Fenghuang means phoenix in Mandarin. According to legend, 2 phoenixes flew over the city and was captivated by its beauty, and hence they hovered over it and refused to leave. Hence, the name.
Fenghuang Old Town is also known as a Thousand-Year-Old Town 千年古城, and it boasts of well-preserved architectural marvels, most notably old houses built on stilts along the edge of the river.
Anyway, the best way to explore this old town was to walk. Stone pathways lined the narrow streets ...
One of the streets
In fact, the streets all looked the same to me ..... so I would have gotten lost in the maze here if not for my guide. There would be stalls all along the streets, selling everything from handicraft to souvenir items to clothes, trinkets, traditional wine, food and fruits.
So many trinkets to buy ....
The stone pathways weaving across the town ....
And before long, the pathway led us to this beautiful sight ....
The turquoise river Tuo runs through this ancient town
View of the other side .... note the ancient buildings .... some houses on stilts at the distance ...
We climbed up the viewing deck at Rainbow Bridge 虹桥 ...
Wow ... splendid view
This was a tea house .... and one could sit by the window to sip tea and to gaze at the wonderful view below.
Over here at Fenghuang, we could see old Chinese houses, typically with a courtyard in the house.
A typical wooden house ...
We visited a total of ten attractions at the little town .... including the former home of Shen Congwen, a notable Chinese writer. One of his most famous work was entitled, "Border Town".
One of the most fun thing was to cruise along the Tuo River ..... I enjoyed the smooth ride along the waterway ... while my eyes feasted on the old houses on the left and right banks of the river .... I reached out my hand and touched the water, surprised that it was so cool.
The boats
The lady, dressed in traditional garb, was singing a folk song 山歌
Our legs worked hard that afternoon .... we walked a lot. The stone pathways were uneven, making it quite tiring to walk. Furthermore, it had been such a hot afternoon ... and that too made us tired easily. We decided to call it a day, but we would come back at night to explore this quaint little town. Acccording to MH, Fenghuang lighted up beautifully at night.
We wanted to have dinner at the hotel first ... but because there was a power cut, MH brought us to Impressions for dinner instead. After dinner, we returned to the hotel, only to find out that it was still shrouded in darkness. We just sat at the steps outside the hotel entrance .... waiting .... and watching the vehicles zoom past on the narrow road in front of us, stirring up a cloud of dust when they drove too fast. We were all hot and sticky and uncomfortable ..... and I was beginning to feel restless ...
MH told us to wait till 7.30 p.m. before we would consider some other alternatives, i.e. looking for other hotels to stay .... At about 7.40 p.m., electricity came back. Yayy! We waited till the lifts stabilised and then went into our rooms .... By the time we settled in and showered ... we were too tired to go out.
Feng Ting International Hotel
The room was nice, in fact. It was really large and spacious ... the beds too were large. I snuggled into the comfortable bed to rest my weary legs .... zzZzzZ ..... we had to leave early tomorrow to beat the crowd :P
Great photos and makes me want to visit if ever I get the chance. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a really nice touristy town ... I'd love to stay longer and take my time to explore. :))
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Bring back good memories.
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