The Earth has existed for over ten thousand years. During this time many changes have happened. Empires rose and fell, emperors conquered, plundered, and died, countless civilizations have been lost to the sands of time and new ones rose like a Phoenix from the ashes of its predecessor.
However, some places in the world have a long history and even after years of their existence, they refuse to fall to the winds or the waves.
Introduction
Furong Ancient Town, also called Hibiscus Town is a beautiful tourist centre found in mountainous northwest Hunan, Yongshun County in China. The Asian town has a long history spanning over a shocking two thousand years. There are some buildings and places with a history of three hundred to four hundred years, however, when compared to the Furong Ancient Town they really can’t be placed on the same level.
Furong Ancient Town is now one of the oldest places on Earth. Additionally, the town is built on a cliff. Below this cliff, a waterfall flows out into the You River making it a very picturesque view for tourists and nature lovers.
What You Need to Know About Furong Ancient Town
History
Furong Ancient Town is a relatively peaceful town. Despite its immense age, there have been little to no records of the town being destroyed. However, in years past when wars were still prevalent, Furong town was used as a base by Japanese sea warriors. They would depart from the town and head out to sea to face invading enemies. This eventually generated the name the ‘town of the heroes’ Wangcun in Chinese.
Furong town was originally called Wangcun village. In 1986, Chinese movie producer Xie Jin made a movie titled ‘Hibiscus Town’ using the Furong Ancient Town as the main plot in the movie. This movie made huge sales and drew more tourists to the iconic town in China. This eventually led to an increase in the popularity of Furong Ancient Town.
Furong Ancient Town was renamed Hibiscus Town after the successful movie and even now, the movie is played in a cinema for all tourists to enjoy. As for the indigenous people of the Furong Ancient Kingdom, the Tujia people were the first occupants of the land.
However, as of now, the Furong Ancient Town contains a mix of both Tujia people and Hans Chinese People, over eighty per cent of the people found in Furong Town are of Tujia origin therefore in a sense the town still belongs majorly to the Tujia people.
Tourist Centre: Furong Town
Furong town is one of China’s best tourist centres. Starting from its location to its styled architecture, it’s the perfect definition of a tourist centre. Furong town offers a very amazing view as from the town the waterfall is very obvious and even the sound of the rushing water gets into the ears of both indigenes and tourists. The mountain regions around it serve as background decorations to the town and some of the buildings such as the palace which was built over 300 years ago depict ancient Chinese culture and decorations at its finest. Truly, it’s very hard to not believe that this Chinese tourist centre was not drafted out from a picture.
Iconic Areas
Almost every area of the ancient town is an iconic spot. However, Furong has some specific iconic areas which hold different significance to the indigenous people of the land. One of which is the bronze pillar. The bronze pillar is one of the more significant landmarks of Furong town. This tower stands as a memorial to a war that happened between the state of Xi and the state of Chu. At the time, Furong town was under the state of Xi and had participated in the war. Eventually, the state of Xi won the war.
Another significant landmark is the Chieftain Bridge. The chieftain bridge was given its name years ago as it was the bridge chiefs of Furong would have to pass through if they wanted to gain access to their palace. Lining the sides of the bridge are buildings decorated in ancient Chinese styles and exhibitions showing items the indigenous people of Furong use for their daily lives.
One more iconic landmark is the Tusi Palace. The Tusi Palace is the Palace in which all chieftains of Furong reside. The palace is a complex of different buildings built one next to the other rather than a single building. The art style for the buildings is known as Diaojiaolou. Shockingly, using this art style to build, the building won’t require nails. Even yet the Tusi palace has stood for hundreds of years. This shows the durability of the Diaojiaolou.
The major signature of the Diaojiaolou Building style is the use of stilts for the building. Besides the waterfall, mountains and mind-boggling views, Furong town is also known for its cave areas. Serene and peaceful areas where one is accompanied by nothing but the sound of nature and rushing water.
Trades and Crafts
Furong Town also has a large number of trades and crafts. This can be found in a location called Wulichangjie, or ‘Wuli Street’. Wuli Street can be considered a market of sorts. Vendors sell a variety of items including furniture, cutleries, accessories and foods crafted and prepared in Tujia style. This would serve as good souvenirs to a tourist when they return to their homes.
Conclusion
Furong town is a very fun place to be in. With scenic views, caves, mountain regions and waterfalls, Furong town has everything a tourist would want. Besides these, the Tujia people are very welcoming individuals. They are willing to share details of their culture as well as show the wonder of Furong Town to tourists who are willing to learn and experience new things.
So why not dive into the world of the Tujia people and see how these ancient people have held strong to their culture despite the rapid changes in society? Do you know more details of Furong Ancient Town? Let us know in the comment section below.
