A Mysterious Township...

Qianzhou Ancient City is located to the south of Jishou city, and it is a national 4A-level tourist attraction, a provincial-level historical and cultural preservation district, and a provincial-level demonstration site for intangible cultural heritage. The city is laid out in a pattern resembling the Qian hexagram, with three lands spread out and two rivers encircling it, hence the name 'Qianzhou'. The history of Qianzhou Ancient City is long and storied, originally belonging to the land of the Wuxi Barbarians, with indigenous people thriving here since the Xia and Shang dynasties. After the Qin and Han dynasties, due to the convenience of water transportation, it became an important commercial port in western Hunan. During the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Qianzhou Ancient City became the political, economic, cultural, and military center of the Miao border region. Shen Congwen described Qianzhou Ancient City in his writings: 'Qianzhou, although not large, the small stone city is neat and clean, and it has produced historically famous figures for nearly thirty years...' He revealed that Qianzhou Ancient City is an ancient, mysterious, and prosperous place. Qianzhou Ancient City is a land of outstanding people. On this ancient and mysterious land, it has nurtured a number of ethnic talents, including the Miao intellectual Wu He who devoted himself to local education during the Ming Dynasty's Zhengde period; Wu Bayue, the leader of the Miao people's uprising during the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns; Yang Yuebin, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu who, despite his old age, recruited soldiers in his hometown to resist the French in Fujian and Taiwan during the Guangxu period; Luo Rongguang, the Tianjin general who fought against the Eight-Nation Alliance and defended the Dagu Fort, sacrificing his life in the line of duty; Fu Liangzuo, a general of the Republic of China's army and Miao scholar Shi Qigui who was passionate about education in the Miao region and dedicated to researching Miao issues during the Republic period; and one of the four contemporary Chinese horse painters, Zhang Yizun, among others. Would you like to come and see such an ancient city?