Tianshui Ancient City 天水古城

About Tianshui Ancient City

Xiguan, known locally as 'Xiguan li', lies west of Longcheng Square and east of the Fuxi Temple in Qinzhou District, forming the Xiguan city within the old Qinzhou city between its middle city and the Fuxi city, with Yuquan Temple to the north and the Ji River to the south. Tianshui is a National Historical and Cultural City, and the Lanzhou Evening News feature records that this quarter preserves comparatively intact buildings of the Ming and Qing and the Republican period; the China Tourism News report adds that it holds many old streets, lanes, trees and courtyard houses of pronounced period style.

The Tianshui Old City Xiguan quarter comprehensive conservation and use project was set up to repair and reuse the courtyard-house cluster. As the 2020 China Tourism News report described it, the project covered 565,200 sq m with 343,700 sq m of above-ground floor area and was to be built in two phases — phase one north of Jiefang Road across the Chengyuan Lane, Ziyou Road and Sanxin Lane sub-areas, and phase two south of Jiefang Road across the Yusheng Lane, Zhongyi Lane and Zizhi Lane sub-areas. The city set up Tianshui Famous City Conservation Investment and Development Co. to carry out the conservation and use of the Xiguan cluster, and both cited reports call the work the largest restoration in Xiguan's history.

The 2020 report describes the repair practice: work on buildings with protected status follows the principle of not altering the original condition of the relic, keeping original form, structure, materials and technique. It names a restored courtyard in Lijia Lane that keeps its original structure and fabric, with qilin brick carving on the wall and a 'huilong' motif on the eaves, and that is a county-level protected cultural relic.

The two cited reports give different investment totals and resettlement figures for the project, and different descriptions of its street layout; this record carries neither set of numbers.

What to look for

• The courtyard houses of the Xiguan quarter, described as the only surviving historic residential building cluster in Tianshui, with comparatively intact Ming, Qing and Republican-period buildings
• A restored courtyard in Lijia Lane, with qilin brick carving on the wall and a 'huilong' motif on the eaves, now a county-level protected cultural relic
• The old streets, lanes and trees of the quarter
• The quarter's setting within the old city: west of Longcheng Square and east of the Fuxi Temple, with Yuquan Temple to the north and the Ji River to the south

Location & getting there

Getting to Tianshui Ancient City

Identify the main visitor approach and any separately managed houses, museums or performances. Ask before entering residential spaces or photographing residents.

• Search for 天水古城 with 天水市 and 秦州区.