Ancient Town Daxu is located 18km southeast of Guilin City and 30km away from Lingchuan County. Situated on the north shore of Lijiang River’s midstream, it is an ancient town with rich traditions. Historical records hold that the construction started in Song Dynasty, bloomed in Qing Dynasty and reached its peak at the Republican period (1912－1948). Back in 1500, Daxu (big embankment) has known for its size and was regarded as the most famous one among the four embankment towns in Guangxi (Reed Embankment town in Binyang, Military Embankment in Cangwu and Bridge Embankment in Guixian).
The town covers 193.78km2 with a population of 51,600. The permanent resident population is 15,000 and agricultural acreage is 35.2 hectares. Ancient Town Daxu is a waterway transportation hub, though better known for its market fair. It connects Chaotianxin River and Ma River in the east, Xiangsi River in the west and Lijiang River in the north, which makes the town a gateway up to Hunan down to Guangzhou. The town was populated in Han Dynasty, grew into a commercial town in Northern Song Dynasty and became one of the four famous towns in Guangxi in Ming Dynasty. Lingui County Annals holds that the town was “a thriving land and water terminal”. Even during war time, thousands of people came here for commercial trades and the number of merchant ships was up to 200 to 300. The main road of the town stretches 2km along the Lijiang River, covered by marble slabs and lines up by old houses. The town still keeps the traditional bamboo workshops, straw sandals workshops, funeral shops. herbal clinics and the barber shops.
Ancient Town Daxu Attractions
Ancient Town Daxu Stories
1. Lingchuan Dog Meat
The local delicacy of Ancient Town Daxu is at large under the influence of Lingshuan food. It is famous for Lijiang freshwater fish and dog meat, especially the Lingchuan dog meat. The dish won “Best Food Award” in the First Local Culture Exposition in 1991 and began to earn its fame nationwide and worldwide, serving as the southern counterpart of Peking Duck in north China. The wine-making industry of the town started in the Ming Dynasty. The traditional rice wine is still the favorite drink of many local citizens. The degree of the alcohol ranges from 28o to 55o with a delicious taste but doesn’t cause dizziness. The wine grounds feed the pigs and everything is made the best use of. During Dagon-boat Festival the must-see event around the town is the dragon boat race. Gui opera and dragon boat singing competition are also popular activities.
2. Tomb Group in Ancient Town Daxu
When the tourist route was built between Guilin and Moupan Mountain in 2001, a group of tomb group was discovered and shown to the world. Seven tombs stand in the positions of the seven stars in the Big Dipper. Moreover, the sizes of the mounds of the tomb vary to the different levels of brightness of each star, which is the first record in Chinese archaeology history. The tomb group lies on the east side of House Hill (also known as Seven Star Hill). Folklores hold that the tombs belong to the ancestors of the Zhu family in the town who were blood relatives to Jingjiang Prince. The relationship between the tombs and the seven stars has not been confirmed, however, judging from the funeral objects of the tomb, they have nothing to do with Jingjiang Prince. The tomb group is similar to Pingleyin Hill tombs in Warring States Period to the Western Han Dynasty which were discovered in 1974.
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