Yuyang Ancient Street

　　    Jixian County was historically known as Yuyang and has a long history, originating in the Han Dynasty. In the fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1371 AD), the earthen city walls were reinforced with bricks and rebuilt. The city had three gates — east, west, and south — but none on the north, which was protected naturally by mountains. The three-li-long street connecting the East Gate and the West Gate served as the main thoroughfare of the ancient city. The current Yuyang Ancient Street is part of its western section. After renovation, it has been restored to its original appearance. Stretching from the Drum Tower in the east to the ancient city wall in the west, the street features an archway at each end.

　　    The entire ancient street exhibits architectural styles from the Qing Dynasty, with buildings of varying heights arranged in a well-balanced, picturesque layout. Some structures feature upturned eaves and soaring pavilions, while others are simple, bright, and combine shops with workshops. These buildings complement the ancient street’s century-old scholar trees and the thousand-year-old Dule Temple, creating a harmonious and integrated ensemble. Jizhou is a place rich in cultural talent and deep historical heritage, renowned as a famous historical and cultural city with extremely abundant cultural and historical resources. Its unparalleled stratigraphic section of the Mesoproterozoic era, unique thousand-year-old Dule Temple, Neolithic sites, relics from the Xia and Shang dynasties, Western Zhou Dynasty ruins, Han tombs, as well as tombs from the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Liao dynasties, plus the burial sites of princes and crown princes from the Qing Dynasty, are scattered throughout the county, making it truly a county of cultural relics. Currently, there is one national key cultural relics protection unit, five municipal-level ones, 37 at the county level, 268 cultural relics preservation sites, and over 160 revolutionary war sites and memorial locations. Tracing back to its roots, Jixian County is the origin of Tianjin’s history.