Huayang Ancient Town is a tourist attraction located in Huayang Town, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. It began in the Qin and Jin Dynasties. It is a historically famous ancient road station (Zhangluo Road), an ancient military center, and an ancient economic and political center. The Ming and Qing buildings in the ancient town are relatively well-preserved, and the outline of the ruins of the ancient Huayang county wall is still in existence.

The ancient pagodas and ancient theater buildings in Huayang Town during the Song and Yuan Dynasties have unique styles. The Ming and Qing architectural complexes with more than 600 meters of 600 meters from the civil and military officials’ yamen, inns, pawn shops, restaurants, tea houses, etc., are the main Ming and Qing buildings. It is a rare ancient town in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the mountains.

The ancient town of Huayang began in the Qin and Jin dynasties and flourished in the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. The Qin and Han dynasties became a market town. The county was governed by the Tang and Song dynasties. It has a history of more than 2,000 years and is known as the "Millennium Ancient Ship City, the No. 1 Town in Qinling Mountains". It was prospered by the famous Tangluo Road in history, and two emperors of the Tang Dynasty were stationed here in Nanbei and Hanzhong.

On the archway, there are four characters "The Ancient Road of Suan Luo" written improvised by the famous contemporary writer Ye Guangqin when he came to Huayang to collect the scenery. This old street was prospered in the 33rd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1694). It is about 600 meters long and is divided into four sections: Zhengjie, Qijia Street, Huiguan Street and Xinjie. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were guild halls in 11 provinces and cities in this old street. At that time, the permanent population of Huayang was 30,000. Today, the population of Huayang is only more than 7,000. At that time, Huayang's commerce was very prosperous, and there were guild halls of various merchants on the street, such as Shanxi Guild Hall, Henan Guild Hall, Sichuan Guild Hall, and Lianghu Guild Hall. But due to the passage of time, these are no longer visible. We can only imagine the prosperity here in our minds.

The flowing water in Huayang is beautiful, but it is not only used for shadows. In Huayang, water power resources are very rich. The locals use vertical waterwheels to obtain power and make important agricultural tools such as water tanks and water mills, which greatly improves productivity. About forty years ago, the two rivers here were filled with waterwheels, driving the water mills. The water mills were used to grind noodles and the water mills were used to pound rice. The old street waterwheel is erected here as an ornamental sign.

Huayang Ancient Theater was built in the early Qing Dynasty and was repaired during the Daoguang period. On festive days, people gather here, beating gongs and drums, "Qin Opera sings on stage, and good luck comes in all seasons", and it is Qin Opera who roars freely on stage. In the middle of the theater, there are the four words "Propagating Emperor's Virtue", and the words "Can Yu" and "King Jin" on both sides. This place has always been a place for Huayang people to conduct cultural activities and exchange materials, so this theater square is also the center of our ancient town.

There is a saying in Yangxian that "the theater is opposite the gate of the temple." There was a Sanguan Temple directly opposite to the theater, which enshrines "celestial officials, land officials, and water officials". People's wish is to pray for disasters, avoid evil, and To keep the peace, while singing and entertaining, it is also to pray for the gods in the Sanguan Temple to bless the people of Huayang for auspicious and healthy lives.

At present, the Guxilou is still the place where celebrations are held. Every holiday celebration, the town will invite theatrical troupes to sing famous Qin operas, as well as our very unique intangible cultural heritage—Han Tiao Xuan. Duan Gong Opera and so on.

Don’t forget the first town in Qinling Mountain for your trip on November! Editor/He Yuting