The Dachang Ancient Town is located 10 kilometers north of the Dicui Gorge entrance of the Lesser Three Gorges Scenic Area (a national 5A scenic area) in Wushan County, Chongqing City. The ancient town was built in the Jin Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,700 years. It is the only completely preserved ancient city in the Three Gorges area. The ancient town covers an area of about 10 hectares. The main east-west street is about 350 meters long, and the north-south street is about 200 meters long. It is a ‘pocket-sized ancient city’ where ‘four gates can communicate and one lamp illuminates the whole city’. As the largest town along the Ninghe River, it has been the seat of counties and prefectures in successive dynasties. It was also an important wharf and a distribution center for medicinal materials and mountain products in Ninghe. In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Dachang was called Taichang and was part of the Ba State. In the Later Zhou Dynasty, it was changed to Dachang. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the county was abolished and merged into Wushan County. The terrain in Dachang is complex. The mountains are as steep as city walls, and the canyons are as narrow as corridors. It ‘controls Bashu in the upper reaches and Jingxiang in the lower reaches’. From the disputes among Chu, Kui, and Bashu in the Spring and Autumn Period to the Battle of Yiling during the Three Kingdoms period, from Zhang Xianzhong’s rebel army passing through Dachang three times in the late Ming Dynasty to the ‘Thirteen Families in East Kui’ rebel army’s resistance against the Qing Dynasty in the early Qing Dynasty, Dachang could not escape the chaos of war. Although the ancient town has experienced several wars in modern times, it miraculously retains its original features. There are currently three gates in the east, south, and west of the ancient town. The east gate is Chaoyang Gate, the west gate is Yongfeng Gate, and the south gate is Tongji Gate. All the gates are well preserved. There are also several streets built in the Ming and Qing dynasties that are relatively well preserved. The memorial archways and ancient architectural complex on the street are richly decorated with carved beams and painted pillars, upturned eaves, and a strong ancient charm. The small town has only two main streets. The north-south street is more than 150 meters long, and the east-west street is more than 240 meters long. The occupied area is less than 10 hectares. There are 37 ancient buildings with upturned eaves from the Ming and Qing dynasties in the town. There is also a complete ancient city wall. Most of the houses were built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. With black bricks, dark tiles, double-barreled eaves, upturned eaves, carved beams and painted pillars, and wooden facades, they show a simple kind of magnificence. Due to the impoundment of the Three Gorges Project starting in May 2003, the original site of the ancient town will be completely submerged under the surging Daning River. The overall relocation project of the Dachang Ancient Town officially started on February 21, 2002. The whole town was rebuilt by the Dachang Lake under the Xibaoling Mountain, 8 kilometers away from the original site, according to its original appearance. This is a miracle in the history of protecting ancient dwellings in the world. The reconstruction of the Dachang Ancient Town is carried out in strict accordance with the principle of restoring the old as it was. When the buildings are demolished, they are numbered one by one. After being transported to the reconstruction site, they are assembled back into their original appearance according to the numbers. At present, the building construction has basically been completed. The pictures of the millennium-old ancient town such as the south gate, the Wenjia Courtyard, and the academies of the Ming Dynasty have been formed. The houses in the town have upturned eaves and are exquisitely unique. With a strong ancient charm, they show the characteristics of architecture in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The new ancient town will continue the original folk customs. It will also reproduce the living scenes of the ancient town through folk art performances such as brewing and weaving. The specific opening hours are subject to the on-site announcements of the scenic area.
Taichang Ancient Town
The Dachang Ancient Town is located 10 kilometers north of the Dicui Gorge entrance of the Lesser Th[...]
