Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village 韩城古城·党家村Hánchéng Gǔchéng · Dǎngjiā Cūn

Why go to Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village

Hancheng, on the west bank of the Yellow River where it enters the Guanzhong plain, keeps an old town of courtyard houses and Ming temples around Jincheng Street. Start at the Confucian Temple, largely rebuilt in 1371, and the City God Temple of 1571 nearby. Then take a taxi about 9 km north-east to Dangjia Village, where more than 100 Ming and Qing courtyard houses, ancestral halls and the six-storey Wenxing Pagoda survive.

The story

Founded in 1331, Dangjia Village grew rich under the Ming and Qing dynasties, when its Dang merchant families shipped timber and other goods across the Yellow River. The money went into courtyard houses known for their 'three carvings' in brick, wood and stone.

What to see at Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village

• Confucian Temple 韩城文庙: Rebuilt in 1371, it is the oldest of the Ming buildings in the old town and has the glazed-tile five-dragon screen.
• City God Temple 韩城城隍庙: Built in 1571, a complex whose gate faces a nine-dragon screen and whose halls give a sense of an old county town's civic religion.
• Dangjia courtyards 党家村四合院: Grey-brick houses with carvings in brick, wood and stone, including gate towers and door ornaments, arranged along stone-paved lanes.
• Wenxing Pagoda 文星阁: The six-storey pagoda at the edge of the village, associated with success in scholarly exams, and the skyline marker of Dangjia.
• Watchtowers 哨楼: Several lookouts survive in and around the village, remnants of its defensive layout.

How to visit Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village

Start with the Confucian and City God temples in the old town, then take a taxi to Dangjia Village, about 9 km away. Walk the lanes, find a courtyard to enter and climb to the pagoda for a view over the roofs. One long day covers both, and an overnight in the village lets you see the lanes quiet.

How to get to Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village

Direct EMU trains from Xi'an Railway Station reach Hancheng in about 2–2.5 hours, and the old town is about 3 km south of Hancheng station. Dangjia Village is about 20 minutes from the old town by taxi.

Where to stay

The old town (Jincheng district) offers the most choice; staying in a courtyard in Dangjia Village is a possible alternative if you want the lanes to yourself.

What to eat

• Hancheng lamb hele noodles 韩城羊肉饸饹: Pressed buckwheat or wheat noodles served in a lamb broth, listed as a Hancheng speciality.
• Dahongpao peppercorns 韩城大红袍花椒: The local Sichuan pepper variety with GI protection, used in many local dishes and sold as a souvenir.
• Hancheng zaozi 韩城臊子: A spiced minced-meat preserve made with chilli and peppercorn.

Tips for visiting Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village

• Look for the glazed-tile dragon screens: five dragons at the Confucian Temple and nine outside the City God Temple.
• Many courtyards in Dangjia Village are still family homes, and some families take overnight guests; ask before walking into a courtyard.
• Add 1–2 hours for the Temple and Tomb of Sima Qian, the Han historian who wrote the Records of the Grand Historian, about 10 km south of the old town at Zhichuan: steps climb a cliff facing east towards the Yellow River to a round brick tomb with a cypress growing from its top.

Nearby

• Xiezhou Guandi Temple 解州关帝庙 70 km
  Gateways, halls and towers honouring the deified general Guan Yu in his home district
• Yuncheng Salt Lake 运城盐湖 70 km
  Brine ponds that turn red, pink and green in summer, below the Zhongtiao Mountains
• Hukou Waterfall 壶口瀑布 80 km
  The muddy Yellow River squeezed into a roaring rock chute between Shanxi and Shaanxi
• Yongle Palace 永乐宫 90 km
  Yuan-dynasty Taoist murals in a temple moved piece by piece to make way for a reservoir
• Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor 黄帝陵 110 km
  Ancient cypresses, an ancestral temple and the tomb mound of the legendary Yellow Emperor
• Mount Hua 华山 110 km
  Sheer granite peaks, stairways cut into cliffs and a notorious plank walk

Also within 30 km: Temple of Yu the Great, Hancheng 韩城大禹庙 (under 10 km), Liangdai Village Rui State Site Museum 梁带村芮国遗址博物馆 (under 10 km), Guandi Temple, Liuzhi 柳枝关帝庙 (under 10 km), Fawang Temple, Hancheng 法王庙 (under 10 km), Temple and Tomb of Sima Qian 司马迁祠 (10 km), Puzhao Temple, Hancheng 普照寺 (10 km).

On the map

Open Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia: Hancheng