Qingyan Ancient Town

Ming Dynasty Walled Garrison Town South Of Guiyang; National 5A Tourist Attraction · Guiyang, Guizhou

A walled garrison town of dark stone on the plateau south of Guiyang, founded in 1378 to guard the Ming dynasty's road into the southwest and still ringed by its ramparts and four gate towers. Everything here is built of the local limestone - walls, lanes, courtyard houses, even roof slabs - which gives the town a severe, grey handsomeness quite unlike the whitewashed water towns of the east. Inside the walls, an unusual mix of buildings crowds together: Buddhist and Taoist temples, ancestral halls, a Catholic church and a Protestant chapel from the missionary era, and the former residence of Zhou Yuhuang, whose family produced the first scholar from Guizhou to top the imperial examinations. The town is also famous for its food, above all rose sugar cakes and braised pig trotters slow-cooked in clay pots, sold from shops along the main street. Gate towers can be climbed for views over the tiled roofs to the karst hills, and the town is close enough to Guiyang to make an easy half-day, which is why it fills with visitors at weekends.

Qingyan Ancient Town, Huaxi District, Guiyang, Guiyang, Guizhou, China

Core scenic zone about 8:30-18:00 and the outer streets to about 22:00; a water show runs Tuesday-Sunday at 15:00 and 19:30 (check).

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