Huizhou Ancient City is located on the north bank of Lianjiang River in Shexian County. It was built in the Qin Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, it became the seat of the ancient Huizhou prefectural government. Tang Xianzu’s line ‘A lifetime of infatuation and dreams, but never dreaming of Huizhou’ has made many people haunted by it. The city gates, memorial archways, and the unique prefectural yamen of the prefectural government still allow tourists to appreciate the remnants of the ancient Huizhou prefecture. There are multiple roads leading into the ancient city. It doesn’t matter much which road to enter. The ancient city is not large. Tourists can visit all the main attractions by making a circle. There are ticket offices at Huayuan near Renhe Tower in the north and the tourist service center of Duojingyuan outside Wengcheng in the south. Among the several city gates of Huizhou Ancient City, the South Que Tower is very distinctive. Thirteen pairs of pillars form the door frame and are arranged in sequence in the doorway to support the tower. It is said that this ‘row of pillar gates’ is the authentic city gate structure of the Northern Song Dynasty. After entering the East Que Tower (Yanghe Gate), the Xu Guo Stone Archway is seen. It is the essence of the entire ancient city and was built in the 12th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1584 AD). The archway has eight pillars with a cross-section in the shape of a ‘mouth’. It is a three-dimensional structure. The four outer sides and the four inner sides can all be observed. At the foot of the pillars, there are twelve stone lions sitting. The upper stone carvings are extremely exquisite. At present, there is only such an ancient archway of this shape. The prominent status of Xu Guo, a veteran of three dynasties who is the owner of the archway, is evident. Many attractions in the ancient city radiate out from the Xu Guo Stone Archway. To the west, you can go to the Huizhou prefectural yamen, which was rebuilt in modern times and imitates the appearance of the prefectural yamen in the Ming Dynasty. To the east, you can visit the memorial hall of Tao Xingzhi from Shexian County. To the north, you can visit Huayuan. However, all the buildings in Huayuan are antique buildings. Doushan Street in the northeast of the ancient city gathers Huizhou-style ancient dwellings, memorial archways and ancient wells. Walking on the ancient street paved with bluestone slabs and pebbles is very charming. Leaving the ancient city from Wengcheng and crossing the ‘Taiping Bridge’ built in the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, you reach the south bank of Lianjiang River. Here are Taibai Tower and Xin’an Stele Garden. Taibai Tower was built in memory of Li Bai. The ‘Yuqingzhai Tie’ and ‘Qingjiantang Tie’ of the Ming Dynasty in Xin’an Stele Garden. Tourists who like calligraphy can come and have a look. Walking east along Lianjiang River, the Changqing Temple Pagoda built in the second year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty (1119 AD) is rarely visited. But it has prepared a real surprise for approaching tourists. Each floor of the external tower body has colorful murals. Due to long years, they have become blurred. The murals cannot be found from a distance. The last attraction, Yuliang, is 2 kilometers east of the ancient city. The entrance is on the north bank of Lianjiang River. So after seeing the Changqing Temple Pagoda, you need to cross the Taiping Bridge again to return to the north bank. If you walk from the south bank, you need to walk across the Yuliang Dam and go around to Ziyang Bridge to cross the river. The main attraction of Yuliang is the Ming Dynasty Yuliang Dam on Lianjiang River. Whether you can walk on the dam depends on the water volume of Lianjiang River. If the water is large and submerges the ancient dam, you cannot go on the dam.
When walking on the dam, pay attention to the small stones known as ‘Yuanbao Locks’ that are horizontally embedded between the long slabs, which serve to stabilize the dam; also, notice the water gate in the center of the dam, which is used for drainage. If you wish to take a boat ride along the Liangjiang River with the locals, the price is negotiable. On the north bank, the old fishing street of Yuliang still has residents living in it, who continue to air their bedding in front of the ancient buildings as if time has stood still here. At night, the ancient city is illuminated, offering a beautiful night view. Accommodations can be found at the Huangshan She County September Huizhou Inn next to the Tao Xingzhi Memorial Hall within the ancient city, with more options outside the city walls. Restaurants are concentrated outside the Hui Garden, where the local specialty, Huizhou Yipin Pot, is a must-try. It is a large pot layered with chicken, duck, meat, and oil tofu, adorned with egg dumplings, which is very appetizing. Other dishes worth tasting include hairy tofu and stinky mandarin fish. If you come across vendors selling Mei Cai Biscuits, it’s worth buying some to enjoy while strolling; the taste is quite fragrant. The opening hours are from 08:00 to 17:00 all year round; during New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day, the hours are from 07:30 to 17:00. Parking facilities are available at the Huizhou Ancient City Parking Lot with the following rates: the first half hour is free for cars with less than 7 seats, and it’s 10 yuan per vehicle entry. Every 4 hours (including 4 hours) counts as one entry, with an additional charge of 1 yuan per hour for each hour exceeding 4 hours. Any fraction of an hour is rounded up to a full hour, and the daily charge per vehicle does not exceed 25 yuan. Address: Hui Town, She County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province; Number of parking spaces: 100.
Huizhou Ancient City
Huizhou Ancient City is located on the north bank of Lianjiang River in Shexian County. It was built[...]
