Ciqikou Ancient Town 磁器口古镇

About Ciqikou Ancient Town

Ciqikou Ancient Town (磁器口古镇) is a former river port in the northeast of Shapingba District (沙坪坝区), Chongqing, with the Jialing River (嘉陵江) in front and Gele Mountain (歌乐山) behind.

The municipal government sums up the site as one river, two streams and three hills: the Jialing, the Fenghuang (凤凰溪) and Qingshui (清水溪) streams, and, from north to south, Jinbi Hill (金碧山), Ma'an Hill (马鞍山) and Fenghuang Hill (凤凰山). The settlement dates from the Xianping reign of the Song emperor Zhenzong and was first called Baiyanchang (白岩场). The name is traced either to white cliff carvings that once marked the rock face or to Baiya Temple (白崖寺). Legend says the Ming Jianwen Emperor (建文帝), Zhu Yunwen (朱允炆), hid here after his uncle Zhu Di (朱棣) seized the throne. Baolun Temple (宝轮寺) was then renamed Longyin (龙隐, "hidden dragon") Temple and the town became Longyin Town.

The present name comes from the Qing porcelain trade. Kilns at Qingcaopo (青草坡), 4 km north by west of the town, were founded in the Kangxi era by the Jiang (江) brothers, migrants from Liancheng (连城) in Fujian. Porters carried the pottery and porcelain on their shoulders and backs along three routes to Ciqikou, which the Republican-era Ba County gazetteer describes as a meeting point of land and water routes whose pottery was the best in the county. Boats took the wares to Shaanxi, Chengdu, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and for more than three hundred years the town was a major supplier of everyday porcelain to eastern Sichuan. The first character was later written "磁" (magnet) in place of its homophone "瓷" (porcelain). Road and rail traffic eventually drew trade away.

In the war years against Japan, Bing Xin, Ba Jin, Guo Moruo, Xu Beihong, Fu Baoshi and Feng Zikai were among the writers and artists who gathered in the town. The State Council placed Ciqikou in its first batch of protected Chinese historic and cultural districts, and it is a national 4A attraction. Its twelve stone-paved streets and lanes, most of them built in the manner of the Ming and Qing, are lined with shops; local snacks include Chen's mahua (陈麻花) fried dough twists and maoxuewang (毛血旺).

What to look for

• Baolun Temple (宝轮寺), the temple tied to the Jianwen Emperor legend
• The Little Chongqing Stele (小重庆碑) near the dock, inscribed by Lin Sen (林森), former chairman of the Nationalist government
• Jinrong Bridge (金蓉桥) and Renshou Bridge (仁寿桥), listed with the town's old buildings as Shapingba district heritage in 2014
• Baoshan Palace (宝善宫) and the Wenchang Palace gate (文昌宫寨门)
• Old houses at Nos. 7, 21, 39 and 55 Xingfu Street (幸福街)
• Yunding Temple (云顶寺) and Fuyuan Temple (复元寺)

Location & getting there

Getting to Ciqikou Ancient Town

• Search for 磁器口古镇 with 重庆市 and 沙坪坝区.