Tunxi Ancient Street
» Huangshan, An Hui

屯溪老街 '屯溪美,一般街巷一半水'

Song Street

Tunxi Ancient Street is situated in the center of Tunxi District, Huangshan City, and about an hour away from Yellow Mountains. The total length of the Street is about 1.5km and the sides of the street are laid with slab stones. There are hundreds of old but well preserved rows of shops, evoking a bygone era in buildings that are simple and elegant.

Something about the Street

Tunxi, a city steeped in history, is a great bonus destination for tourists visiting Yellow Mountains. Every year, large number of visitors from all parts of the world flocks this destination to savor the beauty and the charm of the place.

An ancient Street

First built over 700 years ago, during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), the street is flanked by some buildings from this period. More noticeable are the buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911), during which time the "Tunxi Ancient Street" became a distribution center for goods and materials to Huizhou. The shops, workshops and residences have continued to maintain the characteristics and operational layout of ancient stores such as "shop in the front and workshop or house in the back."

A commercial Street

Dating back to the Song Dynasty, the workmen of the Emperor Huizong built this street in their hometown after returning from Lin'an. To make this street a popular one, a merchant invested money to build about forty seven stores so that this street attracts other businessmen too. Over the years, Tunxi Ancient Street, Huangshan developed into the center of distribution for various materials.

It is a commercial street that is only for pedestrians. The merchants from the Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces jostle each other in a crowd that resembles the picture "Upper River during Qingming Festival."An ancient Western-European architect once visited the old street and said that he had found "The Eastern Ancient Rome."

Elegant buildings

Originally built during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), the deep and narrow Tunxi Ancient Street is paved with maroon flagstones. Most of the buildings are only three stories high, stone-based and brick-laid. They are decorated with small green tiles, wood carvings in the Hui style, ancient shop signs, and red-lacquered with double eaves on the roofs. They are simple and elegant, magnificent and clean.

Enjoy the Street

Whether you are wandering along the old bridge, visiting the fish beside the river, finding shoots of bamboo on the slope, or standing under a tree and listening to the birds whistle, it is easy to rest and attain mental tranquility by getting back to the nature.

The restored part of the Tunxi Ancient Street is particularly beautiful at night when the red lanterns lining the river are lit, and create a very festive atmosphere.

It is a paradise for tourists to buy souvenirs rich in Chinese culture at comparatively low prices and is a must-see before or after hiking to Yellow Mountains.

Two well-known museums

The Tunxi Museum

One is the Tunxi Museum with a display of furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties on the first floor and an exhibition of calligraphy, paintings and china upstairs.

The Wancuilou Museum

The other is Wancuilou, a four-storey structure which is the first private museum of ancient architectural style. Famous ink stones and "Four Treasures of the Study", writing brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs and paper are displayed or for sale on the first floor. Cultural relics and other artworks collected by the owner of the museum are exhibited on the second floor.

Buying in shops and stalls

Here, you can see traditional Chinese curios and handicrafts. Tunxi Ancient Street also has one of China's best antique markers. Surrounded by so many beautiful and elegant works of arts; the Tunxi Ancient Street is like a simple and unadorned artist's gallery.

Shops and stalls

Tunxi Ancient Street is lined with antique shops, medicine shops, teahouses, restaurants and galleries. The shops, workshops and residences here have continued to maintain the characteristics and operational layout of ancient stores. These stores also continue to use the same methods of production, display and operation as they did in ancient times.

What you can buy here

Many of the shops carry the "Four Treasures of the Study", which are the paintbrush, ink, inkstone, and paper used by artists to create traditional Chinese paintings. Huangshan is famous throughout China for creating the best hand-made artist supplies.

When to visit

You can stroll the ancient street the whole day.

Attractions around » Huangshan, An Hui

Natural Scene

Natural Scene

Historical Site

Historical Site

Shopping & Leisure

Shopping & Leisure

  Transportation

  1. Tour bus transfer center at Tangkou
  2. How Can I get there?

  Food

  1. Why are food so expensive on the mountain? Am I getting ripped off?

  Travel

  1. How much does the ticket to Huangshan Scenic Area cost?
  2. What are some sceneries that I can't miss when visiting Yellow Mountains?
  3. What should I notice when climbing Yellow Mountains?
  4. Any ropeway there?
  5. Can I buy ropeway tickets from tour guides? Is it safe?

  Other Hints

  1. Anything interesting in the around-area of Yellow Mountains?

  • Tour bus transfer center at Tangkou

    You might be already confused by how many times to transfer and still confused about whereto transfer. Here is the introduction of transfer center at Tangkou transfercenter.

    • Zhaixi Transfer Station: If you live near Zhaixi, like Jinmangu Hotel (Golden Bangkok Hotel), Haizhou Grand Hotel, Zhaixi Grand Hotel, you can go to Zhaixi transfer station on foot.
    • Dongling Tansfer Station: It locates in the center of Tangkou. If you live near Xingang Grand Hotel (New Shore Grand Hotel), you can go to the station on foot or by bus.
    • Nandamen Transfer Station: If you live near the South Gate, you can go to this station on foot or by bus.


  • How Can I get there?

    The Huangshan (Yellow Mountains) that we usually talk about refers to Huangshan Scenic Area. There are three ways to get there.

    • Train: There are more than 30 trains that stop at Huangshan, but less start at Huangshan. After you arrive at Huangshan stop, you can take a tour bus in front of the train station to get to Huangshan scenic area. The tour bus cost about 15 RMB. Trains that start from Huangshan stop are ShanghaiN420 and Huaibei N410.

    • Airplane: The airport of Huangshan is locatedin the outskirt of the city, about 5km to the city center. You can take a taxi to Huangshan Transportation Center and then take a bus that goes from Tunxi to Taiping, get off at Tangkou and take a tour bus to Huangshan scenic area. The bus costs 13 RMB/person. Or you can take a taxi from the airport to Tangkou, which costs 200RMB/taxi.

    • Bus: If you come to visit Huangshan from Wuhan,Hefei, Tongling, Anqing, Nanjingor Wuhu, you should ask if the bus will stop at Tangkou, and if it does, you can just get off at Tangkou station to save some time. Buses from other cities like Shanghai and Hangzhouonly stop at Tunxi; therefore, you will need to transfer to the bus from Tunxito Taiping and get off at Tangkou, and then take a tour bus to Huangshan Scenicarea. The tour bus costs 13RMB/person.


  • Why are food so expensive on the mountain? Am I getting ripped off?

    Food is expensive on the mountain because all food was carried up to the top by porters working for Huangshan Scenic Area. A bottle of water is about 10 RMB, sometimes even 12RMB; a cucumber is 3RMB.

    Food in hotels and restaurants is also expensive. Avegetable dish costs between 30-40 RMB. Dishes with meat in it are even more expensive, which cost 60 to up to 100RMB. So if you are not planning to eat onthe mountain, please prepare enough food before you enter the area.


  • Anything interesting in the around-area of Yellow Mountains?

    Huangshan is sure the best place to visit in this area, but other small places around it areworth visiting too.

    1. The old streetsin Huangshan city is pretty interesting. Stuff there are not of very goodquality so if you want to buy some, make sure you bargain half of the pricedown.

    2. If you likebamboo shoot food, you should ask your taxi driver to take you to the outskirtof the city and try some food made by authentic farmers.

    3. Huashan PuzzleCave and Chengkan Eight Diagrams Village are twomust-visit spot near Huangshan. You can take a round-trip taxi there, whichcosts 100 RMB/taxi.


  • How much does the ticket to Huangshan Scenic Area cost?

    There are low season and shoulder period tickets.

    Low season lasts from December 1st to the next year's late February. Peak season starts from May 1st to November 1st.

    Low season's ticket costs 120RMB/person, and 100RMB/ticket for students, soldiers, and seniors above 60 years old. It is free for the elderly above 70 years old.

    It costs 200RMB/person during shoulder period and 100RMB/person for students, soldiers, and seniors above 60 years old.

    It is free for the elderly above 70 years old. The golden week holiday belongs to peak season, but the price of ticket does not rise.


  • What are some sceneries that I can't miss when visiting Yellow Mountains?

    Every scenic spothas its must-see sceneries. There are 10 things in Yellow Mountains that you have to see.

    1. Queer pinaster: Huangshan pinaster is a special species of trees. They usually grow on cliffs.Greeting Pinaster is the most famous kind of pinaster on Huangshan. ShixinApices is where most of the pinasters are at.

    2. Odd rocks: Theodd shapes of rock were formed due to the weather here with sunshine, rain,wind, etc, which are natural carvers for those rocks. There are some famousstones named Flying Stone from Afar, Monkey Watching the Sea, etc.

    3. Cloud sea: cloudsea is formed under special climate, and when the cloud is lower than the topof the mountain, people on the peak will see a sea of cloud below their feet.

    4. Hot spring: Hotspring area locates on the mountainside. If you climb up the mountain throughthe south gate, no mater where you go, YunguTemple or Ciguang Temple,you will have to walk pass the hot spring area. The temperature of the hotspring remains 42 degrees Celsius all the time. It is suitable for bathing anddrinking. 48 tons of hot spring is pouring out every hour. The hot spring canalso be used as medication. It is effective for several kinds of diseases.

    5. Odd apices: There are 77 mountain peaks that are higher than a thousand meters, including36 big apices and 36 small apices. Among those apices, LotusPeak is the highest while Tiandu Peakis the steepest.

    6. Sunrise: It will be such amagnificent scene like you have never seen before. Sunrise among the mountains and peaks, abovethe cloud sea will make you never want it to stop. The sunrise time differs indifferent seasons: 5:30am-6:00am in spring; 4:40am-5:20am in summer,4:50am-5:20am in autumn and 5:30am-6:00am in winter.

    7. Sunset: Thesunset dyes a golden color to all the mountains around. Image being on the topof Huangshan and enjoy the beautiful sunset. Guangming Top, Paiyun Pavilion andDanxia Apices are the best place to appreciate this wonderful sunset scene.

    8. Buddha lights: According to statistics in weather department, there are 2-5 times when Buddhalights take place on Huangshan each month. The best times when the lightsappear are after rain before 9am and late afternoon when it's going to rainsoon. Places above 1,600 meters of altitude are the best places to see thelights, such as Tiandu Peak, Lotus Apices,Guangming Top, Shixin Apices, Danxia Apices, etc.

    9. Rimed trees and Glaze: During winter, the temperature usually drops below zero, so fog or raindrops will become ice sticking to trees or rocks. This phenomenon is call RimedTrees. Cold rain drops on the ground and forms some hard see-through substance;this is called Glaze. On average, there are 62 days of rimed trees and 35.9days for glaze each year. Rimed trees can last for 24 days straight with adiameter of 23.2 centimeters. Glaze can also last for almost 25 days straight,with a maximum of diameter 41.3 centimeters.

    10. Plants and animals: Huangshan is also called the 'gene storage, the amusement park for bird'. Ifyou are lucky enough, you will see short-tailed monkeys, squirrels, thrush,etc.


  • What should I notice when climbing Yellow Mountains?

    Here we would like to provide you some useful tips to make your trip more enjoyable.

    1. Wear comfortable shoes like mountain climbing shoes or sports shoes. Leather shoesor shoes with plastic bottom are not advised because they are too slippery formountain roads. A walking stick is pretty necessary.

    2. Please prepare: raincoat (it is windy on the mountain so umbrella is not suggested), gloves, flashlight, walking sticks, enough fresh water, snacks that can keep youenergetic like beef jerky and chocolate.

    3. Lean forward a little when you climb the mountain, and walk in a "Z" shaped way to avoid from getting too tired.

    4. Walking fast is not good for mountain climbing, and to keep save, when you look at sceneries, please stop walking. It is dangerous to look at scenes while walking.

    5. When storm happens, water can flow very fast. So keep off from water when it's going to rain.

    6. When taking pictures on a high peak, photographers should not move after selecting shootingspot, especially not move backwards, in case there is a cliff behind.

    7. Please do not carve, paint or write on the architectures on Yellow Mountains, because most of them are protected historical sites.

    8. Please do not smoke in no-smoking area. After smoking in smoking area, please throw out thecigarette end in garbage cans.

    9. Please do not throw garbage along side the mountain road. A tree-shaped garbage can can be found every several meters away.


  • Any ropeway there?

    Yes. There are three ropeways on the mountain: Yuping Ropeway (Jade Screen Ropeway) which isfrom Ciguang Pavalion to Yuping pavilion, Yungu Ropeway (Cloud Valley Ropeway)which is from Yungu Temple to Bai'e Mountainsrange, and Taiping Ropeway ( Peace Ropeway) which is from Songgu Nunnery toSonglin Apices.

    • Each cable car on Yungu Ropeway can hold 50 people at atime, 300 people each hour. But it takes long time to wait for this ropewayduring golden holiday week or weekends.

    • Yuping Ropeway was built in 1996, it is the newest and most advancedropeway. Each cable car can hold 6 people at a time, and 800 to 1,000 peopleeach hour. It's good choice to take Yuping Ropeway when there are a lot ofvisitors to Huangshan.

    • Taiping Ropeway is the longest ropeway and can hold most passengers.Each cable car can hold up to 100 people.

    The prices for theride on the three ropeways are all the same, which is 65RMB/ticket during peakseason and 55RMB/ticket during low seasons.


  • Can I buy ropeway tickets from tour guides? Is it safe?

    When buy ropewaytickets, you will see some tour guides in front of the ticket counter trying to sell ropeway tickets.

    They are safe. No need to doubt the credibility of the tickets, because usually Yellow Mountains ropeways sell 16 tickets to tour guides and another ticket for free, or there must be at least 16 people in the tour for atour guide to get a free ticket so he can go with his tour.

    So usually tour guides will have to buy 16 tickets himself, get a free ticket and sell other tickets. So the tickets that tour guides sell are safe to buy.


Scattered with many shops and stalls sell an interesting mix of antiques and knick-knacks, Tunxi Ancient Street, houses buildings which are decorated with small green tiles, wood carvings in the Hui style, ancient shop signs, and red-lacquered with double eaves on the roofs.

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