Shangli Ancient Town

Chinese Name: 上里古镇 (Shang Li Gu Zhen)
Location: Yucheng District, Ya’an Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Ticket: Free
Estimated tour time: 2-3 hours
Recommended time to visit: All year round; Best time: spring & Autumn.
Nearby attractions: Bifengxia Scenic Spot, Mount Tiantai Scenic Spot, Longcanggou National Forest Park, Mount Wawu Scenic Area, Lugou Bamboo Sea, Mount Mengding, etc.

When entering China，you may be overwhelmed with the huge cities full of starbucks, skyscrapers and cars. But when you want to have a glimps of the more traditional way of this mysterious country, going to Ya'an's old town, Shangli town, is the way to go.

Shangli Ancient Town is located 27km from the north of Ya’an. It was an important courier station on the South Silk Road (the Ancient Tea Horse Road) that is the oldest international thoroughfare in China over 2,000 years ago. It connects Mingshan Mountain and Qionglai in the east, and Lushan and Ya’an in the west. Moreover, Shangli Ancient Town is listed as the “Top 10 Ancient Towns in Sichuan”, for a reason that it is embraced by mountains and waters around, with scattered fields and hills, featured wood houses in Ming and Qing styles, old streets paved with flagstones, characteristic ancient bridges, and so on.

The most beautiful time in the ancient town is early in the morning. The shops in the streets are not open yet, and the air is fresh and humid. Walking along the river, more than ten ancient and modern stone bridges of different styles can be seen along the way, among which the most representative is The Erxian Bridge.

The small wooden buildings used as shops, noodle bars and souvenir stalls may seem touristic instead of authentic, but during summer the atmoshpere in this place is a nice change from the city. With the river, the close forests and the long drive uphill, you would feel like in a different place. The people are friendly and even without knowing Chinese you can learn about the buildings (most of them have english information signs when entering) and enjoy the nature. Moreover, T- ata Noodle (Dada Noodle, 挞挞面) in Shangli is the local delicacy. There are multiple Tata Noodle restaurants on the way between Ancient Stage and Han’s Courtyard with basically the same fares. Try some roast duck and noodles on the small town plaza during sunset, real nice!

● Highlights of Shangli Ancient Town

Han’s Courtyard 

In the center of this town, Han’s Courtyard is the best preserved ancient residence. It was built by a Han clan by imitating mansions in the capital and owns a history over 200 years. Consisting of 7 quadrangle courtyards, it features distinct layouts. Relievo, hollowed-out carving, and inlaid carving are utilized on the doors, windows, eaves, etc. All the skills are so valuable and exquisite that you can totally walk inside, along the corridors to get close to the precious art and may have the illusion of going back to the old life.

Erxian Bridge 

Erxian bridge (Two Immortals Bridge) is located on the Longxi river about 200 meters west of the ancient town. At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the bridge was destroyed twice by floods, and it was built the third time in 1776. The bridge is a single arch stone bridge with stone railings on both sides.

Ancient Memorial Archways 

3 memorial archways are well preserved in Shangli Ancient Town. The imposing Two Filial & Chastity Memorial Archway for praising the chastity keeping of the two women in Han’s family is of high value. On the archway, birds and beasts are carved vividly, groups of drama scenes are engraved in cyan, green, red, gold, etc. Furthermore, you can also admire the amazing and rare story at the Nine Generations Stone Memorial Archway, which is awarded by the imperial court because the nine generations of Chen’ Family had lived here and multiplied to more than 1,000 persons.