Fenghuang Overview
Fenghuang Things To Do
About Fenghuang
Fenghuang Travel Service
Fenghuang, praised as "the Most Beautiful Town of China" by famous New Zealand writer Rewi Alley, is a small county renowned for its natural beauty, rich history and culture as well as colorful ethnic customs, located at south Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture of Hunan province, China. Fenghuang means Phoenix in Chinese. Phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird in Chinese mythology representing good omen and longevity. Fenghuang town is given the name after Fenghuang Mountain which resembles Phoenix situated 50 miles away from it.
Fenghuang is embraced by green mountains, with Tuo Jiang River running through its heart. Rowboat is one of the main means of transportation. Tourists also can take a rowboat to ramble the county and enjoy the natural beauty. Unique wooden houses constructed on stilts are built along the riverbank. This kind of house is called Diaojiaolou (Chinese for building with hanging legs). The design keeps the buildings safe from the spring floods. It is easy to discover the beauty of Fenghuang lies in its primitive simplicity. Fenghuang people still live a very simple life despite the other places of China are under the onset of modernization. It always reminds people of the scenes in Chinese painting and old Chinese films.
Fenghuang County is divided into two districts: New Town and Ancient Town. Fenghuang Ancient Town’s history can be dated back to Spring and Autumn Periods (770 BC to 476 BC). The presenting Fenghuang Ancient Town was built in the 43 year of the Reign of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1704), where the ancient buildings in distinct Qing Dynasty style are well preserved. Fairly long history endows it with over 300 culture heritages, such as Huang Si Qiao Castle, the best preserved stone castle built in Tang Dynasty (year 687); the meandering Xiangxi Border Walls, which was built during Ming Dynasty, is praised highly as China’s Southern Great Wall; and the flagstone paths paved during Ming and Qing Dynasties. Besides, there are famous ancient buildings including Longevity Palace, Chao Yang Palace and Heavenly King Temple.
Fenghuang County is the hometown of renowned Chinese writer Shen Congwen, whose masterpiece The Border Town written in 1934, describing a sentimental love story in Fenghuang County is known to every family and won Fenghuang a national-wide fame. He is highly respected by local people, and his former residence is one of the popular attraction spots of Fenghuang.
Fenghuang is also an ethnic minority group area, and Miao ethnic minority takes the predominance in number. Exploring Shanjiang Miao Village, where the Miao customs, living style and festivals are kept intact, can be an impressive and interesting experience.
