Anhui (安徽) · 17 places · 6 cities
17 places in Anhui, grouped by city. Under each one are two figures from the survey: how much daily life still goes on there, out of 100, and how far it has been turned over to visitors, out of 6.
Most common here: Old town (11), Historic street (4), Walled city (2). See all provinces, or the background on old towns.
9 places
Huangshan (黄山)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Shexian Huizhou Ancient City (歙县徽州古城)One of China’s four best-preserved ancient cities, the capital of Huizhou merchant culture, where locals still dry indigo cloth on Doushan Street and carve ink stones beside the 1,200-year-old Yuliang Dam.Lived-in 82/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
| Xidi Ancient Village (西递古村)UNESCOA UNESCO Huizhou village where families still live behind 224 Ming-Qing houses, less commercialized than Hongcun, with an ancestral hall and a memorial archway, and locals still cooking over wood fires.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
| Shexian Yuliang Street (歙县渔梁街·渔梁坝)A 1,200-year-old street beside the Yuliang Dam (built 733 AD, Tang dynasty, called the ‘Little Dujiangyan of southern Anhui’), the source of Huizhou merchants (huishang zhi yuan), with cobblestone ‘fish-scale’ streets, 300+ old houses, and locals still living, carving ink stones, and fishing; far less touristy than Hongcun.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Historic street | Lived-in, quiet |
| Huangshan Chengkan (黄山呈坎古村)A 1,800-year-old village built according to the Eight Trigrams (bagua) layout, called “the First Village in China for Feng Shui”, with a stone gate tower recorded as the oldest in Huizhou (Huanxiu Bridge, Eastern Han), an ancestral hall listed as the largest (Luo Dongshu Temple, Ming dynasty), and locals still living and farming; far less crowded than Hongcun.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
| Huangshan Pingshan (黄山屏山村)A 1,100-year-old Huizhou village near Hongcun, built in the shape of a screen (pingfeng), with the Jichuan Stream running through it, 9 stone bridges, the Guangyu Hall (Ming dynasty), and locals still living and farming; far less crowded and commercialized than nearby Hongcun, very authentic.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
| Huangshan Nanping (黄山南屏村)A 1,100-year-old Huizhou village credited with the most ancestral halls in southern Anhui (8 halls), called the “Ancestral Hall Museum”, with the Xuelin Hall (filmed in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), 36 wells, 72 lanes, and locals still living and farming; far less crowded than Hongcun, very atmospheric.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
| Huangshan Tangmo (黄山唐模村)A 1,300-year-old Huizhou village built by the Tang dynasty descendants, with the Shuijie (Water Street, a water street through the village), the Tan’gan Garden (a private garden modeled after West Lake), a ginkgo recorded as the oldest tree in Huangshan (1,300 years), and locals still living; called the “China Model Village”, very elegant and authentic.Lived-in 70/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
| Hongcun (宏村)UNESCOA Huizhou village, a UNESCO World Heritage site with an 800-year-old ox-shaped water system, the iconic South Lake and Moon Pond (filmed in ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’); highly commercialized but still has villagers and folk activities, and the architecture is unmatched.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 5/6 · well known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Visitor-facing |
| Huangshan Tunxi Old Street (黄山屯溪老街)A 1,200-meter Ming-Qing street in Huangshan city, described as the best-preserved example of Song dynasty commercial street style in China, with Hui-style architecture, old ink stone and tea shops, and the famous Laohuichanglou restaurant; highly commercialized but adjacent lanes still have locals; where Hui ink stones and tea are bought.Lived-in 62/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Historic street | Visitor-facing |
4 places
Xuancheng (宣城)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Jingxian Zhaji (泾县查济古村)A Ming-Qing clan village described as China’s largest surviving one, 140+ bridges, 100+ ancestral halls, and 200+ Ming-Qing houses spread across three streams, where locals still wash clothes at the stone steps and art students paint the village; far less commercialized than Hongcun.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Jixi Longchuan (绩溪龙川古村)A 1,600-year-old Huizhou clan village with the ‘No.1 Ancestral Hall in Jiangnan’, exquisite Ming dynasty wood carvings, a memorial archway for two Ming ministers, and the ancestral home of Hu Jintao; locals still live in side alleys and grow tea in the surrounding mountains.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Jixi Shangzhuang (绩溪上庄)A 1,000-year-old Huizhou village in the mountains, hometown of Hu Shi (the famous modern Chinese scholar and diplomat), with the Hu Shi Former Residence, old ink stone workshops, and locals still farming and making ink stones, completely unknown to foreign tourists.Lived-in 74/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Jingxian Taohuatan (泾县桃花潭)The place of Li Bai’s poem, ‘The Peach Blossom Pool is a thousand feet deep, yet not as deep as Wang Lun’s friendship’ (Tang dynasty, 755 AD), with the ancient ferry, old streets, the Wan Family Ancestral Hall, and locals still living and fishing; very poetic and authentic, far less touristy than expected.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
1 place
Anqing (安庆)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Anqing Daobashi (安庆倒扒狮街)A 400-year-old Ming-Qing commercial street in Anqing, named after the ‘inverted lion’ stone carving, with old timber-framed arcade buildings, the former residence of calligrapher Deng Shiru, and locals still living and eating Anqing beef noodles; the best-preserved old street in Anqing, very authentic.Lived-in 70/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Historic street | Thin on both |
1 place
Bozhou (亳州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Bozhou Beiguan Old Street (亳州北关历史文化街区)China’s medicinal capital, 10,000 families still live in 18 Ming-Qing streets where the air smells of Chinese herbs, coppersmiths still hammer by hand, and the 300-year-old Huaxilou opera theater has woodcarving of unusual density and depth.Lived-in 84/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Historic street | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Hefei (合肥)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Feixi Sanhe (肥西三河古镇)A 2,500-year-old water town on the border of Hefei, Lu’an, and Chaohu, famous for the Battle of Sanhe (1858, Taiping Rebellion), with ancient city walls, old docks, and locals still living, making rice dumplings, and drinking tea; the only 5A ancient town near Hefei, surprisingly authentic.Lived-in 70/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
1 place
Huainan (淮南)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Shouxian Ancient City (寿县古城)A Song dynasty city wall listed as China’s best preserved (7.1km, older than Pingyao) still encloses a living county town, where locals drive cars, dance in squares, and fish in the moat inside a 900-year-old flood-control fortress.Lived-in 84/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
Which of These Is Still a Town
The two scores narrow the list, and the last step is local: which lanes are worth the walk, which day of the week the place is itself, and where to stay inside the walls. Tell our local team the provinces you will be in and they will say which of these hold up.