Daxu Ancient Town - Best Guangxi Market Town over 1,800 Years

First built in 200 AD on the east bank of Li River, Daxu Ancient Town (大圩古镇) is the largest among the “4 greatest market towns in whole Guangxi Province”, due to its large area. It has historically long been a major prosperous gathering of business people from northern and southern China until Ming and Qing dynasties, with once up to over 10 thousand people coming for market at the Republic of China era. Although experiencing the exposure to wind and rain for over 1,800 years, Daxu Ancient Town still excellently preserves most old architectures of black tiles and streets paved with flagstones, thus, it is one of the best old towns in Guilin to soak in the tranquil and antique flavor of typical ancient dwellings, old bridge from Qing Dynasty and the market towns in southern China, and to travel with time machine to seek its historical boom.

As a top popular ancient town in Guilin, Daxu Ancient Town houses a lot of old things for your historical and cultural exploration, such as flagstone streets, over 100 year old stone bridge, hundreds-of-years old style resident houses, interesting stalls offering handcrafts and local traditional items, etc. Seek the old flavor of Daxu by starting from below.

Flagstone Road

Flagstone road is a major pearl of Daxu Old Town. Paved along the river bank in early Republic of China, the roads measure about 2.5 kilometers. However, as time moves, the stones have changed uneven but piled up more ancient historical records for visitors nowadays. Moreover, during your roaming, the rare presenting archways with traditional Chinese characters to show the names and fading patterns are also highly recommended for admiration. Take a simple stroll along the roads to see the locals operating their little shops and stalls offering local handcrafts, special food, old items, etc. to seek the past prosperous scenes on there.

Wanshou Bridge

Wanshou Bridge, literally Longevity Bridge, is the must-visit highlights in Daxu Ancient Town. First constructed in Ming Dynasty and later built in Qing Dynasty in 1899, this century-old stone bridge still crosses there but has been polished by the footstep of people and washing of rains. Walking and standing on this old bridge, you will easily feel the historical flavor of this old town.

Old Dwellings

As Daxu Ancient Town preserves its dwellings really well, they are surely not-to-be-missed during your visit. All houses are wooden structure, with black tiled rooftops of rich features in old Southern China to contain more quiet and simple traits. Furthermore, you will easily find the traditional couplets and the character of “Forture (Fu 福)” to the doors to feel their wish of life. While you are wandering there, the elder people sitting back, countryside dogs wagging their tails at the door, house women chatting under the arcade houses, local men placing the timeworn wooden door planks aside to open their house to the new day…, all the simple and typical scenes present the best moments for your discovery of local life and past features of Daxu Old Town and Guilin City.

Among all the folk houses, there are some representatives with strong ancient features for your savory, such as the Liao’s Mansion (No.47 Dongfang Street), Huang’s Mansion (No.28 Minzhu Street), Li’s Mansion (No.37 Minzhu Street), Old House of Guangchang Gao of over 300 years old, etc. You can step into the houses to appreciate the better kept house structures, furnishings, decorations, combination of Chinese with Western elements, business prosperity, and exquisite layout of the rich people at Daxu at Ming and Qing periods. (Warm tips: some houses need extra payment from 5-20 RMB/person each time to visit.)

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Daxu Ancient Town is located at No.250, Linjiang Road, Lingchuan County, Guilin (桂林市灵川县临江路250号), just about 18 kilometers southeast from Guilin City. At present, travelers can get there by car, which usually takes about 40-50 minutes with a driving distance of about 19-24 kilometers. Besides, you can also choose local buses, which needs about 2 hours with transfer at least once.

To Go by Private Transfer

Furthermore, you can use our private transfer with comfortable private vehicle, so you can get to Daxu Ancient Town directly from your hotel without any worry about the vehicle planning and waiting. If you are interested, please feel free to tell us directly.

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