Langzhong (阆中), Sichuan Province

A teahouse in Langzhong's old town

Langzhong, like Fenghuang or Lijiang, is a preserved “old town.” At least, part of the town is preserved. Although surrounded by a neighborhood of modern clothing shops, restaurants and apartment buildings, the core of Langzhong retains the traditional white plaster walls and courtyard houses of yore. So far, the town hasn’t fully succeeded on capitalizing on its ancient architecture, so the town still has plenty of residents, convenience stores and teahouses. Although it doesn’t have any major “sights,” it is a pleasant place to wander.

Places to See | Food & Accommodations | Transportation| More Destinations in Sichuan

Places to See

A Zhang Fei impersonator

Admission to all of the town’s attractions is sold on an 80 RMB through ticket (40 RMB for students). If you’ve trekked all the way here, it’s worth buying. Aside from the ticketed sights, there’s not much to do besides wander through the streets and admire the river view.

• Zhang Fei Temple: Langzhong is really trying to milk its connection with the Three Kingdoms-era general Zhang Fei. Impersonators hang out outside the temple to pose with kids in military costume, and every store seems to sell “Zhang Fei beef” — a packaged snack somewhat similar to beef jerky. The temple itself is of mild interest, but the fetishization of Zhang Fei is fascinating.
• Imperial Examination Hall (Gong Yuan): If you didn’t make it to the Guozijian in Beijing, you can learn about the ancient system of imperial examinations here. Students seeking to become government officials used to take the provincial-level exams here, and you can see replicas of the desks and beds they used.
• Zhongtian Lou: This tower stands at the intersection of two of the old town’s main roads. It’s not authentic — signs say that it was built in 2006 — but the bird’s-eye view helped me understand the architecture of the town. You can see trees poking out from courtyard houses and watch from above as performers enact traditional marriage rituals in the streets.
• Feng Shui Museum: This was the most disappointing of the four sites we visited. There are very few exhibitions and no English captions. Unless you already know something about feng shui, this will not help you understand how the town’s design incorporates its principles.

Food & Accommodations

Within the old town, most restaurants are hawking local snacks like 凉粉 — cold bean starch noodles topped with a spicy sauce. For a fuller meal, head outside of the old town gates. There are plenty of small restaurants serving the usual range of fried dishes. English menus are scarce, if not nonexistent.

We visited Langzhong during a national holiday, so the inns inside the old town had jacked up their prices to more than 300 RMB per night. Our dreams of a night in a traditional courtyard house gone, we sought out cheaper accommodation outside the old town, and ended up staying at a hotel just outside the main gate, where after hard negotiation we got a holiday-week rate of 150 RMB per night for a single room. The room was pretty tatty, but it had a TV and its own bathroom. If you are facing the old town gate, follow signs for the 宾馆 to the left. It is on the second floor over a teahouse.

Transportation

Langzhong is 5-6 hours by bus away from Chengdu. Buses to Chengdu depart from the long-distance bus station (长途汽车站), which is an 8 RMB taxi ride from the old town. The ride to Chengdu costs 94 RMB.

If your next stop is Jiuzhaigou, you might want to go there via Guangyuan (广元) rather than returning to Chengdu. Guangyuan is four hours away from Langzhong, and is also on the train line to Xi’an. Buses from Langzhong to Guangyuan depart hourly from a bus station about a block away from the old town (NOT the long-distance bus station). Daily buses from Guangyuan to Jiuzhaigou depart at 6 a.m. and cost 84 RMB. The ride takes about 11 hours.

Since the Jiuzhaigou bus departs early in the morning, you will need to spend the night in Guangyuan. We stayed at a commercial hotel to the left as you exit the bus station; they had decent rooms for 108 RMB. The area around the bus and train stations has plenty of cheap restaurants and grocery stores where you can stock up on snacks for the bus.