Chongqing became the top city on the 2019 Spring Festival tourism hot list, but children living in the city did not feel the festive atmosphere. In the past, they could still set off firecrackers, but this year fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited. Therefore, escaping the desolate Chongqing city and going to lively ancient towns is our first choice to create a festive atmosphere for ourselves.

On a sunny morning, two people drove in a grand manner to Laitan Ancient Town in Hechuan.

Route: Yuzhong District, Chongqing - Hechuan City - Laitan Ancient Town - Hechuan City - Chongqing Main City
It takes about 1.5 hours to travel from the main city of Chongqing to Hechuan, which is nearly 50 kilometers away.

Laitan Ancient Town in Hechuan, Chongqing is still 28 kilometers away from Hechuan District, and it takes about 40 minutes to drive from Hechuan City to Laitan Ancient Town.
Navigation: Laitan Ancient Town Ticket: Free Parking: Free

If it's not self driving, there are buses from Hechuan to Laitan. Departing in three time slots in the morning and afternoon. At other times, you can choose to take a minibus to Longshi for 2.5 yuan, or carpool to Hechuan for 15 yuan.

Arriving at the entrance of Laitan Ancient Town, every household is deep frying a snack called Mi Guo Ba, made from Yin rice. The small ones are connected together and have both sweet and salty flavors, both of which are quite delicious. 10 yuan per bag.

According to records, the history of Laitan Yinmi is as long and rich as that of Laitan Ancient Town, and it is the most traditional and distinctive food in the local area. Its production process involves soaking high-quality local glutinous rice in pure river water, rinsing and washing it clean, then placing it in a rice steamer and steaming it on a large stove with firewood over high heat. The steamed glutinous rice is then poured onto a bamboo bamboo board and spread out. After some of the water evaporates naturally, the sticky rice grains are manually twisted open and slowly air dried or shaded.

After being made, the Yin rice grains are distinct, crystal clear, and shiny, with a light blue oil sheen. Main eating methods: First, you can cook porridge with red dates, longans, medlar, brown sugar, etc., which is more nutritious and delicious; Secondly, Yin rice can be used as the main raw material to make "fried rice candy", "Saqima", "Yin rice pastry", Yin rice beer, etc; The third option is to stew soup, such as "Yin rice chicken soup" and "clay pot Yin rice stewed pork belly", which are excellent supplements. Main benefits: It has the effects of invigorating the spleen, stimulating appetite, nourishing yin and kidney, nourishing blood, beautifying and enhancing physical fitness. It is a premium health supplement for middle-aged and elderly people, especially postpartum women.

Laitan Ancient Town - Wengcheng

Before reaching the gate, I saw the ancient city wall of Laitan Ancient Town. Entering the city gate, there is also a city gate inside - the inner city. These big holes are caves of fighters garrison, where soldiers used to live.

There is an introduction to the "Wengcheng" at the entrance: it has three cliffs and steep faces, with the dangerous situation of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men unable to open it". The Wengcheng, which was renovated in 1862 (the first year of Qing Tongzhi), is the only well preserved ancient defense facility in Chongqing and the only one in eastern Sichuan. Passing through the city gate, there is a small dam surrounded by city walls resembling a "D" shape called "Weng City". In the Qing Dynasty, the residents here designed an inner city gate and an outer city gate to defend against bandits. If bandits attacked, they would first close the inner city gate, open the outer city gate, lure the bandits in, and then close the outer city gate. Those who lay in ambush on the city wall could catch the bandits in a jar.

Later, due to social development and industrial construction, many Weng Cheng buildings in China were destroyed. Fortunately, the Weng Cheng in the ancient town of Hechuan has survived to this day. Otherwise, we would not have been able to see what the Weng Cheng looks like with our own eyes. I was shocked by the yellow oak tree attached to the ancient city wall.

From a distance, the shape of the Weng City resembles a crescent moon, surrounding the ancient town of Laitan layer by layer to protect it from external invaders. To connect with the outside world, one can only enter and exit through the large gate under the Weng City.

As a historical town and a typical ancient military defensive castle, Laitan Ancient Town has important military, historical, artistic, and scientific research value.

Laitan Ancient Town - Shuncheng Street

Passing through the city gate, we arrived at Shuncheng Street. I have always thought that ancient towns look similar, but this is the first time I have seen an ancient town built on a cliff, which has been over 200 years ago and is known as "one of the most beautiful villages and towns in China".

More than 400 small blue tile houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties are scattered in the ancient town, and the 200 meter long bluestone alleys are quaint and elegant, basically maintaining the original style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. There is a Taiping Pool preserved on the street inside Xiaozhaimen for firefighting purposes.

During the Spring Festival, people came and went on the cramped streets of the ancient town, so I could only take some details. The streets were filled with merchants and vendors selling local specialties. There are flavor snacks and fermented bean curd, kudzu powder, cloudy rice, etc.

The most famous one in Hechuan is still Hechuan peach slices. It is made from high-quality glutinous rice, walnut kernels, Sichuan white sugar, honey roses and other raw materials, refined and processed. The powder is fine and smooth, soft, thin, white in color, sweet and fragrant, highlighting the rich aroma of peach kernels and roses. On the old street, not far away, there is a shop selling peach slices. They are all freshly cut and sold, whether it's young girls or middle-aged and elderly women, holding boxes containing peach slices while letting people taste them for free. Each family has its own flavor.

Another distinctive feature in the ancient town is the vegetables made of cabbage, which are used to wrap fermented bean curd after being half dried. Almost every vendor sells them. The competition is so intense!

Due to its proximity to the Qujiang River and the advantage of boats and boats, Laitan was once a famous water dock with a gathering of merchants and bustling streets.

There are two small alleys in the entire Laitan Ancient Town. Walk along the right-hand side until you reach the cliff and ancient city wall, then turn back and you can just pass through another alley. You can avoid going back the whole way.

I still really like the sugar coated knife that I used to draw on site when I was a child. 5 yuan/time.

The ancient town of Laitan is also famous for its tofu pudding. Almost every restaurant has a stone mill and a large pot of tofu pudding. Tofu pudding is also a dish that almost every customer must order. The tofu pudding made with a stone mill, dipped in a red or green oil plate, is delicious when eaten in your mouth. Of course, Qujiang fish is also very famous. It can be used to make spicy fish and pickled Chinese cabbage fish. The spiciness is moderate, the fragrance is rich, and the fish meat is incredibly tender. When eaten, the aftertaste is endless.

Laitan Ancient Town - Erfo Temple, Wenchang Palace

Although Laitan Ancient Town is easy to enter, walking inside is the most famous Erfo Temple in Laitan Ancient Town. Visiting Erfo Temple costs 30 yuan for incense.

The walls outside the hall are yellow, and the two Buddhist temples built along the mountain are also bustling with incense, making it a prosperous feng shui treasure trove for a time. The cliff sculptures of Laitan Erfo Temple are the rare essence of Zen statues in China's grotto art group.

The Wenchang Palace, a Qing Dynasty building, is well preserved, and the wooden carvings and reliefs on the outer railing of the ancient theater tower are exquisite. Xiaode Garden promotes Chinese filial piety culture. But I didn't go in either

Laitan Ancient Town - Xialaitan

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

There are still lotus flowers in this area, but they withered in the winter I went there. In the summer, you can come and see a large area of lotus flowers. At Erfo Temple, one can gaze from afar at the once bustling Xialai Beach.

Xialaitan was the ancient town of Laitan in the past. In the late Tang and early Song dynasties, due to the flourishing incense of the Two Buddhist Temples, many people took boats from Qujiang to burn incense and worship Buddha at the Two Buddhist Temples. The Laitan Wharf located below the Two Buddhist Temples gradually formed a wharf market. In the Song Dynasty, the dock market evolved into a riverside market town, which was the original Laitan ancient town, now known as Xialaitan. In contrast, Shanglaitan, built during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, was built many years later.

In 2006, in the first batch of "China's Most Beautiful Villages and Towns" selection, Laitan Ancient Town was listed as one of the first "China's Most Beautiful Villages and Towns" along with famous ancient towns and villages such as Wuyuan in Jiangxi, Hongcun in Anhui, Wuzhen in Zhejiang, Zhouzhuang in Jiangsu, and Heshun in Yunnan, for its "model of shanzhai style market towns".

Hechuan - Shaoshui Powder

Why don't we eat in the ancient town? Because we reserved our belly for the low water powder that opens at 17:30 every day.

We were originally planning to have lunch in the Hechuan urban area at noon, but when we arrived at Shaoshuifen, we found out that they didn't open until 17:30. However, they would continue to close until 03:00 in the morning, so we had to rest during the day. It is said that some people come after midnight to eat less water powder.

When we returned to Hechuan Shaoshui Fen from Laitan Ancient Town, a long queue had already formed at the entrance, and it was said to be like this every day. Everyone is here, we must eat! We waited in line for an hour to gather.

18: I waited in line for an hour from 30 to 19:30. It turns out that when it's time for you, you immediately add ingredients to the food, pay for it, deliver it, and then go find a seat to sit down and eat. Because eating noodles and noodles is fast, the frequency is high, and this queuing method can free up space for a small number of tables and chairs.
And only accept cash!!!! Important thing to say three times: cash only, cash only, cash only

Low water noodles: 12 yuan/bowl, beef+egg=standard.
Eight treasure Congee: 8 yuan/bowl. First, scoop a steaming hot glutinous rice, then scoop a spoonful of soup, and add sugar and other ingredients.
Wow, this is the first time to eat Babao Congee that separates glutinous rice from soup. The glutinous rice that is not softened by boiling is still chewy. It is really delicious! Amazing! So when you come here to eat Shaoshui Fen, it must be Shaoshui Fen+Babao Congee=a fixed match.

Hechuan - Chen Tihua

At noon in the Hechuan urban area, we saw that Hechuan Shaoshui Fen was not open, so we went to eat Chenti Hua. However, the business was full and we couldn't receive it, so we had to pack it up and take it away.

This Chen Tihua is a flagship store, and its business is so good that it's sold out!!!

There are still several branches in Hechuan, and even when I call them, they are all crowded. It's noon, really. How could I get it at night.

The Chen hoof flower that was packed and taken away is 50 yuan per serving. One big and one small, cut into pieces, and then there is a packet of dried chili noodles.

Chen Tihua is indeed very fragrant, and what impressed me was the small packet of dried chili noodles. Not spicy, just fragrant, very fragrant.

Of course, Chen Tihua is not just about eating Tihua, but also a large mixed style Chinese restaurant. You can order other dishes, all in the size of a large round table.

Hoof flower looks very stuffy, but it doesn't feel stuffy at all. I ate several pieces and dipped them in fragrant dried chili noodles, but couldn't stop.

Hechuan Meat rice dumpling

Just walk about 200 meters in Shaoshuifan, and there is also a black dragon pool meat rice dumpling. This is the first time I have eaten salty rice dumpling wrapped with meat.

The store is very deep. In addition to sweet rice dumpling, salty rice dumpling, you can also eat noodles and other pasta here.

The meat rice dumpling is very big. 2.5 yuan per piece.

The rice dumpling outside is very sticky, and the meat inside is also very rich.

There is so much delicious food in Hechuan. I have eaten so much in one day that I can't stand up. I will go and explore the food again next time.