Heshun Ancient Town 和顺古镇Héshùn Gǔzhèn

Why go to Heshun Ancient Town

Just outside Tengchong, Heshun's grey-tiled courtyard houses climb a hillside above a stream, stone bridges and rice fields, linked by lanes paved with volcanic stone. Generations of its men traded in Burma and beyond, and their money built clan ancestral halls, memorial archways, mansions mixing Chinese and Western styles and the Heshun Library, founded in 1928 and often called China's largest village library. It is a gentle place to wander and to spend a night.

The story

Heshun was settled by Ming-dynasty soldiers posted to guard this frontier in the late 14th century, who farmed between their turns of duty. With too little land to go round, later generations set off to trade abroad, a journey locals called 'zou yifang', going to foreign parts. Local lore says the little washing pavilions along the stream were built by men away on these journeys, so their wives could do the laundry sheltered from sun and rain.

What to see at Heshun Ancient Town

• Heshun Library 和顺图书馆: A village library that grew from a reading society of 1924 into a library in 1928, with a Chinese–Western main hall built in 1938. It is a nationally protected site and a quiet place to start.
• Double Rainbow Bridge 双虹桥: A stone arched bridge over the stream at the heart of the village, with lanes and old houses around it.
• Washing pavilions 洗衣亭: Small roofed pavilions beside the stream where villagers once did their laundry out of sun and rain.
• Ai Siqi's former residence 艾思奇故居: The memorial and former home of the philosopher Ai Siqi, born in Heshun, in a courtyard house.
• Xianhe Wetland 陷河湿地: A wetland at the edge of the town noted for its biodiversity, good for a gentle walk.

How to visit Heshun Ancient Town

Begin at the library, then cross the Double Rainbow Bridge and walk the stream path past the washing pavilions into the lanes. The wetland and the village outskirts reward a slower pace. A half-day covers the main sights; a night in the village lets you see them without the day-trip crowds.

How to get to Heshun Ancient Town

Heshun is about 4 km south-west of central Tengchong, around 15 minutes by taxi. Tengchong has no railway: fly from Kunming to Tengchong Tuofeng Airport in about an hour, or take the train to Baoshan (about 4 hours from Kunming, under 2 from Dali) and continue about 2 hours by road.

Where to stay

Stay inside Heshun in a courtyard guesthouse: it is calm at night and close to the library and the stream. Tengchong town, about 4 km away, has more hotels.

What to eat

• Dajiujia 大救驾: A Tengchong speciality of stir-fried rice-cake slices, cooked with ham, egg and greens; the name ('saving the emperor') comes from a folk legend about a fugitive Ming emperor fed here.
• Tengchong ersi rice noodles 腾冲饵丝: Soft, chewy rice noodles made from local glutinous rice, served in broth or stir-fried; Tengchong ersi are known across western Yunnan.

Tips for visiting Heshun Ancient Town

• Stay overnight in a courtyard guesthouse to see the lanes early and late, after the day-trippers have gone; the town ticket lets you come and go for several days.
• Start at the library and the arched Double Rainbow Bridge, then follow the stream past the washing pavilions and up the lanes to the ancestral halls.
• Rehai's boiling springs are a short drive south, making an easy pairing for a second half-day.

Nearby

• Tengchong Volcanoes & Rehai Hot Springs 腾冲火山与热海 20 km
  Climb a dormant volcano's crater, then watch a boiling spring cook your eggs

Also within 30 km: Rhododendron King Ancient Wood Park 杜鹃王古木博览园 (under 10 km), Guoshang Cemetery 国殇墓园 (under 10 km), Wenchang Palace, Qiluo 绮罗文昌宫 (under 10 km), Gaoligong Mountain Tea Expo Park 高黎贡山茶博园 (under 10 km), Simola Wa Village 司莫拉佤族村 (under 10 km), Dongshan Grassland 东山草原 (10 km).

On the map

Open Heshun Ancient Town 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
• Wikipedia (Chinese)