Laitan ancient town

Laitan ancient town is located in Jiufeng Mountain, 32 kilometers east of Hechuan City, Chongqing. It was built in Song Dynasty. It is one of the first batch of famous historical and cultural towns in China, one of the top ten ancient towns in China, and the first batch of "the most beautiful villages and towns in China".

Surrounded by rivers and canals, the ancient town integrates ancient temples, ancient cities and ancient Buddhas with beautiful scenery. Surrounded by three cliffs, it has the potential of "one man is in charge of the pass, ten thousand people are not allowed to open". The urn City, which was added in the first year of Tongzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty, is the only one in Chongqing. There are four Tibetan soldier caves in the City, which has the function of fighting dogs and catching turtles in the urn. Wenchang palace in Qing Dynasty is well preserved, and the wooden relief on the outer column of the ancient theater is amazing.

Laitan ancient town is divided into two parts, one is on the stage and the other is on the stage. It is very close to each other. It looks like a brother and sister, one is high and one is low, one is up and one is down, one is hard and one is soft. The site is located on Jiufeng Mountain of xiongshiqujiang river. It is majestic and majestic. The walls of the village are high, like dragons and tigers.

Laitan village covers an area of 0.25 square kilometers. The four gates are in cross symmetry. All the walls are made of half meter long stones. The walls are 7 meters high and 2.5 meters wide, which form a sharp contrast with modern architecture and have unique ancient characteristics. The old castle is still preserved in the ancient village. There are narrow and curved stone streets and lanes with appropriate scale, and more than 400 Qing Dynasty dwellings. The small green tile buildings, which are well arranged but of wooden structure, basically maintain the original style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They are simple and elegant, giving people the feeling of returning to simplicity and entering a peaceful mountain town.

Laitan ancient town

Laitan ancient town, a national AAAA tourist attraction, is located 28 kilometers northeast of Hechuan district. It was built in Song Dynasty. It is one of the first batch of famous historical and cultural towns in China and the first batch of "the most beautiful villages and towns in China".

On June 10, 2015, Laitan ancient town scenic spot was officially approved as a national AAAA (4a) scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration.

General introduction

Laitan ancient town is actually called Laitan ancient village. It is located 28 kilometers northeast of Hechuan District, Chongqing. It was built in the Song Dynasty. It is one of the first batch of famous historical and cultural towns in China, one of the top ten ancient towns in China, and the first batch of "the most beautiful villages and towns in China". There are three cliffs in the ancient village, which has the potential of "one man is in charge of the pass, ten thousand people are not allowed to open". The urn city added in the first year of Tongzhi reign in Qing Dynasty is the only one in Chongqing. There are four Tibetan soldier caves in the city, which has the effect of fighting dogs and catching turtles in the urn. Wenchang palace in Qing Dynasty is well preserved, and the wooden relief on the outer column of the ancient theater is amazing.

History of ancient town

The ancient village is more than 200 years old

Built in the Xianfeng Period, it covers an area of 0.25 square kilometers. The four gates are in cross symmetry. All the walls are made of half meter long stones. The walls are 7 meters high and 2.5 meters wide. In order to prevent the Taiping army from entering Sichuan and the Li Lan uprising, another massive reinforcement and maintenance was carried out during the Tongzhi period, and the stone defense facilities surrounding the whole ancient village were built, which are still strong today. In the ancient town, there are more than 400 small green tile roofed houses in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and more than 200 meters of green stone alleys are simple and elegant, basically maintaining the original style of Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the street in xiaozhaimennei, there is a Taiping pool for fire fighting, which is inscribed "the first year of Tongzhi". A narrow street with three steps is formed by an integral stone dam. The footprints of the past dynasties make a road trough, which is an ancient witness. There are also Huilong Temple, Zhangye temple and other sites in the town, as well as the beautiful legends of Jiuguan and eighteen temples. Looking back at the Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty, due to the riverside, relying on the advantages of boats, Laitan was once a famous water wharf, where merchants gathered and the market was very prosperous. Looking through the tunnel of time, back to the Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty, because it was close to the Qujiang River, relying on the benefits of the boat, the bed beach was also a famous water wharf, which could attract merchants when there was water. At that time, the merchants of Laitan village gathered together, the market was very prosperous, and the two Buddha temple built on the mountain was also a prosperous place.

architectural style

The ancient temple building group in Laitan ancient town was built in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that there were nine palaces (nunneries) and 18 temples near the ancient town. It is a gathering place for Taoist and Buddhist. When it flourished, there were thousands of Taoist monks, Huilong Temple and Zhangye temple have become ruins, and two ancient banyan trees and temple gate still exist in the temple. Wenchangsheng palace, built in the Qing Dynasty, was converted into a school site after liberation. Its main building still exists. Among them, there is an ancient theater building, and the wooden relief outside the platform of the theater building. Its artistic value is very high, which is amazing. The main temple, the two Buddha Temple, was built in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. The upper hall is located on the top of Jiufeng Mountain, covering an area of 5181 square meters, divided into three layers, with grand momentum and strong religious atmosphere. On the central axis, there are Shanmen, Yuhuang hall, Daxiong Hall (the main hall of Buddha) and Guanyin hall. In the center of the hall, the original three clay statues with gold body are five meters high, vivid and shining. The eighteen Arhats with clay sculptures on both sides are colorful, with different expressions, vivid and daunting. Unfortunately, the cultural relics in the temple were destroyed during the cultural revolution. Only the four stone pillars in the main hall are about 13 meters high, which are made of the whole huge stone. They are tall, straight and spectacular, and can be called a unique architectural style in the past dynasties. The stone carving of Shanmen archway is exquisite, and it is a rare historical and cultural product.

The lower hall is located in Jiufeng Mountain. It is a building with two floors and one bottom built on the mountain. The group sculptures on the rocks near the mountain are the concentrated expression of the cultural landscape of Laitan ancient town, which have profound artistic connotation of the Zen culture of the two Buddhas and reflect the cultural and artistic crystallization of the ancient working people in the Tang and Song dynasties. The largest Buddha statue of Sakyamuni in the lower Hall of the Second Buddha Temple is 12.5 meters high and carved according to the rock. It is known as "the Second Buddha in Sichuan". The 16 Arhats carved on the stone in the temple are the ancestor of the evolution of the statues of 18 arhats-500 Arhats. The statue of the sixth patriarch of Zen is the only group of family portraits in the national stone carvings. The Southern Song Dynasty stone carvings of Er fo temple are the representative works of the third climax of stone carvings in China, with a total of 42 niches and more than 1700 statues. It is the largest and rare gathering place of Buddhist Zen statues in China, and also one of the largest Buddhist temples in China. Ding Mingyi, a famous scholar, described Laplace beach cliff as "a pearl buried in the ground"; Dr. He Enzhi, an American art historian, called it "a treasure house of stone carving art"; Mr. Wen Jie, the dean of the Dunhuang Research Institute and the famous stone carving expert section, inscribed "Lai Tan cliff cliff statue, the essence of the stone carving art in the Song Dynasty", "Lai Tan Rohan statues, the gem of stone carving art".

Characteristics of ancient town

Laitan ancient town has a long history. It was built in the Song Dynasty. The ancient town is close to Qujiang River and has beautiful natural scenery. The houses in Ming and Qing Dynasties are scattered, and the old streets and alleys are simple and elegant. The urn city built in Qing Dynasty is well preserved, only in Chongqing.

Laitan ancient town is divided into two parts, one is on the stage and the other is on the stage. It is very close to each other. It looks like a brother and sister, one is high and one is low, one is up and one is down, one is hard and one is soft. The site is located on Jiufeng Mountain of xiongshiqujiang river. It is majestic and majestic. The walls of the village are high, like dragons and tigers. Laitan village covers an area of 0.25 square kilometers, with four city gates in a cross symmetry, which is in sharp contrast with modern architectural structure and has unique ancient flavor. The old castle is still preserved in the ancient village. There are narrow and curved stone streets and lanes with appropriate scale, and more than 400 Qing Dynasty dwellings. The small green tile buildings, which are well arranged but of wooden structure, basically maintain the original style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, simple and elegant.

Luoshi dried beans, Qujiang fish and local chicken are famous local specialties. You can also try local rice wine.

Traffic information

Chongqing Caiyuanba bus station has a bus to Hechuan every day (or take no.508 bus to Hechuan at Chongqing railway station), a bus from Hechuan bus station to Longshi (about 10 yuan), get off at Laitan intersection, and then take a motorcycle or minibus to guchai.

Drive along the expressway from Chongqing to Hechuan, then go north to Longshi, and then turn right to Laitan before you get to Longshi. The whole process of cement pavement, about 90 km, 1.5 hours.

Main attractions

Wengcheng

Laitan ancient town

There are three sides of cliffs, which have the potential of "one man is in charge of the pass, ten thousand people are not allowed to open". In 1862 (the first year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty), the urn city was the only well preserved ancient defense facility in eastern Sichuan.

Wenchang Palace

Laitan ancient town has beautiful mountains and rivers, a long history, rich culture and folk customs of Bayu. It still retains the traditional pattern and historical style formed during the Qing Dynasty. The old street, Ming Dynasty stone archway, Qing Dynasty relic pagoda group are all over it, especially the well preserved Qing Dynasty architecture wenchangsheng palace and ancient theater, woodcut relief, etc. have high historical and cultural value, which is not only admirable. Ming Dynasty stone archway, Qing Dynasty relic Pagoda Forest, Ming and Qing Dynasty tombs and some stone inscriptions also add charm here.

Shuanglong Lake

Shuanglong Lake is a man-made lake completed in 1983 and turned into a tourist area in 1984, 26 kilometers away from Hechuan. Shuanglong Lake

The lake has a broad surface, clean water and 6879 mu of water. Its coastline is more than 80 km long. It has four whole islands, 147 peninsulas and more than 100 Huhan bays. Its maximum depth is 38 meters and its annual livestock water is 40 million cubic meters. There are 8 important natural and cultural landscapes in Shuanglong Lake. The reflection in the water is charming and magnificent. Shuanglong Lake has fresh air and elegant environment. Now, this water pearl has opened up hotel, restaurant, cultural tea garden, fishing, cruise and other tourism facilities, which are sightseeing, tourism, leisure, summer vacation, conference and recreation

Chinese PinYin : Lai Tan Gu Zhen