Langzhong Ancient City

 

Named "Great Ancient Cities" in China along with Yunnan's Lijiang（丽江）, Shanxi's Pingyao（平遥） and Anhui's Shexian（歙县） County, Langzhong Ancient City (阆中古城) in Sichuan Basin's north is located in the middle reaches of Jialingjiang River（嘉陵江） and by the side of Bashan Mountain, having excellent preserved architectural culture. In the past it was called "Lang Yuan" (阆苑). More than 2,300 years before present, that is, during the period of the Warring States of ancient China, Langzhong had been the capital of the Ba State.

 

     

Zhang Fei (张飞), a general from the Shu Han (蜀汉) State which was documented as one of the three states in the Chinese epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义), had stayed and guarded here for about seven years before he died. Lanzhong City had been picked up as the temporary provincial capital of Sichuan for 17 years from the late Ming Dynasty to early Qing Dynasty. It is not difficult to find that Langzhong City has long been regarded as the political, military and cultural focus of northern Sichuan Province by old China's feudal emperors.

 

The layout and design of the city are in accordance with the Feng Shui geomantic principals from the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD). The blue stone streets and alleys are juxtaposed orderly at right angles with one another and red lanterns hanging up outside the doorframes of houses have given historical feel to the ancient city.

 

Langzhong is without the pretty bridges and flowing streams as seen in Yunnan's Lijiang or some old towns in eastern China and lack of ethnic minority atmosphere, but its profound long history, the great embrace of the Jialingjiang River and the residential house style architecture adequately present its uniqueness.

The renovation work for the city wall of Langzhong Ancient City will be completed in May 2010. The project is to restore the wall returning to stone wall of the Ming Dynasty style in accordance with some historical book of that time and to apply certain technique to make the wall to be weather-resistant and anti-spalling.