Get to know Jianshui County
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- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture
- Chinese name
- 建水县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 3,940.00 km²
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
Mountains take up 89 percent of the county. The largest of its flat basins is the Jianshui basin, about 260 square kilometres, followed by the Qujiang (曲江) and Miandian (面甸) basins. Heights range from 2,515 metres at Wulao Peak (五老峰) on Huanwen Mountain (焕文山) down to 230 metres at Atu village (阿土村) on the Red River (红河). Most rivers drain to the Nanpan (南盘江), those in the south to the Red River.
History
The Nanzhao kingdom (南诏) built a town here called Huili (惠历) in the Tang dynasty; the Honghe prefecture government explains that in the Yi language "hui" means sea and "li" means big, rendered in Chinese as Jianshui. The Yuan set up Jianshui prefecture. In 1382 the Ming made Lin'an a full prefecture, moved its seat to Jianshui and rebuilt the town in brick, which is why it is also called Lin'an city. Its many successful examination candidates earned it the names "land of letters" and "the Zou-Lu of southern Yunnan". In the early Republic the county was renamed Lin'an, but it took back the name Jianshui in 1914 because of a clash with Lin'an in Zhejiang.
What to see
The old town keeps more than fifty historic buildings. Chaoyang Tower (朝阳楼) stands at the east end of Lin'an Road (临安路) and is over 600 years old. The Jianshui Confucian Temple (建水文庙) has a nine-metre Taihe Yuanqi (太和元气) archway and a 45-mu pond with a pavilion on it. The Yunnan examination hall (提督学政考棚) on Lin'an Road is laid out as six courtyards along a central path. Zhu Family Garden (朱家花园), the late-Qing house and ancestral hall of Zhu Weiqing (朱渭卿) and his brothers, faces north and is arranged as courtyards within courtyards. The Daban well (大板井) on Ximen Xizheng Street is a well-known old well; residents still draw water there morning and evening.
Among other listed sites, the Double Dragon Bridge (双龙桥) is under national protection and the Tuanshan village houses (团山民居) are a provincial one. Swallow Cave (燕子洞), part of the Jianshui national scenic area listed in 1994, is a group of large karst caves, one wet and one dry, where hundreds of thousands of swifts nest.
Food and local products
Street stalls serve small pieces of tofu with a dipping sauce, and caoya rice noodles (草芽米线) and steam-pot chicken (汽锅鸡) are local specialities. The county also makes handmade purple pottery (紫陶).
Highlights
- Jianshui Confucian Temple 建水文庙: Nationally protected temple with a nine-metre archway and a 45-mu pond.
- Chaoyang Tower 朝阳楼: Gate tower at the east end of Lin'an Road, over 600 years old.
- Zhu Family Garden 朱家花园: Late-Qing house and ancestral hall of Zhu Weiqing and his brothers.
- Double Dragon Bridge 双龙桥: National protected site.
- Tuanshan village houses 团山民居: Provincial protected site.
- Swallow Cave 燕子洞: Karst caves where hundreds of thousands of swifts nest.
Sources for this guide
红河“三千四百年”历史文化名片——千年临安古城 · Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture People's Government
建水县 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Jianshui County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Jianshui County
Shuanglong Bridge (Double Dragon Bridge), a 17-arch stone bridge in Jianshui County · 建水县双龙桥（十七孔桥） Source-recorded photograph date: 2025-05-04 11:49:29.Double Dragon Bridge双龙桥
Seventeen-arch stone bridge west of Jianshui, extended in 1839 with money from Gejiu smelters, with a three-tier timber pavilion at its centre.
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Aerial view of the traditional houses of Tuanshan Village, Jianshui County · 建水县团山村传统民居航拍 Source-recorded photograph date: 2025-05-04 18:18:03.Tuanshan Old Village团山民居
Tuanshan ancient village (团山民居) is a Zhang-clan settlement 13 kilometres west of Jianshui city, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, whose 15 traditional residences are recognised as one of the best-preserved southern Yunnan mercantile-clan village complexes.
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Jianshui Ancient City · 建水古城Jianshui Ancient City建水古城
Jianshui ancient city (建水古城) is a national Historic and Cultural City in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, with over 1,200 years of continuous urban history dating to the Tang dynasty.
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Aerial view of Jianshui Confucian Temple and its landscaped grounds. Photograph date recorded by the source: 2025-04-28 17:04:24.Jianshui Confucian Temple建水文庙
Jianshui Confucian Temple occupies a sequence of six courtyards in Lin’an town. The complex developed through successive periods, but its strongest visitor impression comes from the progression of open courts and formal halls…
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The Huatang reception hall of Zhu's Garden, an ornate carved timber courtyard mansion in Jianshui County · 建水朱家花园华堂，建水县 Source-recorded photograph date: 2025-04-28 13:40:06.Zhu Family Garden朱家花园
Zhu's Garden (朱家花园) is a late-Qing family residence and ancestral hall on Hanlin Street in Jianshui county town, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, now a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit.
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Tourists on the platform beside the Jianshui Old Train at Tuanshan Station, Jianshui County · 红河州建水县建水古城小火车团山站站台 Source-recorded photograph date: 2025-08-14 12:43:13.Jianshui Ancient City Tourist Train建水古城小火车
The Jianshui ancient-city train (建水古城小火车) is a tourist train running on a restored section of the Ge-Bi-Shi railway, China's first privately funded, built and operated railway, between Jianshui county town and Tuanshan village, Yunnan.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Jianshui County is about 65 km in a straight line from central Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Search for 建水县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Double Dragon Bridge and Tuanshan Old Village are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture →More in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 建水县 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Double Dragon Bridge · 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Tuanshan Old Village · 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Jianshui Ancient City · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Jianshui Confucian Temple · 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Zhu Family Garden · 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Jianshui Ancient City Tourist Train · Kcx36 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
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