Fenghuangcun Things to Do

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This is the southern gate into the old town. Behind it, just inside the old town is a square which features a model of a phoenix - a mythical bid from which the town is named. Fenghuang Cheng or Phoenix Town is so called as legend has it that two of these fabulous birds flew over it and found the town so beautiful that they hovered there, reluctant to leave.

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A long part of the old town wall is still standing, stretching for about 400 meters along the south bank of the river. The North Gate Tower is found halfway along its length and the East Gate Tower is found at its eastern point. This tower was built in 1715. The wall used to surround the old town and was 2km in length, 5.7 meters in height and 3.7 meters wide.

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I saw a couple of waterwheels in Lijiang, Yunnan, and there's a few along the river here in Fenghuang. These particular ones lie on the north bank near the stepping stones and look like they're part of a mill. There's more upstream.

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Tuo Jiang River, the biggest river within the county, is one of the branches of Wushui River. Originating from Nanshan Gorge of Dusha, Kuhe, it flows through Fenghuang County from west to east, passing nine counties and towns including La’ershan and Fenghuang County, and then plunges into the Wushui River. It is 131 kilometres in length, among which 96.9 kilometres is in Fenghuang County. Tour boats can take you along the river where you'll get the chance to flow down some of weirs. You can watch the boatman pushing the boats up the weirs with the help of rollers underneath - quite an ingenious idea!

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These types of house are called Diaojiaolou (Chinese for building with hanging legs). The design keeps the buildings safe from the spring floods. These houses really define the old town and give it its "picturesque-ness". You can witness the daily goings-on outside them. More photos can be found in my travelogues.

This temple is located on the north bank of the river near the Wanming Pagoda.

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These are some street scenes from within the old town. The old town covers an area of about 1.8 sq km with over 300 local-style houses, 20 streets and 10 lanes.