A Day Trip to Laitan Ancient Town in Hechuan

Chongqing ranked first among the most popular tourist cities for the 2019 Spring Festival holiday. However, city dwellers didn't really feel the festive atmosphere. In the past, we could still set off firecrackers, but this year fireworks and firecrackers were banned. So, escaping the quiet Chongqing city to a lively ancient town became our top choice to create our own festive vibe.

On a sunny morning, two carloads of us drove in a mighty convoy to Laitan Ancient Town in Hechuan.

Route: Yuzhong District, Chongqing → Hechuan City → Laitan Ancient Town → Hechuan City → Downtown Chongqing

Downtown Chongqing to Hechuan is about 50 km, taking roughly 1.5 hours. Laitan Ancient Town is another 28 km from Hechuan District, about a 40-minute drive from downtown Hechuan. Navigation: Laitan Ancient Town. Admission: Free. Parking: Free.

If you don't drive, there are buses from Hechuan to Laitan, with three departures in the morning and three in the afternoon. At other times, you can take a minibus to Longshi (2.5 yuan) or carpool to Hechuan (15 yuan for the whole trip).

At the entrance of Laitan Ancient Town, every household was frying a snack called rice guoba (crispy rice crackers). Made from yinmi (dried glutinous rice), they are small clusters of grains, available in sweet and savory flavors—both quite tasty. 10 yuan per bag.

According to records, the history of Laitan yinmi is as long as that of Laitan Ancient Town itself, making it the most traditional and characteristic local food. The production process involves soaking local high-quality glutinous rice in pure Qujiang River water, rinsing it clean, putting it in a wooden steaming barrel, and steaming it over high heat on a wood-fired stove. The steamed glutinous rice is then spread out on a bamboo tray to cool. After some natural evaporation, the sticky grains are hand-separated and slowly air-dried or shade-dried.

The finished yinmi grains are distinct, translucent, and shimmer with a light green oil sheen. Main uses: First, they can be cooked into congee with red dates, longan, goji berries, brown sugar, etc., for a nutritious and delicious meal. Second, they can be used as the main ingredient to make "fried rice candy," "sachima," "yinmi crisp," yinmi beer, and more. Third, they can be added to soups, such as "yinmi chicken soup" or "clay pot yinmi with pork stomach," which are excellent tonics. Main benefits: strengthens the spleen, boosts appetite, nourishes yin and kidneys, enriches the blood, beautifies the skin, and enhances overall health. It is especially prized as a nourishing food for middle-aged and elderly people, particularly for postpartum women.

Laitan Ancient Town – The Wengcheng (Barbican)

Before even reaching the main gate, we saw the ancient city wall of Laitan. After entering the first gate, there was another gate—the inner city. The large holes were soldier-hiding caves, once used to house soldiers.

At the entrance, there was an introduction to the Wengcheng: surrounded by cliffs on three sides, it was strategically placed as a “one-man-defends-the-pass” stronghold. Built in 1862 (the first year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty), this Wengcheng is the only one of its kind in Chongqing and the best-preserved ancient defense installation in eastern Sichuan. Passing through the gate, there is a medium-sized courtyard surrounded by walls, forming a D-shaped enclosure called the “Wengcheng.” During the Qing Dynasty, to defend against bandits, the residents designed the gate with an inner and outer door. If bandits attacked, the inner gate would be closed, the outer gate opened to lure them in, and then the outer gate would be shut, allowing soldiers hiding on the walls to catch them like turtles in a jar.

Later, due to social development and industrial construction, many Wengcheng structures across China were damaged. Fortunately, the Wengcheng in Laitan Ancient Town survived to this day; otherwise, we would never have seen what a Wengcheng looks like. I was deeply impressed by the banyan trees clinging to the ancient city walls.

From a distance, the Wengcheng looks like a crescent moon, encircling Laitan Ancient Town layer by layer, protecting it from external invaders. To connect with the outside world, one had to pass through the large sluice gate beneath the Wengcheng.

As a historic ancient town and a typical ancient military defensive fortress, Laitan Ancient Town holds significant military, historical, artistic, and scientific research value.

Laitan Ancient Town – Shuncheng Street

Passing through the gate, we arrived at Shuncheng Street. I've always felt that ancient towns look similar, but this was my first time seeing one built on a cliff edge, over 200 years old, known as one of “China's Most Beautiful Villages.”

Inside the town, over 400 small blue-tiled houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties stand at various heights, and more than 200 meters of bluestone alleys retain a quaint and elegant style, basically preserving the original appearance of the Ming and Qing eras. On Xiaozhai Men Street, there is a Taiping Pond used for firefighting.

During the Spring Festival season, the narrow streets were bustling with people. I could only capture details: the whole street was lined with shops and stalls selling local specialties, including snacks, fermented bean curd (furu), kudzu starch, yinmi, and more.

Hechuan's most famous product is Hechuan peach slice (taopian). It is made from premium glutinous rice, walnut kernels, Sichuan sugar, candied roses, and other ingredients, resulting in a fine, smooth, soft, thin, white, sweet, and fragrant slice with a prominent walnut and rose aroma. On the old street, every few steps, there was a shop selling peach slices, all freshly cut and sold on the spot. Whether young girls or middle-aged women, they would hold boxes of peach slices and offer free samples. Each shop had its own flavor.

Another specialty in the ancient town was a type of green vegetable made from cabbage. After being sun-dried to half dry, it is used to wrap fermented bean curd (furu). Almost every vendor sold it. The competition was fierce!

Because it bordered the Qujiang River and took advantage of boat transportation, Laitan was once a famous water dock, bustling with merchants and a thriving market.

The entire Laitan Ancient Town has two small alleys. If you walk along the right-hand side all the way to the cliffside ancient wall and then turn back, you can come out through the other small alley, avoiding backtracking.

I still really enjoy the sugar paintings spun on a wheel (sugar guandao) that I loved as a child. 5 yuan per spin.

Laitan's tofu pudding (douhua) is also very famous. Almost every restaurant has a stone mill and a large basin of tofu pudding at the entrance. Tofu pudding is nearly a must-order dish for every customer. The tofu pudding ground by stone mill, dipped in red oil sauce or green oil sauce, tastes incredibly aromatic. Of course, Qujiang fish is also well-known, available in spicy or pickled cabbage versions. The spiciness is moderate, the fragrance strong, and the fish meat tender and delicious, leaving a lingering taste.

Laitan Ancient Town – Erfo Temple, Wenchang Palace

While entry to Laitan Ancient Town is free, going further in leads to the most famous Erfo Temple (Second Buddha Temple). Visiting Erfo Temple costs 30 yuan for incense money.

The temple's exterior walls are yellow. Built against the mountain, Erfo Temple has never lacked incense offerings and was once a flourishing feng shui treasure site. The cliffside carvings at Laitan Erfo Temple are rare Zen Buddhist sculpture treasures among China's grotto art groups.

The Qing Dynasty Wenchang Palace is well preserved, with exquisite woodcarvings on the ancient theater stage outside. The Filial Piety Garden promotes Chinese filial culture, but I didn't go in.

Laitan Ancient Town – Lower Laitan

Passing Erfo Temple, you can see the ancient city wall, and in the distance, the Jialing River. It truly is an ancient town built on a cliff, very high up.

There are lotus flowers in this area, but they had withered when I visited in winter. In summer, you can come to see large expanses of lotus. From Erfo Temple, you can look far into the once-prosperous Lower Laitan.

Lower Laitan was the original Laitan Ancient Town. In the late Tang and early Song dynasties, because Erfo Temple's incense flourished, many people took boats from the Qujiang River to burn incense and worship at the temple. The Laitan dock below Erfo Temple gradually formed a market. By the Song Dynasty, the dock market evolved into a riverside town—this was the first Laitan Ancient Town, today's Lower Laitan. In comparison, Upper Laitan, built during the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, came much later.

In 2006, in the first selection of “China's Most Beautiful Villages,” Laitan Ancient Town, as a “model of mountain-style market towns,” was listed among the first batch, alongside famous ancient towns and villages such as Wuyuan in Jiangxi, Hongcun in Anhui, Wuzhen in Zhejiang, Zhouzhuang in Jiangsu, and Heshun in Yunnan.

Hechuan – Shaoshui Noodles (Shaoshuifen)

Why didn't we eat in the ancient town? Because we saved our stomachs for Shaoshui Noodles, which only opens at 17:30.

We originally planned to eat lunch in Hechuan city. But when we arrived at Shaoshui Noodles, we found it only opens at 17:30 and closes at 03:00 the next morning, so it rests during the day. It is said that some people come specially after midnight just to eat there.

When we returned from Laitan Ancient Town to Hechuan's Shaoshui Noodles, there was already a long queue at the door. Word has it that this happens every day. Since we were already there, we had to eat! We waited for an hour to get to the front.

Queue time: 18:30–19:30, one hour. When it was your turn, the staff immediately prepared and served the food—cash on delivery—and then you found a seat to eat. Because eating noodles or rice noodles is fast, turnover is high, so this queuing method allows for efficient flow with limited tables and chairs. And they only accept cash!!! Important things said three times: Only cash, Only cash, Only cash.

Shaoshui Noodles: 12 yuan per bowl, beef + egg = standard combo. Eight-treasure congee (babao zhou): 8 yuan per bowl. They first scoop a portion of steaming hot glutinous rice, then add a ladle of soup, and mix in sugar and other toppings. Wow, it was my first time eating eight-treasure congee where the glutinous rice and soup are separated. The rice, not softened by cooking, still had a chewy texture—truly delicious! Amazing! So when you come here to eat Shaoshui Noodles, the fixed combo is Shaoshui Noodles + Eight-treasure Congee.

Hechuan – Chen's Trotters (Chen Tihua)

When we saw that Shaoshui Noodles wasn't open in the afternoon, we went to Chen's Trotters instead. But business was so crazy that they could only serve takeaway.

This Chen's Trotters is the flagship store, and business was absolutely packed!!!

There are several branches in Hechuan, but all were fully booked when we called. At noon, it was already packed—how crazy would it be in the evening?

The takeaway portion of Chen's Trotters costs 50 yuan. It comes with one large and one small trotter, cut into pieces, along with a small pack of dried chili powder.

Chen's Trotters are indeed very fragrant; the star was that small pack of dried chili powder. It's not spicy, just aromatic, very aromatic.

Of course, Chen's Trotters is not just about trotters; it's a large mixed-style Chinese restaurant. You can order other dishes, all served in large round-table portions.

The trotters look heavy but are not greasy at all. I ate several pieces dipped in the fragrant chili powder and couldn't stop.

Hechuan – Meat Tangyuan (Pork Sticky Rice Balls)

About 200 meters' walk from Shaoshui Noodles, there is also a shop called Heilongchi Meat Tangyuan. It was my first time eating savory tangyuan filled with meat.

The shop is deep inside. Besides sweet tangyuan, you can also eat savory pork tangyuan, as well as rice noodles and other wheat-based foods.

The meat tangyuan are huge. 2.5 yuan each.

The outer skin is very sticky, and the filling is generous.

There are so many delicious foods in Hechuan. Having eaten all of the above in one day, I was so full I couldn't stand up. I'll explore more culinary delights next time.