Qianzhou Ancient City 乾州古城

About Qianzhou Ancient City

The name comes from the shape of the ground: three ridges laid side by side with two watercourses running round them, a pattern read as the qian trigram. The walled town was founded in the Wanli reign of the Ming and enlarged twice, in the eighth year of Zhengde and again under the Jiaqing reign of the Qing. From the Tang dynasty through to the Qing it served as the political, economic, cultural and military centre of the Miao frontier, and it is one of the four old towns of Xiangxi.

The south gate is the most conspicuous survival. Locals call it Sanmenkai, the three-gate opening, because it faces the Wanrong river on one side and has gates on the other three in a pin-shaped arrangement; it is treated as important physical evidence in the study of the Miao frontier wall. The Qianzhou Confucius Temple, founded between 1729 and 1733 and covering 4,887 square metres, combines temple and school in a way unique in Xiangxi, is described as the largest old building group in the prefecture and was listed among the major national cultural heritage protection units in 2013. Its Lingxing gate, Zhuangyuan bridge, courtyard, Dacheng hall and Chongsheng shrine stand in sequence, with the Xiangxian and Minghuan shrines to either side.

Hujiatang, a pair of ponds created in the Tang and Song periods over more than 2,800 square metres, is divided into a gourd shape by a small stone arch bridge and is ringed by grey-brick houses with upturned eaves; the old well beside it is called Anlan and the bridge Qingfeng. More than a thousand old dwellings survive in the flagstone lanes, along with the Jiufutang ancestral hall of the Yang clan, the house called Renheju and a chastity and filial-piety archway. Since May 2011 the town has also housed the Xiangxi Intangible Cultural Heritage Park, which brought together 88 national and provincial intangible heritage items and eighteen inheritors and folk craft masters.

What to look for

• Sanmenkai, the south gate on the Wanrong river, with water on one side and gates on the other three
• The Qianzhou Confucius Temple, a major national cultural heritage protection unit, with its Lingxing gate, Zhuangyuan bridge, Dacheng hall and Chongsheng shrine
• Hujiatang, the paired ponds divided into a gourd shape by a small stone arch bridge, with the Anlan well beside them
• The flagstone lanes and the thousand-odd old dwellings set back within them
• The Xiangxi Intangible Cultural Heritage Park, established in the old town in 2011 around 88 listed heritage items

Location & getting there

Getting to Qianzhou 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 乾州古城 with 湘西土家族苗族自治州 and 吉首市.