erfo Zen Buddhist culture, and reflecting the cultural and artistic achievements of the working people from the Tang and Song periods. The tallest statue in the lower hall of Erfo Temple is the Sakyamuni Buddha, standing 12.5 meters high and carved directly into the rock face, known as the "Second Buddha of Shu." The sixteen arhats carved in the temple are the ancestors of the later 18 and 500 arhat statues. The depiction of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism is the only group family portrait sculpture among national cliff carvings. The Southern Song Dynasty cliff carvings of Erfo Temple represent the third climax of China’s stone carving art. With a total of 42 niches and more than 1,700 statues, it is the largest and rarest gathering of Buddhist Zen carvings in the country, as well as one of the nation’s largest Zen practice sites. The renowned scholar Mr. Ding Mingyi described the Laifeng cliff carvings as "a pearl buried underground." Dr. Ho Eng, an American art history professor, called it a "treasury of stone carving art." Duan Wenjie, director of the Dunhuang Research Academy and a famous stone carving expert, inscribed: "The Laifeng cliff statues are the essence of Song Dynasty stone carving art," and "The Laifeng arhat statues are treasures of stone carving art."

　　In Laifeng, besides experiencing the charm of the ancient town and admiring the art of stone carvings, you can also enjoy tea culture represented by Ming and Qing-style architecture, opera culture exemplified by the Wenchang Palace opera stage, food culture featuring Qi River fish, and simple folk culture. You can also attend temple fairs and participate in vegetarian culture festivals.