[2025 Xianfeng Attraction] Travel Guide for Tangya Tusi Ancient City (Updated Apr)

Located in Tangya Town, Xianfeng County, Enshi, Hubei Province, the Tangya Tusi City Site sits by the Tangya River and is China's 48th and Hubei's third UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Established in the 15th year of the Yuan Zhizheng era (1355) and abolished in the 13th year of the Qing Yongzheng era (1735), it spanned 381 years as the political, military, economic, and cultural center of a 600-square-kilometer area. The site boasts numerous historical relics, with the "Jingnan Xiongzhen" archway as its iconic structure. Made entirely of stone in imitation of wooden construction, it features exquisite carvings that testify to the glory of the Tusi era. The grand Tusi tombs, adorned with intricate carvings, reflect the burial customs and cultural beliefs of the time. The towering Couple Cedars, with intertwined branches, symbolize natural beauty. Strolling through the site, the Ming and Qing-era stone-paved roads beneath your feet narrate tales of history. Visitors can also savor authentic Tujia cuisine, enjoy Tujia song and dance performances, and immerse themselves in rich ethnic traditions. A recommended visit duration is 2-3 hours, with spring and autumn offering the most pleasant weather for exploration. Come to the Tangya Tusi City Site and embark on a fascinating journey through time!

#chinatravelitinerary 🏞️ – China’s Lost Ancient Kingdom (A UNESCO-listed ancient city hidden in the mountains, filled with mystical temples, stone gates, and ruins from the Tusi kings! 🏯🌳 Perfect for history lovers & culture explorers. ✨) 🗓️ Day 1: Arrival & Exploring the Ancient Ruins ✈️ Flight: Bangkok (BKK) → Chongqing (CKG) (~3 hrs) 🚄 Bullet Train to Xianfeng (~3.5 hrs) 🚗 Drive to Tangya (~1 hr) 🏡 Stay at a Local Guesthouse in a Nearby Village ⸻ 🏯 Afternoon: Walk Through the Grand Stone Gate 📸 A massive 500-year-old entrance with detailed carvings! 🚶♀️ Explore the Tusi King’s Palace & Ancient Streets 🍽️ Dinner: Traditional Tujia Cuisine 🥘 Braised Pork with Bamboo Shoots 🍵 Herbal Mushroom Soup 🌙 Evening: Relax in a Quiet, Historic Atmosphere ✨ ⸻ 🗓️ Day 2: Hidden Temples & Misty Mountains 🌄 Morning: Hike to a Secret Cliffside Temple 🏞️ Overlooking misty valleys & rivers! 🚗 Drive back to Xianfeng & Take the Bullet Train Home ✈️

💓Tangya Tusi City is well preserved as an ancient city site. 👉There are relatively few people and it is very quiet. ✔️You can taste the legendary life of Tujia Tusi. Most of them are relics and sites. ↘️Many are foundations. ↙️There are only a handful of unearthed cultural relics. ↖️The eyes are full of green. Most of the ground buildings no longer exist. ⏬The wall city and the blue brick-paved roads and the remaining buildings. 👏You can feel the magnificence of Tusi City and imagine its former glory. 👏It is very suitable for those who like culture and history to check in‼ ️ 📍Address of the attraction: Tangya River, Tangya Town, Xianfeng County, Enshi Shijia Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province Opening hours: ✅November to February of the following year 08:30-17:00, no entry after 16:00 ✅March-October 08:30-17:30, no entry after 16:00 🎟️Ticket related: 🔵Tickets: Adult ticket 70 yuan Battery car: 10 yuan/person 🚗 Transportation to attractions: ↘️Start from Enshi Bus Station, take the bus 🚌 to Xianfeng County Bus Station, and after arriving at Xianfeng County, take the bus from the bus station to Tangya Town, with an average of about 20 minutes per bus. ⏩The location is relatively remote, so it is more convenient to drive by yourself🚙. You can directly navigate to the Tangya Tusi Ruins. It is about 20 kilometers away from Xianfeng County by car. ✅It takes about three and a half hours to drive from Enshi. There are places to park. 🌟Highlights: 💓The main ethnic group of the site is the Tujia people who have settled here since ancient times. 👆Since the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it has been ruled by the Tan family. The existing ruins have a history of 381 years, 16 generations and 18 officials. ↪️Together with the Tusi Site of Hailongtun in Zunyi and the Laosi City Site of Yongshun in Hunan, ✨it was selected as a "Tusi Site" in the World Cultural Heritage List. 🚩In May 2023, Tangya Tusi City Site was selected into the "Yangtze River World Heritage Tour". 🔰It is the Tusi administrative site with the most complete urban layout. ☑️It is the political, economic, military and cultural center of Tangya Tusi, and was built after careful selection and scientific planning❗️ 👍️Must-see attractions: ↖️The main attractions include the "Jingnanxiong Town" archway, stone men and stone horses, Zhangwang Temple, government office area, large temple hall, quarry, Qiaoshang Bridge, Zhongjie, 72-step Chaotian Horse, Tusi tombs, etc. ⏬The relics of the scholars mainly include porcelain, official seals, brick and stone building components, etc.🔰 The government office area is a neat rectangle, adopting a strict "central axis symmetry" layout and a "front court and rear bedroom" pattern. It consists of three core buildings, namely the Grand Yamen, the Official Hall, and the Inner Residence, as well as some ancillary buildings. The former urban government office was located here. The "Jingnan Xiongzhen" archway⬆️ is the only complete ground building left now. It has four pillars, three doors and three floors, and is made entirely of stone imitating a wooden structure. The patterns on the stone archway are auspicious. The "Jingnan Xiongzhen" and "Chu Shu Pinghan" on the archway were written by Emperor Xizong himself‼ ️ The city wall ↗️ is built with slightly processed natural stones. Most of it is still visible now. ↘️ The river side is the best preserved. An outer city wall was built on most of the east/north/south sides, and an inner city wall was built on the north/northeast side. Zhangwang Temple🌈mainly worships Zhang Fei, a famous general of the Three Kingdoms. It has a three-courtyard layout.↙️Now only the temple foundation, a pair of stone men and stone horses, and four steles inscribed with the reconstruction of the temple remain intact. The Tusi Tomb is well-preserved. It is the tomb of the second generation Tusi. It is a semi-underground stone chamber tomb. It is the largest, highest-level and most unique Tusi tomb known so far. The Husband and Wife Fir is also called "Xuanwu Fir". There are two trees in total, each 400 years old. The branches of the two trees are intertwined and stand side by side, like a couple holding hands. The three streets, eighteen alleys and thirty-six courtyards are divided into several courtyards by a road system formed by a north-south main road, three vertical and three horizontal secondary roads and dozens of alleys. The street is the most complete Ming Dynasty stone slab road preserved in my country. It runs through the whole city from north to south, ↖️ and is divided into three streets: upper, middle and lower. 🔰 It is nearly 900 meters long and the road surface is paved with blue sandstone. The dark wood is 17 meters long, 15 meters in diameter and weighs about 20 tons. ✔️On the second day after the Tusi City was successfully listed as a World Heritage Site, it was salvaged from the bottom of the Tangya River due to overflow. 🎉It has a special fragrance and is immortal and not afraid of insects. 💗Other tips: ✅There is still a certain distance from the ticket office to the scenic area, about 20-30 minutes' walk. 👉There is a flat road along the river, so you can walk there if you are not in a hurry. 👇You can also take a sightseeing bus, which costs an additional 10 yuan. ✅There are signboards (in Chinese and English) in the open area. 🈶Just follow the signboards and the plank road, and don't deviate from the route to explore on your own. ✅It is recommended to bring some water and some food. 👇There are few trash cans, so don't litter, just take it away. ✅There is an exhibition hall in the area, 🚩you can go in and take a closer look, 👉there are overall and detailed introductions to the ruins area, as well as relevant historical background knowledge of the Tusi system. ✅These are all original ecological sites, 👇The stone roads are covered with moss, 👉Be careful not to slip. When the weather is hot, you need to be careful about sun protection as there is no shelter.

Located on the bank of Tangya River in Tangya Town, Xianfeng County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province, it is situated in the western part of Wuling Mountains. The site was historically part of Shizhou, and the main ethnic group is the Tujia people who have settled here since ancient times. It has been ruled by the Tan family since the end of the Yuan Dynasty (14th century). The site has been located here since the establishment of the Tangya Chief Officer at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the existing ruins were mainly built by the 12th generation leader of the Ming Dynasty, Tan Ding and his wife Tian during the Tianqi and Chongzhen periods (1622-1644). It was abandoned in the 13th year of the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty (1735), lasting for 381 years across 16 generations and 18 Tusi leaders. In 2006, the Tangya Tusi Site was announced as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. On July 4, 2015, at the 39th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany, the site, together with the Tusi sites of Hailongtun in Zunyi and the Old Tusi City in Yongshun, Hunan, was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the 'Tusi Sites' project in China. The existing important remains include the government office site, the grand temple site, the quarry site, and the Tusi tombs. The relics mainly consist of porcelain, official Tusi seals, and brick and stone architectural components, with the majority dating back to the Ming Dynasty (14th-17th century) when the Tan Tusi's power was at its peak. The main attractions include: Zhangwang Temple, the government office area, Jingnan Xiongzhen Archway, and the Tusi King's Tomb. The signage for the open area (in both Chinese and English) is very clear, and you can follow the signs and plank roads (it is not recommended to deviate from the path and explore on your own). There is a museum in the area, which is recommended for a detailed look, as it provides an overview of the entire site, detailed introductions to the key points, and background knowledge on the Tusi system. The visit takes about 2.5 hours. 🌟 Public Transportation: There are buses from Xianfeng Bus Station to the site, with an average interval of about 20 minutes. It takes another 20-30 minutes to walk from the ticket office to the scenic area, and there is an electric cart available for 10 yuan (I did not take it, there are shaded areas along the path, and it is a flat walk along the Tangya River). Tangya Tusi Site

The Tusi city of Tangya began to be built in the early Ming Dynasty. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, it witnessed the whole process of the Tusi system from its heyday to its demise, and is a gem of the Tujia ethnic group's historical culture. In the 1980s, a chance archaeological survey unveiled the mysterious veil of the Tusi city of Tangya. Through meticulous excavation and in-depth research of the site, experts revealed its profound historical background, and in 2015, they helped it successfully be listed on the World Cultural Heritage List, making the Tusi city of Tangya shine brilliantly again. The current site of the Tusi city of Tangya has been well protected and managed. The city walls, the site of the yamen, the group of tombs, and the majestic stone archway still stand tall, showing the world the appearance of the former Tusi dynasty. The slogan 'Jingnan Stronghold' engraved on the archway is majestic, demonstrating the authority and glory of the Tusi era, and also implies the important historical position of the Tusi city of Tangya in maintaining border stability and promoting ethnic integration.