A One-Day Tour of Qixinggang in Chongqing

Yuzhong District, as the mother city of Chongqing, can be said to fully embody the characteristics of the mountain city: bridges flying over two rivers, winding trails, and buildings constructed according to the terrain. Qixinggang, located in Yuzhong District, is a place whose very name is full of stories. The mysterious legends belonging to this place are often mentioned in people's casual conversations. Standing in Qixinggang, amidst the many modern skyscrapers, you will find a distinctly different temperament here, with several quiet old buildings instantly attracting the attention of visitors. Such historical relics are scattered throughout the Yuzhong Peninsula, a section of ancient city wall, a hero's tomb, an old street alley, are beacons of the long passage of time, narrating the lengthy historical past. Regarding Qixinggang, people often say: Qixinggang was not originally called Qixinggang, but should be called Qixing 'cang' (jar). At that time, although Chongqing was situated at the confluence of two rivers, the people still found it inconvenient to use water, not to mention the central Qixinggang area, where even the daily domestic water had to be specially arranged for porters to fetch from the riverside and carry up the slopes. In old Chongqing, most of the residential houses were bamboo and wood stilt houses, which often caught fire during dry seasons. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, to prevent fires, the local government chiseled seven stone fire-fighting water jars in the shape of the Big Dipper and placed them inside the city wall to the right of Tongyuanmen for firefighting purposes. Why in the shape of the Big Dipper? Because the Big Dipper is in the north, and in the Five Elements, the north represents water. Placing the water jars in the shape of the Big Dipper symbolizes using water to overcome fire. Since then, people have referred to the area around Tongyuanmen as Qixing 'cang'. Later, people found the word 'cang' too vulgar, and since the area around Tongyuanmen was located at the commanding heights of Wufu Palace in Chongqing city, they changed 'cang' to 'gang', hence the name Qixinggang that has been used to this day.