The ancient town of Qingcheng

Updated: June 23, 2021chinadaily.com.cn

Situating at the south bank of the Yellow River at the northernmost part of Yuzhong County in Southwest China’s Gansu province, the ancient town of Qingcheng is the only provincial-level historical and cultural town and the hometown of folk art in Lanzhou city, which is also an ancient Gansu town with well-preserved ancient dwellings. 

The ancient buildings and ancient residential housing groups in the town have historical value in the research of northwest dwellings and folk customs. The TV series "Old Persimmon Tree" and "Yellow River Waves" were filmed here.

According to the historical records, the town was built by and named after Di Qing, a feudal provincial governor in the reign of Emperor Renzong (1022-1063) of the Song Dynasty. 

In history, the town was a cargo distribution center mainly for hookahs with developed water and land transportation that brought in businesspeople from Beijing, Tianjin and Taiyuan to engage in trade, giving the town's residences not only a "Shanxi Mansion" style but also the pattern of "Beijing Siheyuan" (China's traditional courtyard-style houses). 

The town currently has more than 50 Siheyuan buildings, most of which were built in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) and are located in Chenghe, Qingcheng and Xinmin villages. 

These ancient residences are decorated with brick and wood carvings that can be found in doors, walls, windows, rooms and really in every nook and cranny of the buildings. 

The patterns on the building are the artistic carriers of feelings. In this town, visitors can not only see the antique houses of the Ming and Qing dynasties, enjoy the folk tunes and watch goat fighting, but can also experience the traditional custom of the banks of the Yellow River.



Copyright © Lanzhou City, Gansu Province.
All rights reserved. Presented by China Daily.

Copyright © Lanzhou City, Gansu Province. All rights reserved. Presented by China Daily.