Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas III: Under the Ancient City Wall of Qixinggang, Someone has Been Attacking the City for Three Thousand Years

The mother city Yuzhong, located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, embraced by the two rivers and shaped like a peninsula, is renowned both at home and abroad for its beautiful scenery and unique geographical landscape, boasting abundant natural resources. At the same time, there are also many ancient streets and alleys that carry history, as well as fascinating cultural landscapes that have witnessed the passage of time on this land and the inheritance of urban culture, allowing more people to truly feel the warmth of this city's past.\n\nComing to Yuzhong, let us stroll through Shancheng Lane, an alley that seems like a fairy tale street lit by sky lanterns; walk up the eighteen-tier stone stairway, Shibati, with its houses stacked layer upon layer; climb the remnants of Tongyuanmen, over 600 years old, and feel the vicissitudes of time...\n\n\"Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas\" - \"Shibati\"\n——Chongqing's only national-level intangible cultural heritage tourism block\n\"Shibati, winding upward. Historical steps, a thousand years of charm.\"\nPhotography: Zhang Kun\n\nShibati is one of the oldest markets in Chongqing and also the earliest commercial street, named after its eighteen stone steps. On both sides of the steps and the surrounding slopes, mountain-city alleys between the upper and lower parts of the city have formed. For hundreds of years, unique stilted buildings and narrow, dense alleys have been scattered here. Today, the Shibati Traditional Style Area, after four years of construction, relies on the original urban texture of \"seven streets and six alleys\" and preserves the old streets, old stone steps, and old Ficus virens in the memory of Chongqing people. It has become an international cultural display window and a cultural tourism commercial demonstration base that reproduces the panoramic view of Chongqing's historical and cultural life.\n\nRecommended photo spots:\nChongqing Shibati Traditional Style Area, one of the most distinctive tourist attractions in Southwest China, draws many visitors with its unique mountain cityscape and rich historical and cultural heritage. The city balcony at the Jiaochangkou entrance is the best spot for shooting the entire Shibati and the staggered high-rises in the distance with the old streets. Walking down from the entrance, the stilted buildings on both sides of the bluestone slabs, when lit up, can rival the \"Spirited Away\" bathhouse effect of Hongyadong. In addition, at the long staircase in front of Tan's Wooden Comb, you can choose the same angle as in the movie \"I Belonged to You\" to capture the humanistic atmosphere of Shibati.\n\n\"Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas\" - \"Shancheng Lane\"\n——Chongqing's only street named after \"Shancheng\" (Mountain City)\n\"In Shancheng Lane, rustic yet fashionable. The lane's scenery, the pulse of people's livelihood.\"\n\nShancheng Lane is the only street in Chongqing named after \"Shancheng\", located at No. 234 Zhongxing Road, Yuzhong District. Known as Chongqing's \"Architecture Museum\", it features old city walls built in the early Ming Dynasty, foreign consulates and churches built during the late Qing Dynasty when Chongqing opened as a port, stilted buildings, courtyard houses, air-raid shelters, and Haipai-style stone gate buildings from the Anti-Japanese War period, as well as schools and residential houses built after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the few remaining concentrated areas of original residential buildings in Chongqing covering over 20,000 square meters.\n\nPhotography: Zhang Kun\n\nOriginally named Tian Deng Lane (Sky Lantern Lane), in the Qing Dynasty a \"sky lantern pole\" was erected here. During festivals, \"sky lanterns\" were lit to pray for peace, hence the name. In 1900, French missionaries came to this lane and built the Catholic Grace Hall and Grace Hospital at the upper end. From afar, the lights wound up the stone steps, flickering like stars in the sky. In 1972, Tian Deng Lane was renamed Shancheng Lane. Though the name changed, the lights have flickered along the cliffs of the mountain city for a hundred years, truly a \"street in the sky\". This century-old烟火气 (bustling atmosphere) has been passed down to this day.\n\nPhotography: Zhang Kun\n\nAt the same time, Shancheng Lane is also an epitome of ancient Bayu residential architecture, with typical mountain city space and traditional Bayu style, reflecting Chongqing's historical culture and landscape features. Today, as one of Chongqing's key traditional style areas, Shancheng Lane has been developed into a new business card for Yuzhong and even Chongqing.\n\nRecommended photo spots:\nShancheng Lane, a hundred-year-old lane sharing the name of the mountain city, still retains the original appearance of Chongqing's oldest stilted buildings. So starting here is the best choice to understand Chongqing's past way of life. The best shooting location is the entrance at Zhongxing Road, where you can capture the panoramic view and humanistic atmosphere of Shancheng Lane. In fact, the greatest pleasure of strolling through Shancheng Lane is winding through various small alleys to find and discover hidden photo spots. For example, the former site of Grace Hall and the Cliff Trail allow you to record the old buildings with historical features and the essence of the third step of the mountain city trail. Nighttime is also an excellent backdrop for Shancheng Lane. When the street lights along the way turn on, echoing the myriad lights of homes, you can capture the most magical picture scroll of the mountain city and the bustling atmosphere of everyday life.\n\n\"Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas\" - \"Tongyuanmen City Gate and City Wall\"\n——One of Chongqing's seventeen city gates, nine open and eight closed\n\"Tongyuanmen city wall, ancient and sturdy. A wall of scenery, historical sedimentation.\"\n\nTongyuanmen, located on Jintang Street in Yuzhong District, is an open gate among Chongqing's nine open and eight closed ancient city gates. Tongyuanmen was the only route from Chongqing to Chengdu, hence the name Tongyuan (meaning \"leading to the distance\"). Among Chongqing's nine open gates, Tongyuanmen is the most dangerous, with cliffs on three sides and land on one side, making it of high military value and a strategic battleground. \"A city by the river for three thousand years, nine open and eight closed for six hundred years\"—among the nine open gates, Tongyuanmen has the longest history. The existing giant stones tell people that it can be traced back many years. The ancient city gate once bore the four characters \"Ke Zhuang Qian Qiu\" (meaning majestic for a thousand autumns), sufficient to describe the important role and significance bestowed upon Tongyuanmen. It can be said that Tongyuanmen City Wall is not only an ancient fortress of Chongqing but also a sedimentation of Chongqing's history, showcasing the city's development and cultural heritage. Now, the Tongyuanmen City Wall Site Park has become a must-visit spot, with various lighting decorations, cultural sculptures, and leisure facilities, serving as the best witness to understand the ancient city defense history of Chongqing.\n\nRecommended photo spots:\nThe best shooting location for Tongyuanmen is at the main gate, where you can perfectly capture the inscription on the gate by shooting from the side at a low angle. You can also shoot at Tongyuan Tower within the Tongyuanmen City Wall Site Park, as well as the interlaced stone steps inside the wall and the long row of city walls inside the wall (on the Jintang Street side).\n\n\"Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas\" - \"Factory 1 Film and Television Industrial Park\"\n——Chongqing's multi-format cultural and creative industry cluster\n\"Creative base for modern film and television, gathering place for Sichuan and Chongqing artists.\"\n\nFactory 1 is located on Pipa Mountain Back Street in Chongqing, surrounded by old residential buildings. Since the 1960s, Factory 1 was the printing base for books, periodicals, and textbooks in Chongqing and even the eastern Sichuan region. The textbooks that accompanied Chongqing people's growth were almost all printed here. At the same time, there are also many historical and cultural relics here, including the former residence of Guo Xunqi, a general of the Sichuan Army—Guo Yuan, and the Fairy Cave, which is said to have once enshrined statues of the Eight Immortals.\n\nToday, the renovated Factory 1 has introduced high-end hotels, exhibition halls, and image design and other comprehensive business formats. The \"internet-famous\" business formats have transformed this old factory area into a \"trendy street\". Now, Factory 1 Film and Television Industrial Park has become a multi-format cultural and creative industry cluster. Several film and TV series, such as Zhejiang Satellite TV's variety show \"Manxingji\" and the movie \"Turn to Dust\", have been filmed here.\n\nRecommended photo spots:\nThe best shooting location for Factory 1 Film and Television Industrial Park is its interior. Places like Fairy Cave and Guo Yuan can capture Chongqing's recognizable urban facets and the beauty of film and television art.\n\n\"Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas\" - \"Victory Lane Old Street\"\n——Witnessing a century of vicissitudes in the mountain city, a once bustling old street in Chongqing\n\"Rustic yet full of vitality, a meeting point of history and modernity.\"\n\nOn the top of the slope at the northern section of Shihuang Tunnel in Yuzhong District, there is a once bustling old street—Victory Lane. Walking up Huayi Road, you encounter slopes characteristic of the mountain city, and among the shadows of golden-leaf banyan trees, you can feel the remaining historical charm.\n\nDuring the Republic of China period, the area where Victory Lane is located was a landmark of Huayi Slope, witnessing the changing winds of the city century's history. Before Victory Road was named, from Huayi Road to Chen Cheng's Residence, the streets on both sides had already become residences for political staff, cultural big shots, and business magnates. Therefore, in the Victory Road community, you can still see historical sites such as Chen Cheng's Residence and the He Long Tree planted by General He Long in 1950. Today, Victory Lane Old Street is not only an ancient street in Chongqing but also a vibrant neighborhood, showcasing Chongqing's historical changes and folk culture, giving a sense of time travel.\n\nRecommended photo spots:\nThe entrance to Victory Lane Old Street and interior places like Chen Cheng's Residence can capture the full view and humanistic atmosphere of Victory Lane Old Street.\n\nRecommended performance venues and dining spaces:\nYuchaofang Theater: No. 89, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nZaiyuli Hot Pot: No. 12, Sub-3, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nJiaomei: Building C7, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nShiguang Memory·Chongqing Cuisine: No. 11, Sub-2-1, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nXiangxiang Youcha: A8-2-6, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nQiaoshan Banquet: No. 25, Shancheng Lane Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nXu Dingsheng Folk Cuisine: First Floor, No. 33, Wenhua Street, Yuzhong District\nLittle City Story·Folk Music Bar: No. 10, Sub-6, Shibati, Yuzhong District\nYinlu Xiaoguan·360·Terrace Music Bar: 3rd Floor, Building B6, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nChongqing Galaxy Hotel: 4th Floor, No. 49, Datong Road, Yuzhong District\nChongqing JW Marriott Hotel: No. 235, Minsheng Road, Yuzhong District\nPushi Hotel: No. 18, Daxiangzi, No. 20, Daxiangzi, No. 24, Daxiangzi, No. 24, Yuetai Dam, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nSiyu·Travel Space: No. 15, Shanguo Alley, Shibati Traditional Style Area, Yuzhong District\nBackpack Ten Years: No. 5, Mati Street, Yuzhong District\nAtour X Hotel: Building 17-19, No. 66, Jiefang West Road, Yuzhong District\n\nIn the next issue, we will introduce the Yuzhong Panoramic Atlas of the Shangqingsi area. Stay tuned!\n- END -\nText | Lian Er Ye\nLayout | Hua Mei