Houxi ancient town

Houxi ancient town

Houxi ancient town is located in Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, more than 90 kilometers away from the county. It borders Liye town of Longshan County in Hunan Province in the East and Shidi town of Xiushan County in the south.

brief introduction

Houxi is a Tujia inhabited area with a population of more than 21000, of which Tujia accounts for more than 90%.

Houxi town has a long history. It was under the jurisdiction of Wuling County in the Han Dynasty. In Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty, Youyang xuanweishi department was set up, belonging to Youxi of Jiuxi eighteen caves. It is the settlement of Tujia and Miao Nationalities. The local folk customs are simple, and the ground and underground cultural relics are very rich. There are more than 60 cultural relics on the ground, and nearly 10 cultural relics protection units at or above the county level. Important cultural relics attractions include the hanging coffin burial in Houxi, the tomb of general Bai of Tusi, the filial piety square of Gong clan, the Longevity Palace in Houxi, and the hand waving Hall of Tujia people.

As Houxi River (Youshui River) directly connects Yuanjiang River and Dongting Lake to the Yangtze River, it has been a water transportation wharf with developed commerce and trade since Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, and the local economy is relatively developed. Houxi town was built on the right bank of Youshui, with a construction area of more than 30000 square meters. Most of the buildings were built in the Qing Dynasty and were well preserved. Stone streets, green tiles and white walls, and flying pavilions are exquisitely carved and praised.

Tourism characteristics

Houxi ancient town has beautiful scenery. The green Youshui river flows through the town. The mountains on both sides of Youshui River are wonderful. The famous Sanhuan mountain is reflected in the river, which has the charm of Guilin landscape. Cruising in the river, you can clearly see the deep river bottom. From time to time, a small boat rowed across Youshui. The fishermen sang the long-standing Houxi Fishing Song, and the melodious melody rippled on the valley and water. Changtan scenery, beautiful mountains and rivers, strange rocks and peaks, known as the small Lijiang reputation. It has become a famous cultural relic and tourist destination in the near and far.

Houxi used to be an important waterway in history. On land, the official road can reach Youyang through Youjiao and Mawang, and the waterway can enter Dongting Lake in Hunan Province through Youshui, and reach Laifeng County in Hubei Province. Tung oil, raw lacquer and other agricultural and sideline products produced in Houxi area were transported out by water, and back to cloth, cotton yarn and department stores from Hunan. Due to the convenient waterway transportation, Houxi has become a large cargo distribution center of Youshui river. Merchants from all over the world have built temples and guildhalls here, which has made Houxi ancient town larger and larger. For a time, the market was prosperous and the goods were smooth.

Before the Qing Dynasty, Houxi followed the Tusi system for a long time. After the Qing Dynasty, the court carried out the policy of "changing the land to the flow", which means changing the Tusi system to the floating system of sending officials, and foreign officials began to enter. Due to years of war and famine in Sichuan, the population decreased sharply. The Qing government implemented large-scale immigration. The immigrants in Houxi area mainly came from Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei, and formed three surnames: Tian, Peng and Bai. In Houxi, ancestral halls were built for the families with big family names, which served as places for clan meetings. The Baijia ancestral hall in shuixiangzi, the Baijia ancestral hall in Xinzhai, and the Pengjia ancestral hall are well preserved. They were built from Xianfeng to Guangxu. On the left side of the gate of the Baijia ancestral hall in Xinzhai, there is also a stone tablet carved in the 25th year of Guangxu. It is engraved with strict clan rules and moral standards, which is valuable information for the study of clan ancestral hall culture.

folk culture

In Changtan village, 8 Li downstream of Houxi Youshui River, there is a hand waving hall built by Tujia people of Peng surname in the first year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty. Outside the waving hall, a 200 square meter square earth dam is surrounded by stone slabs. Carved on the stone slab are some lifelike scenes, such as Elk's flower, magpie's plum blossom, Phoenix's peony and unicorn's Dragon elephant. During the winter solstice, Tujia people gather here to celebrate and dance Bizika. Houxi people are proud to say that Youyang is the hometown of hand waving dance, and Houxi is the home of hand waving dance.

In addition to the hand waving dance, the folk culture and customs of Houxi have also been handed down, such as folk songs, Muye love songs, fishing songs, weeping wedding songs, beating around coffins, puppet shows, lantern shows in the new year and so on. In the past, there were Nuo plays, but they have been lost. The rich national culture, Bayu culture and historical culture of the ancient town have become the research objects of many experts in sociology, ethnology, history, aesthetics and cultural relics.

Address: Houxi Town, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing

Longitude: 109.138022

Latitude: 28.886807

Ticket information: no ticket required.