Datong Ancient Town (大同古镇) is situated on the bank of the Chishui River in Zunyi. Most of its existing buildings date back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The town features ancient streets, docks, wells, street houses, dwellings, temples, guildhalls, steles, and archways, mostly built along the mountainside. In the past, various local specialties and medicinal herbs from the Sichuan-Guizhou border area were traded here, making it a bustling port. Today, the town still retains grand mansions, ancestral halls, and a set of ritual buildings, along with a harmonious and beautiful natural and cultural environment formed by the mountains, water, and forests.
Table of Contents
- Basic Information
- Location and Transportation
- Highlights of Datong Ancient Town
- Attractions near Datong Ancient Town
Basic Information
| Estimated Length of Tour | 2 hours |
| Ticket Price | Free |
| Opening Hours | 24 hours a day throughout the year |
Location and Transportation
Datong Ancient Town is located on the banks of the Chishui River in Chishui City, Zunyi, Guizhou Province. Visitors can take the Chishui Danxia Tourist Express Line 5 from Chishui City to Datong Ancient Town (Bus Station), which is within walking distance from the bus stop.
Highlights of Datong Ancient Town
Datong Ancient Town, once the pinnacle of prosperity 70 years ago, boasts distinctive features that reflect its past glory. At the foot of the hillside, the town’s significant red-stone docks along the river were bustling with activity, with merchant ships frequently docking there, laden with goods. These ships transported cloth, silk, and various goods needed in Sichuan and Guizhou, as well as local specialties and medicinal herbs from the border areas. As timber and bamboo rafts floated down the river, the entire surface of the river would be filled with camphor trees and bamboo. The town gradually became a stopover for salt merchants and cargo ships to replenish supplies and repair sails.
Consequently, Datong became renowned for its blacksmith shops, as the iron nails and fittings used on the old ships became the town’s main industrial products. During its heyday, with fewer than 300 households in the small town, there were sixty to seventy blacksmith shops bustling with business. The older generation recalls that Datong was rarely quiet during those times, with the clanging of ironwork and the sound of bellows accompanying the comings and goings of ships, creating a lively atmosphere.
Today, all of that is in the past. With the construction of land routes and changes in trade routes, the once bustling docks are now deserted and in disrepair. Commercial ships no longer dock here, leaving only mothers with their children playing by the river in the glow of the setting sun, preventing the spacious docks from feeling desolate.
Whether it’s the old marketplace or the ancient town, both have experienced prosperity, and today, the ebb and flow of life seem distant from the ancient town. The elderly sitting at the doorsteps reading and mischievous children playing on the streets appear equally serene. The authentic historical charm of the town attracts people to seek, experience, and appreciate the long-lost way of life. With its green bricks, archways, and stone-paved streets, Datong Ancient Town narrates different stories from different eras.
