Qingyan Town in Guizhou

This photo, taken on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, shows the northern gate of Qingyan Town in Guizhou province. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]

    Qingyan Town, one of the most famous historical and cultural towns in southwest China's Guizhou Province, lies in the southern suburb of Guiyang city. As a town with a long history, it was originally built in 1378.

    Nowadays, because of its long history and strong cultural atmosphere, the Qingyan Ancient Town has become an attractive destination for numerous domestic and foreign tourists.

    Due to the local geological features, Qingyan Town could be built completely of stone. Visitors can see the spectacular city walls built right out of the vast, rocky cliffs, which divide Qingyan into inner and outer towns. There are four gates in the wall facing north, south, east and west.

    Walking inside the inner town, visitors will surely be impressed with the ancient architecture here, including Daoist temples, caves, and palaces. All of them were delicately designed by the skillful architects of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A number of exquisite articles, such as the stone sculptures of Ciyun Temple and wooden sculptures of Shoufo Temple, are all worth a look.

    If you like, stop at one of their tea houses and have a taste of the specialties at a local restaurant, such as Qingyan tofu, sticky rice porridge and rose sugar candies.