Tunxi Ancient Street

Introducing Tunxi Ancient Street
At the foot of the Mt. Huangshan, in the bend of Xin'an River, lies the beautiful mountain town called "Tunxi ". The "Tunxi Ancient Street" can be found in this old city. The ancient street starts in the west at Zhenhai Bridge, a stone arch bridge built during the Ming Dynasty, and ends in the east at the "Memorial Archway." Its total length is about 1.5km and the sides of the street are laid with slab stones. Tunxi Ancient Street is the best persevered old street in China in the style of the Southern Song Dynasty, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Tunxi Ancient Street Fast Facts
• Chinese Name: Tunxi Laojie 屯溪老街
• Best Time to Visit: All year around
• Recommended Visiting Hours: About 1 to 2 hours
• Things to Do: Photography, Architecture, Leisure
• Opening Hours: All day
• Entrance Fee: Free
• Address: Tunxi District, Huangshan, Anhui Province

What to expect at Tunxi Ancient Street

There are hundreds of old but well preserved rows of shops, evoking a bygone era in buildings that are simple and elegant. Tunxi Ancient Street is a commercial street that is only for pedestrians. The merchants from the Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces jostle each other in a crowd that resembles the picture "The Spring Festival along the River".

First built over 700 years ago, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Huangshan Tunxi Ancient Street is flanked by some buildings from this period. More noticeable are the buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911), during which time the Tunxi Ancient Street became a distribution center for goods and materials to Huizhou.

Most of the buildings are only three stories high, stone-based and brick-laid. They are decorated with small green tiles, wood carvings in the Hui style, ancient shop signs, and red-lacquered with double eaves on the roofs. They are simple and elegant, magnificent and clean.

There are also many small food vendors and some excellent dumpling restaurants. These stores continue to use the same methods of production, display, and operation as they did in ancient times.

The pavement is 5 to 8 meters wide, laid with large red flagstones. Whether you are wandering along the old bridge, visiting the fish beside the river, finding shoots of bamboo on the slope, or standing under a tree and listening to the birds whistle, it is easy to rest and attain mental tranquility by getting back to the nature.

How to get to Tunxi Ancient Street
• Take bus No. 12 and get off at Laojie Yimalu Station.
• Take bus No. 5, 8, 11, 12, 21, 201 or 211 and get off at Yuzhong Huayuan Station.

Additional travel advice on Tunxi Ancient Street
• Please take care of your belongings on the street as there are always many visitors.