Qingyan Ancient Town

Qingyan was founded in 1378 as a military post on the road south from Guiyang, and it was rebuilt in stone, so the walls, gates, lanes and many house fronts are all in the local dark limestone, which gives the town a uniform grey character quite unlike the timber old towns elsewhere. Within a small area it holds Buddhist and Daoist temples, ancestral halls, a Catholic and a Protestant church and a mosque, a concentration reflecting its position on a trade route. Guizhou's first successful imperial examination candidate came from here and his house is shown. Local snacks, particularly rose sugar sweets and pig trotters, are sold along the main lanes.

What you actually see

• The stone walls and gates - the Ming fortifications in dark limestone.
• The mixed religious buildings - temples, churches and a mosque together.
• The scholar's house - the residence of Guizhou's first zhuangyuan.
• The snack streets - rose sweets, trotters and local food along the lanes.

When to go

March to June and September to November for mild weather; Guizhou is often overcast and damp. Weekends fill the town with Guiyang visitors, weekdays are far quieter.

Honest expectations

The town is heavily commercialised, with most street frontage given to snack and souvenir shops. Entry is charged for the walls and individual buildings. Reconstruction is extensive.

Nearby

Guiyang lies north; Anshun is west.