Huangyao Ancient Town

National Historical And Cultural Town; A Ming Qing Town Among Karst Hills · Hezhou, Guangxi

A Ming and Qing town of grey stone lanes wedged among karst hills in eastern Guangxi, a thousand years old and still largely unrestored. Huangyao grew as a trading stop on the Yao River and was never rich enough to rebuild itself, which is why the flagstones are worn into hollows, the shopfronts still have their wooden boards, and the ancestral halls and pavilions stand where they were put. Banyans of enormous age lean over the water at the edge of town, their roots gripping the stone embankments; stone bridges cross the river between them, and the reflection of the karst peaks in the still water at dawn is what draws photographers. There are more than three hundred surviving Ming and Qing buildings, eleven ancestral halls, and stone tablets and couplets carved on doorposts throughout. It is quieter than Yangshuo and far less commercialised than Lijiang, and the town is lit at night, when the lanes take on a different character entirely.

Huangyao Town, Zhaoping County, Hezhou, Hezhou, Guangxi, China

Daily, roughly 7:30-22:00 with last entry about 18:00; the town is lit in the evening. Booking is not compulsory but is recommended 7-14 days ahead in the July-August peak.

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