Huangyao Ancient Town

MENG JIAXIN

Huangyao Ancient Townis a must-see destination，boasting historic buildings，ancient trees， and lazilymeandering rivers.

HUANGYAO Ancient Townis located in the northeastof Zhaoping Countyin Hezhou City， southChinas Guangxi Zhuang AutonomousRegion. Around 60 kilometersfrom downtown， the ancienttown covers an area of over 3.2square kilometers. It traces itsorigin to the early days of the SongDynasty （960-1279）. The town expandedduring the Ming Dynasty（1368-1644） and flourished duringthe Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）.

Stone bridges， meandering rivers，towering banyan trees， slabpavedancient streets， and residentialcomplexes enclosed by highwalls are some of the features ofthis time-honored town. In 2022，Huangyao Ancient Town was recognizedas a state-level 5A-ratedtourist attraction.

Huangyao was built on a vaststretch of fertile land in a valley，where Zhenwu Mountains to itseast block the cold and moist aircoming from the northeast， givingthe mountains a sacred statusamong local residents. Water isthe lifeblood of the town as theYaojiang River， Small Pearl Riverand Xingning River converge here，providing a source of sustainablewater and acting as a natural defensivebarrier.

Defense Works

There are more than 300 survivingbuildings from the Ming andQing dynasties in this small town，making it one of the best-preservedand largest ancient townsin Guangxi. Apart from the naturalbarrier of rivers and hills， the hun-dreds of years of peaceful developmentof the town is attributed toits wisdom of preventing attacksand aggression.

Back in the Ming and Qing dynasties，most families in Huangyaowere quite wealthy from merchantbusinesses， so they attached importanceto town and housing fortification，with the purpose of defendingthemselves against enemyattackers and burglars. As a result，the town has a sophisticated design，equipped with superb defensiveattributes.

There are four main gates tothe town and street gates to eachstreet. The eight streets are linkedto the main street， and were allbuilt with T-intersections ratherthan intersections， developing amaze-like system.

The East Gate Tower， datingback to the early Qing Dynasty， isthe best preserved and most securegate tower in Huangyao. Designedwith openings for looking out，the tower acted as a defensivestructure， while the Yaojiang Riverserved as a moat.

The design of traditional localresidential complexes also showsa strong awareness of defense.A typical aspect of this philosophyis that families in the sameclan tended to build their housesaround an ancestral hall， so thatthe they were close enough to carefor and support each other.

The Guos Residence is one ofthe best-preserved residentialcomplexes in Huangyao. Coveringan area of over 500 square meters，it is a typical courtyard-style dwellingand dates back to the late Qing Dynasty. The residence mainlyconsists of a front hall， a courtyard，a main hall and several bedrooms.In the past， a plaque was presentedby the imperial court during thereign of Daoguang Emperor in theQing Dynasty， applauding the Guofamilys harmonious family environment.This plaque remains in thecomplex.

A highlight of this attraction isa wooden security door — threelong wooden poles are inserted intocorresponding holes in the doorframe and a lever on the top initiatesa mechanism to lock the polesin place， so that no one can openthe gate from the outside. The highwalls that enclose the complex havemany small openings for lookoutpurposes and specifically designedplaces for armed residents to defendthemselves against invaders.

Xianren Ancient Well

Among around a dozen wells inHuangyao， one named Xianren AncientWell， literally meaning immortalancient well， is a major drawcardfor visitors. The well was built inthe late Ming Dynasty next to theXingning River and these two waterbodies almost meet. Legend has itthat seven immortals were onceseen relaxing by the well， giving thewell its name. This one-meter-deepwell is composed of five separatebut linked square wells whose waterall comes from the same spring.Each well was assigned a uniquepurpose. The first well is for drinking，second for washing cookingingredients， third and fourth forwashing hands and doing laundry，and fifth for cleaning householdproducts and agricultural tools.The well water flows across the five wells and finally meets the XingningRiver from the fifth well.

Its source of water is a naturalspring that originates from a nearbyhill. The water is clear and sufficient.Its temperature remains at18 Celsius degrees all year round.Scientific testing has shown that theunderground water in Huangyao isrich in minerals. The town has beenknown for having many elderly peoplewho are over 100 years old， andattribute their longevity to drinkingthe well water.

Bridges

Dailong Bridge is a must-visitattraction in Huangyao. It is thelargest stone bridge in the town anddates back to the late Qing Dynasty.It is said that the bridge was built totransport the sacred air of ZhenwuMountains to the village streets.

The stone bridge， without anybanisters， blends in perfectly with its surroundings， displaying distinctlandscaping anesthetics. Stoneswere paved in a purposefully untidymanner around on an inconspicuousbank， a stone wall was builtnearby， and Dailong Bridge was constructedbeside the wall. The combinationof untidily arranged stones，a river， a bridge and a wall creates aserene and pleasant landscape if it isviewed from a distance. The eleganttwo-arched bridge is also practicalfor protection against flooding， witha smaller arch designed for divergingfloodwater.

Shitiao Bridge is a distinct bridge inHuangyao， going back to the mid-QingDynasty. This 19-meter-long bridgeis composed of 31 separate steppingstones. The width between each stoneis suitable for an adult to take a stepor a small jump. In this way， it is convenientfor people to cross the river.At the same time， the design doesntaffect any flowing floodwater.

Old Banyan Trees

There are several ancient banyantrees that are hundreds of yearsold in Huangyao. The Dragon ClawTree， more than 850 years old， isone of the oldest banyan trees inHuangyao. Its thick trunk almostgrows horizontally close to waterlevel and numerous aerial rootsand branches extend in all directions，looking like the claws of ahuge fierce dragon. Most of itsbranches are dead and witheredwhile the trunk remains alive.

Besides the Dragon Claw Tree，the Longmen Tree is also morethan 800 years old. Growing onstones， its tree branches growand are wildly bent by the wind，forming an “arch.” Another famousbanyan tree is named the CoupleTree. It is 300 years old， and lookslike one tree but is actually a combinationof two trees. In times ofdrought or flooding， its leaves turnyellow， alerting local residents toprepare accordingly.

Old Bluestone Streets

There are eight streets pavedwith bluestone in the town， datingback to the late Qing Dynasty. Thetotal length is three kilometers. Theslabs were firmly placed without theuse of any adhesives between them，relying only on exact dimensions.Interconnected drainage channelswere arranged beneath each street，allowing rain water to flow out ofthe town， which effectively solvesthe drainage problem. This systemreflects the intelligence of Huangyaoscraftsmen and planners.

In recent years， in order tobetter protect the historic town，the local government has inviteda group of experts to repair oldstreets， gate towers， theaters， andresidential buildings to their originalstate. At the same time， localresidents began to turn their remodeledold houses into vacationrentals or specialty stores， to helpthe old town take on a new lease oflife in the modern era.