Street Sub Town

Overview
Street Sub Town (Jiezi Ancient Town) in Chongzhou City is located at the foot of Fengqi Mountain, linking with the back mountain of Mount Qingcheng and with Weijiang River flowing through. It has the “mountains and water” combination that travelers can enjoy elegant natural scenery and historical sites in the same visit.

Street Sub Town is famed as the hometown of the “One Gourd Ladle Poet” - Tang Qiu in Tang Dynasty. Moreover, this 4A scenic spot is called “the Back Garden of Mount Qingcheng”, “the Most Beautiful Ancient Town in Sichuan”, “Hometown of Orchid”, “One of the Top 10 Worthwhile Ancient Towns in Sichuan”. If you have enough time, it is a great choice to cover Street Sub Town visit after Mount Qingcheng trip.

History & Background
Street Sub Town is an old town with more than 1000 years’ history. “Street Sub” means small street. In Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties, it was called “Hengqu” which means across Weijiang River. For the chaos caused by war, the prosperous town turned into a street along the river in 1615 in Ming Dynasty. The local people set this street a new name “Jiezi Chang” for marketing. Hence, it got “Jiezi”.

Highlight Of Street Sub Town
The pure, elegant Jiezi Ancient Town is the typical reflection of old town in Western Sichuan. There is a wealth of relic sites scattered around Jiezi Old Town including Guangyan Buddhist Temple, Fengqishan Scenic Spot, Primitive Forest, Millennium gingko tree, ancient stone pagodas, bridges, well-preserved Qing-dynasty street, caves and 32 temples.

Stroll along Old Streets
The best way to explore Jiezi Ancient Town is simply strolling around the old streets. Walk on the ancient paved streets to discover the old shops with old books, paintings, handmade straw sandals, antiques, old silver, old furniture…Also, there is a bar street built along the Weijiang River with ancient dwellings. Immerse yourselves in the old time and relax your eyes by overlooking the beautiful mountains.

Appreciate Qing-Dynasty Ziku Pagoda
Ziku Pagoda is located in Gingko Square (five Millennium gingko trees with 20-meter high). Built in Qing Dynasty, Ziku Pagoda is 15 meters high with five floors in the shape of hexagon. On the top four layers, it is carved “The Legend of White Snake”. The local people believed that it was blessed if cherished words, they won’t throw away paper with words and gather the paper to incinerate. Ziku Pagoda was built in 1852 to incinerate the words and now become the historical site to explore in Jiezi.

Know Tang-Dynasty Poet Tang Qiu
Tang Qiu was called the Ladle Poet in the late of Tang Dynasty. He retreated in the mountain of Weijiang and wrote poems for fun also to express his feelings and ambition. After his accomplished his poems and threw them into gourds to flow down the river. Walk to Tangqiu Square and have a look at Tangqiu Statue to know more about this ladle poet.

Visit Guangyan Buddhist Temple
Guangyan Buddhist Temple is situated in the forest of Fengqi Mountain at an altitude of 1100 meters. It was first built in Jin Dynasty. The uncle and grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang in Ming Dynasty took refuge in Guangyan Buddhist Temple and the imperial court presented “Hongwu Nancang” which was the typical book of Buddhism as a gift to the temple.

Recommended Visiting Routes

Route One: Stroll along Qing-dynasty Jiangcheng Street and appreciate the exquisite architectures and folk life, visit Tea and Horse Bureau and know the past history and economy of Jiezi Ancient Town, walk to Shuimu Leisure Square and take the raft down the river to enjoy beautiful scenery along the river, reach Gingko Tree Square and know the customs of Ziku Pagoda, enjoy Qing-dynasty relic – Ruilong Bridge and take a leisure walk along bar street. It takes about 2 hours for the relaxing visiting.

Route Two: Take a walk to Gingko Tree Square to see five thousand-year Gingko trees and Ziku Pagoda, walk along Jiangcheng Street to taste some local snacks, reach Tang Qiu Square to know stories about this Ladle Poet in late Tang Dynasty. Hike up Fengqi Mountain and reach Guangyan Buddhist Temple to know more about this royal Buddhist temple. It takes about 3 hours and more for this in-depth visiting.

Information
Best Seasons: All year round
Recommended Visiting Time: 2-3 hours
Opening Hours: All days
Admission Fee: Free
Address: Jiezi Ancient Town, Fengqi Mountain, Congzhou City, Chengdu