Shenhou Ancient Town

Shenhou Ancient Town is located 20 kilometers southwest of Yuzhou City, Xuchang City, Henan Province, and is known as the 'living ancient town' because its kiln fire has never been extinguished for a thousand years. Shenhou Town is the birthplace of Jun porcelain culture. The making of Jun porcelain began in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and during the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong established the 'official kiln' for Jun porcelain here, making Jun kiln one of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty. During the Jin and Yuan periods, Jun porcelain became the mainstream product in the northern regions of China. The long history has left Shenhou Town with a wealth of cultural relics and historical sites. Since 2000, major archaeological sites such as the Jun porcelain ruins and the ancient kiln site groups from the Jin, Yuan, and Ming dynasties have been newly discovered. Nowadays, Shenhou Ancient Town retains a relatively complete ancient street from the Ming and Qing dynasties, commonly known as the 'Seven-mile Long Street'. Historically, there was a popular folk rhyme in Shenhou — 'Enter the Shenhou mountains, view the Seven-mile Long Street, seventy-two kilns smoke covering the sky, merchants walking everywhere, making a fortune every day,' which shows the prosperity of Shenhou at that time.