Fenghuang Ancient Town

National Famous Historical And Cultural City · Fenghuang, Hunan

A riverside town of wooden stilt houses, stone gate towers and lantern-lit lanes on the Tuo River in western Hunan, home to Miao and Tujia communities for centuries. Its name means Phoenix, after the mountain behind it. Diaojiaolou stilt houses lean out over the water on timber legs, stepping stones and the covered Rainbow Bridge cross the river, and restored Ming and Qing gates and city walls guard the old core. The writer Shen Congwen, whose novel Border Town made the region famous, was born and is buried here, and Xiong Xiling, a Premier of the early Republic, grew up nearby. By day boats drift past women washing clothes; at night the riverfront glows with lights and fills with bars and music. It lies about an hour from Zhangjiajie by high-speed train.

Rainbow Bridge, Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County, Xiangxi Prefecture, Fenghuang, Hunan, China

The old town is open at all hours. Historic residences and gate towers roughly 8:00-18:00. River boats run from morning until mid-evening.

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