Zhuoshui Ancient Town, Qianjiang District, Chongqing is located in the mountains of Wuling Mountain. The ancient town faces the Apeng River, and the stilted buildings are paved along the river, which is magnificent.
Pass through the memorial archway of Zhuoshui Stone to enter the old street of the ancient town. There are no houses on the left side of the old street, and you can overlook the other side, so it is named Banbian Street. Walk through the half-side street about 40 meters long and enter Jiangxi Street. The street is narrowed down to two or three meters. The buildings of Ming and Qing dynasties on both sides are full of the vicissitudes of time, while the shops are filled with tempting human fireworks. The mung bean powder, cold and spicy rice bean curd, hot and glutinous horse rolls made by traditional craft… The owner’s cry is intertwined with the exclamation of tourists, making it look like a snack street in the “River Map on the Qingming Festival”. The most pleasant thing is the diners in the Diaojiaolou in Linjiang. They either taste a pot of green vegetables and beef, watch the river flowing westward, or eat the spicy and hot Qianjiang chicken hotpot, raise their glasses and laugh happily, and drink with the green water and green mountains.
On this street, there is a Yujia Courtyard, Baxian Hall, which is an important ancient architectural site in Zhuoshui Ancient Town. It was originally the Jinshi House in the 16th year of Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, and it is the second largest ancient residence in the ancient town. The Yu family is a scholarly family. After reading poetry and books, Yu Gongan, a scholar in Anzhong, was given a flower feather by the emperor. The Yu family has always maintained an attitude of being aloof from the world. Their ancestors told their children to learn literature and practice medicine for generations, so they set up clinics and pharmacies in the front hall of the street to help the world. The Wantian Palace is the largest building complex in the ancient town. It was built during the reign of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty and funded by businessmen from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces who came here to do business. The Wantian Palace is tall and magnificent, consisting of more than 10 buildings, including the main hall, Wantian Pavilion, the conference hall, and the screen wall, all of which are wooden structures, with a strong architectural style of the ancient town in southwest Chongqing.
Take three turns and you will find the middle street. This street has dense ancient buildings, including Wang’s workshop, Wang Benshan’s former residence, Guangshun, Fan’s courtyard, etc. The architecture of Zhuoshui Ancient Town has achieved the perfect combination of Tujia stilted building and Hui-style architecture, creating a unique architectural style that combines hardness and softness, simple and innovative. It is worth mentioning that the Fan Family Courtyard. According to the introduction of the scenic spot, the Fan family has been engaged in small commodity business for a long time, but is enthusiastic about education, and has opened the first lecture hall in the ancient town – Zhuoheba Lecture Hall. This courtyard is the only one in the town without a gate. There is no door between the two patios in the hospital, which is more suitable for students’ activities. There is a pavilion built across the old street in front of the main courtyard. In the thirtieth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the Fan family set up a free school here. The “Liangting Street” not only has a unique style, but also fully reflects the world style of Zhuoshui people, businessmen and Confucianism. Beside the pavilion, the monument of “Heavenly Conscience” set up in the 14th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty reflects the ancient people’s values of respecting Heavenly Conscience and abiding by their promises. Heaven will last forever, and conscience will last forever. Go through the old street of Li Family and you will see the stage as soon as you turn around. The renovated ancient stage is beautifully carved and shines in the sunset. According to local people, in the past, people used to go to the street from the stage into the old street of the Li family. When they met the market, they sometimes listened to a Houhe opera. It was very noisy!
Standing in front of the stage in the dead of night, it seems that you can hear the melodious sound of gongs and drums reverberating on the Apeng River. A bright moon is hanging on the clear night sky of Zhuoshui Ancient Town. The moonlight looks like an old man who is never tired, looking kindly at the noisy town and caressing the Apeng River.