Last time I introduced the volunteer panda experience in Sichuan, and just fifteen minutes' drive from the Panda Base in Bifengxia is the up-and-coming Shangli Ancient Town. Compared to China's many ancient towns and cities, Shangli’s appeal may simply be that it’s still under development—so the atmosphere isn’t overly commercialized, and you don’t feel like you’re intruding on residents’ lives. A tiny town where you won’t spend more than three hours, my friends and I ultimately decided to buy period costumes on Taobao and headed there for some time-travel fun XDA fifteen-minute drive away is the Shangli Ancient Town, which has been rising in prominence in recent years. Compared to China’s numerous ancient cities and towns, Shangli’s main appeal might be that it is still under development — so the atmosphere isn’t overly commercialized, and you don’t feel like you’re intruding on residents’ lives. It’s a small ancient town where you won’t spend more than three hours, and my friends and I eventually decided to buy period costumes on Taobao and head there for a bit of time-travel fun XD
The town was originally named “Luosheng” and historically served as an important post station on the Linqiong Ancient Road of the Southern Silk Road entering Ya'an. It was also a key border tea pass and tea-horse bureau site on the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road, as well as a place crossed during the Red Army’s Long March in modern times. In 1935, when the Red Army passed through here during the Long March, they left behind numerous stone-carved slogans and revolutionary relics.
Shangli is nestled against mountains and water, and since Ya'an is also known as the “Rain City,” it’s often shrouded in light mist or drizzling year-round.It has a rather ethereal vibe.
The main street of the town
Since ancient times, the town has been home to five major families: the Han, Yang, Chen, Xu, and Zhang clans. There’s a local saying: “The Han family’s silver – lots of money; the Yang family’s hats – lots of officials; the Chen family’s grain – lots of fields; the Xu family’s daughters – beautiful; the Zhang family’s ingots – hot-tempered.”
And the picture shows the wealthy Han family’s courtyard. Later, I learned that the Han Family Courtyard was built in the fourth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1824 AD), covering an area of 4,600 square meters. The architecture of the courtyard was modeled after the official residences in Beijing at the time, built by Qing Dynasty salt merchants and took three generations to complete.At the time, we didn’t want to pay the entrance fee, so we didn’t go in. But the spacious doorway seemed perfect for a young lady to practice her sword dance, so we fooled around there for quite a while XD
There are many small and large inns and restaurants in town. I also stayed at an inn in the town for one night, but most shops close around five in the evening, and there’s a lack of lighting at night, making it unsuitable for night exploration.
I really like that wooden bucket for serving rice
Back then two years ago, I didn’t have the habit of writing travel stories, so I’ve completely forgotten the details about the town, and the photos were mostly boring, personal cosplay-style shots. But since I’ve already introduced the panda volunteer program, I think friends who are interested might as well take a quick loop around Shangli’s historical sites, so here’s a brief intro. This humble girl takes her leave.
1. From Chengdu to Ya'an
You can go from either Xinnanmen Bus Station or Yangshi Bus Station to Ya'an
2. From Ya'an to Shangli Ancient Town
Take a minibus from Ya'an Tourism Bus Station up the mountain; there are many departures. Be sure to check whether the minibus is going to Shangli Ancient Town or Bifengxia, as their stations are right next to each other.
3. From Bifengxia to Shangli Ancient Town (and vice versa)
Actually, the minibuses from Ya'an Tourism Bus Station to either Shangli Ancient Town or Bifengxia follow the same straight road up the mountain, and only at a certain fork do they branch off toward Shangli or Bifengxia. So if you want to go to the other attraction, just take the minibus back to the tourism bus station and transfer at the fork.
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