Sichuan (四川) · 21 places · 13 cities
21 places in Sichuan, 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 (12), Walled city (4), Old quarter of a city (4). See all provinces, or the background on old towns.
5 places
Chengdu (成都)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Paotongshu-Shaocheng Neighborhood (成都泡桐树街-少城社区)A real neighbourhood inside the old Manchu quarter of Chengdu. Teahouses, cobblers, barbers and corner shops, which is what Chengdu is actually like away from the sights.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · very easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Yulin Neighborhood (成都玉林社区)An ordinary Chengdu residential district that a pop song made famous. Skewer hotpot started here, and the teahouses, cobblers and corner shops are the everyday kind.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · very easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Luodai Ancient Town (洛带古镇)Eighty-five per cent of the town’s 23,000 people are Hakka and Hakka is still spoken. Four guild halls survive from when the migrants arrived.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · little known abroad · very easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
| Anren Ancient Town (安仁古镇)A republican-era street with a working residential district behind it, including the market and the school, which is what keeps it from being a film set.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Wangping-Mengzhuiwan Neighborhood (成都望平街-猛追湾)Old factories converted, with the original residents still in place. People fish and exercise along the river, and the night market runs on the street.Lived-in 70/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · very easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
2 places
Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (阿坝藏族羌族自治州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Songpan (Songzhou) Ancient City (松潘古城)A 2,300-year-old frontier city on the eastern Tibetan plateau where Han, Tibetan, Hui, and Qiang people have lived together for centuries, a morning market where Tibetan women sell caterpillar fungus, Hui vendors sell broad beans, and Han shopkeepers sell tea, all beside the roaring Min River.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Taoping Qiang Village (桃坪羌寨)A 2,000-year-old Qiang stone fortress village where underground water channels still supply every house, watchtowers (qiangdiaolou) rise like medieval castles, and 98% of residents are Qiang people, named one of the UNWTO”Best Tourism Villages” in 2024.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
2 places
Garze (甘孜)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Dege Sutra Printing Academy Surroundings (德格印经院周边)The printing house holds 300,000 carved woodblocks and about a hundred workers still print scriptures by hand from them. Monks and Tibetan families live in the town around it.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Moxi Ancient Town (磨西古镇)Rebuilt after the 2022 Luding earthquake but keeping the old street plan. Han, Tibetan and Yi families live together. Cured pork, barley wine and butter tea.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
2 places
Leshan (乐山)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Luocheng Ancient Town (罗城古镇)The old street is built as a boat, covered along its whole length, and holds hundreds of teahouses where the old men of the town play cards and mahjong all afternoon.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Suji Ancient Town (苏稽古镇)The town where bobo chicken was invented, and where the original shops still operate. Qiaojiao beef broth is the other dish.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
2 places
Luzhou (泸州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Yaoba Ancient Town (尧坝古镇)A kilometre of Ming and Qing timber buildings, intact and occupied. Mutton in red broth is the dish, and there are still blacksmiths.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Fubao Ancient Town (福宝古镇)Eight hundred metres of Ming and Qing stilt housing running up a hillside, occupied. Dried tofu and mutton in red broth.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Bazhong (巴中)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Enyang Ancient Town (恩阳古镇)Twenty-eight old streets preserved and lived in, on the Micang road that carried traffic between Sichuan and Shaanxi. Teahouses, smithies and sesame cakes.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Guangyuan (广元)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Zhaohua Ancient City (昭化古城)A 2,300-year-old walled city on the old Shu road, where Liu Bei first set up and Zhuge Liang passed on his northern campaigns. Residents still live in the courtyard houses.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture (凉山彝族自治州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Huili Ancient City (会理古城)A Ming garrison city on the Sichuan-Yunnan border with 2,000 years behind it, where women still spin cotton on old looms and silversmiths work in the lanes. The 300-year-old Dragon Boat medicine market still fills the streets.Lived-in 82/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Meishan (眉山)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Liujiang Ancient Town (柳江古镇)Two rivers wrap the town and a stand of century-old banyans shades it. Bobo chicken and pepper duck.Lived-in 74/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Nanchong (南充)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Langzhong Ancient City (阆中古城)A living old city of 40,000 residents, 40,000 original residents still live inside the walls, markets and schools operate as they have for centuries, and the government’s “no relocation” policy makes it the anti-thesis of China’s hollowed-out tourist ancient towns.Lived-in 86/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Ya’an (雅安)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Shangli Ancient Town (上里古镇)Two rivers wrap the town and the old bridges are still the way across. On the tea-horse road; the local noodles are hand-slapped.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Yibin (宜宾)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Lizhuang Ancient Town (李庄古镇)Tongji University and the Academia Sinica took refuge here between 1940 and 1946, and Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin lived here six years. Barbershops with cast-iron chairs and breakfast stalls still fill the streets.Lived-in 78/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
1 place
Zigong (自贡)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Ziliujing Old Street (自贡自流井老街)The heart of the Zigong salt industry. The Shenhai well, sunk in 1835, is credited as the first in the world to pass a thousand metres. Salt-merchant cooking is a cuisine of its own, and the lantern festival here is billed as the biggest in China.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Historic street | 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.