Top 4 small cities in China worth going

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:57:00 +0000

There are a lot of small ancient towns and small cities which leave the traces of Chinese long history and profound culture. Here I recommend top 5 small cities and towns worth visiting for your reference.

1. Lijiang in Yunnan

The Ancient Town of Lijiang is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Every ethnic group in Lijiang has a special festival, such as the Naxi people’s Sanduo Festival and the Yi people’s Torch Festival. The Lijiang UNESCO site is well known for its well-preserved ancient buildings and the distinctive Naxi culture. The aged wooden buildings decked with hanging red lanterns, and local musicians playing centuries-old Naxi instruments in the time worn streets, display a lifestyle and culture that seems lost in time. It is an idyllic place that seems far away from the cement, steel and busyness of the new section of the city. Lijiang is the gateway to many other tourist attractions in the region.

2. Pingyao in Shanxi

Pingyao is an ancient city that was named a World Heritage Site in 1997. Pingyao’s city wall has a perimeter of 6,163 meters, about 12 m high. The wall encircles an area of about 2.25 square kilometers, and separates the city into two worlds with different styles of structures. Inside the wall, the streets, pavement, structures, and about everything else retain the styles from Ming and Qing Dynasties. Outside the wall are the new the modern buildings. You can see and enjoy many things with Chinese characteristics, such as stamp number, native bank, pawnshop, traditional Chinese medicine shop, and silk fabric shop, variety store, and fan, lantern, theatrical costume store.

It records a lot of history and culture of Ming and Qing Dynasty.
3. Yan’an in Shaanxi
Yan’an is a revolutionary holy place in China. It used to be the military headquarters during the Chinese Anti-Japanese War (1937-1945) and China’s War of Liberation (1945-1949). This checkered past means that those who are interested in Chinese modern revolutionary history and the Yan’an Spirit which was exhibited in 1942, and is still evident today, or those who want to examine the colorful folk customs and culture of the Loess Plateau, should make sure that they visit Yan’an. The city has as many as 140 revolutionary sites. There truly is something for everyone to see.

4. Fenghuang in Hunan
The Phoenix City ( Fenghuan – Chinese for Phoenix) is a small and old city, 140km south to Zhangjiajie City and 52km south to Jishou City in Hunan Province, China. It covers an area of 1700 km with a population of 370,000, there are the minority ethnic group, such as Miaos, tujias, it was called the most beautiful ancient city in China by the famous writer Louis in New Zealand. Fenghuang has lots of relics and the sightseeing , the ancient city`s mountains and Tuo river, residents and establishment, temples and pavilions and more.

China travel guide » Yan’an

Top 4 small cities in China worth going