Least-Visited Scenic Area in Hefei, Anhui: No Entrance Fees, No Tourists – Users Say 'Seen It All'
An extremely low-key ancient town in Anhui, doesn't charge entrance fees, but has very few tourists. Do you know which one it is? It's certainly familiar to friends from Chizhou, Anhui. But for friends from other regions of Anhui, they probably haven't heard of it – it's Changlinhe Ancient Town. Although it's very low-key, it was a remarkably prosperous place in history, but now it's largely forgotten.
01 Ancient Town History
This is a charming, historic town located at the southernmost end of Feidong County, Hefei, on the banks of the Changlin River. The town is named Changlinhe Ancient Town due to its location along the river. Transportation to the town is very convenient, with both highways and high-speed rail. From Hefei, it's a 40-minute drive by highway and just 15 minutes by high-speed train.
Changlinhe Ancient Town has a history of over 600 years. The historical sedimentation makes the town's cultural depth particularly rich. The town was originally populated by many migrants from Jiangxi province. With the changing of history, people thrived and developed here, constantly expanding and growing into the town it is today. Of course, with the passage of time, the original Jiangxi culture has evolved into what is now the Jianghui culture. The town's architecture is all in the Jianghui architectural style.
02 Old Street
The old street is the town's most famous attraction, a national 4A scenic area, and it charges entrance fees. Numerous attractions include the Centennial Post Office, the Wu Residence, the Folk Museum, Zhunti Temple, and the Old Newspaper Office. The old street is a T-shaped distribution above, with the entire street stretching 600 meters, divided into east-west and north-south main streets. Both sides of the streets are all typical Jianghui-style buildings, with blue-tiled roofs. Although a lot of renovation has been done, you can still see the historical traces left behind.
Changlinhe Old Street was a trading hub on the southern bank of the Yangtze River during the Qing Dynasty. It was once a bustling center of commerce. There were bustling trading houses, merchants, shops selling cloth, money, medicine, rice, pawn shops, inns, perfume shops, and newspapers. People came and went, earning it the nickname 'Little Shanghai'. However, due to historical reasons, people gradually forgot about it, and Changlinhe Ancient Town appeared to be somewhat desolate.
03 Wu Residence
Located at No. 25 Changlin River East Street, this residence looks quite rustic and elegant from the outside. It's a typical Jianghu architectural style. It's the old residence of Wu Zhongxing, a famous surveyor known as the 'Surveyor General' who came from Jiangxi. The layout of the courtyard is very peculiar, not like the typical Chinese building's south-north orientation. Its main gate faces north and slightly towards the east. According to the introduction, this is meant to symbolize 'Purple Qi coming from the East'.
04 Centennial Post Office
One of the earliest post offices in Feidong County, it was once the home of the generals of the Huimin Army, Wu Yufin and Wu Yulan. It has a history of over 300 years. Although it no longer has postal services and has been turned into an exhibition hall, it still deserves the name 'Centennial Post Office', with a history of over 110 years.
As the most understated attraction in Anhui Province, although it is close to a major city, it has very few tourists. Perhaps, as one commenter put it, there are so many ancient buildings in Anhui, it's no longer novel. Will this charming, ancient town be left behind?
