Millennium Ancient City, The World of Huizhou | Complete Guide to Sightseeing, Photography, and Food!

Huizhou Ancient City, one of "China's Four Great Ancient Cities"! The birthplace of "Huizhou Studies," one of China's three major regional schools! It preserves a large number of Ming and Qing dynasty mansions, memorial archways, ancestral halls, residences, and academies in their entirety. Many shops inside and outside the ancient city offer experiences with intangible cultural heritage fish lanterns. 🚅 Transportation 🚌 Shexian North Station: Take Shexian Bus 702 or a taxi 🚖 (about 20 minutes). 🚌 Huangshan High-Speed Rail Station: Take Tourist Bus 1 or a taxi 🚖 (about 30 minutes). 🏨 Accommodation: Shexian Anruo Hotel (right next to Fanghua Grand Hall). 🍜 Food Hairy tofu, Dao Ban Xiang (salted pork), steamed pork with rice flour, stone griddle cakes, fried rice cakes, Huizhou-style wontons, fermented rice cakes, small baked cakes. For dining, we recommend these spots: 📍 Xiaobei Street and Huizhou Road, 📍 Deshengmen Chengdong Road, 📍 the opposite bank of the ancient city. 🧾 Tips 1️⃣ The ancient city is small; 3 hours is enough to explore it fully. 2️⃣ The city is rich in history; consider hiring a guide to delve deeper into sites like the government office. 3️⃣ Rent a shared e-bike 🛵 for easy access to Yuliang Dam and other places. 4️⃣ Follow 🍠 Ancient City Official Account for performance schedules. 5️⃣ The 2nd floor of Xinhua Bookstore offers a free 🆓 panoramic view of the "Xu Guo Stone Archway." 🗺️ Must-Visit Spots: Huizhou Garden, Xu Guo Stone Archway, Doushan Street, Huizhou Government Office, Nanqiao Tower, Bell Tower, Taibai Tower, Yuliang Ancient Town, and more! 🧡 Xu Guo Stone Archway: The only surviving octagonal memorial archway in China! Known as the "Oriental Triumphal Arch," it is a rare double ancient archway, standing for about 500 years since the Ming and Qing dynasties, representing the pinnacle of stone archway craftsmanship and the finest example of Huizhou stone archways. 🧡 Doushan Street: Built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it combines ancient residences, streets, carvings, wells, and archways! The Huizhou-style architecture here is represented by the "Four Great Mansions," including the Wang Family Mansion and the thousand-year-old "Toad" Well. 🧡 Huizhou Government Office: Recreates historical government scenes! The back garden leads directly to the ancient city walls, offering a bird's-eye view of the city. 🧡 Bell Tower: Also known as the "Tax Office Top"! Witnesses the prosperity of the ancient city from past to present, photogenic both day and night. It was also a filming location for the TV series "The Big Test." 🧡 Huizhou History Museum: Learn about Huizhou's history and culture in detail. The exhibits evoke the ink-wash landscape aesthetics of Huizhou, with great interactive elements. 🧡 County Party Committee Compound: Filming location for the movie "Youth." 🧡 Yuliang Dam: Close to the ancient city. Known as the "First Water Street of Jiangnan"! It was the essential route for Huizhou merchants and officials traveling for business, also called the "Origin of Huizhou Merchants." The street is paved uniformly with cobblestones resembling fish scales, and its shape resembles a carp, earning it the nickname "Fish Scale Street." Beyond these attractions, the white-walled, black-tiled Huizhou-style buildings and streets throughout the city are historical witnesses to Huizhou culture. Other notable sites include Wangmantian Village, Tangyue Archway Group, Wuma Archway Group, Bao Family Garden, and Zhanqi Village.