Yiyang Ancient City Lanes 益阳古城街巷

About Yiyang Ancient City Lanes

The quarter runs along Zhengjie, now Ziyang West Road, and Yongqing Back Street, linked by the three old lanes of Weigongmiao, Yulingpo and Denglongguan. The lanes are said to have grown up in the Ming as the old Qin and Han town spread west, which makes this one of the starting points of the historic city, while the building group that survives was put up in the Xianfeng reign of the Qing, between 1851 and 1861. The whole enclosed group covers about thirty mu and keeps its Ming and Qing plan; the standing buildings are mainly Qing and Republican.

Each lane is roughly 85 m long and only 1.8 m wide, and its high flanking walls are carried on brick arches, a wall-on-arch construction that the municipality describes as unusual in China. The houses behind them have heavy fir and cypress roof frames, grey brick walls and dark grey tiles, and the lanes between are paved with granite slabs. The main historic buildings of the quarter are the Weigong Temple and the Jiangjun Temple, together with hundreds of houses that include the Wang family compound and the Liu mansion; 41 protected units and recorded relic points lie inside the area.

Yiyang began redeveloping both banks of the Zi River through the central city in 2011, and a conservation plan for the Ming and Qing lanes quarter was adopted in July 2019, with a joint city and district company set up to carry it out. The scheme covers 318.49 mu, with a first-phase core of 114.94 mu, and combines repair of the old fabric with new buildings in historic style such as the Yueming Tower and the Tian mansion, so original and reconstructed work stand side by side.

What to look for

• The Weigongmiao, Yulingpo and Denglongguan lanes, each about 85 m long and 1.8 m wide
• The wall-on-arch construction that carries the high walls on either side of the lanes
• The Weigong Temple and the Jiangjun Temple, the quarter's two temples
• The Wang family compound and the Liu mansion among the surviving Qing and Republican houses
• The granite-paved lane floors and the fir and cypress roof frames of the older houses

Location & getting there

Getting to Yiyang Ancient City Lanes

Choose a precise starting address and return transport stop. Access to individual buildings, performances or viewing platforms is separate from access to public streets.

• Search for 益阳古城街巷 with 益阳市 and 资阳区.