Walk in the mists of time

Bordering the Youshui River, Furong town serves as a vital connection between Sichuan and Hubei provinces.

Since ancient times, it has thrived as a crucial commercial hub, where Tusi kings held significant events and convened meetings with other Tusi leaders.

From this town, rafts of golden nanmu, a precious mothproof wood, were transported to Beijing to construct the Forbidden City and the Ming Tombs.

In the past, businessmen would conduct their trade on horseback along the ancient Wuli Slab Street, a 2.5-kilometer stretch of stone-paved road, as a local guide explained.

In 1986, film director Xie Jin shot one of his acclaimed movies, Furong Town (or Hibiscus Town), featuring Liu Xiaoqing and Jiang Wen in the lead roles. In 2007, with tourism booming, Wangcun village was renamed Hibiscus town.

At the other end of Wuli Slab Street, I spotted a shop selling midoufu, a type of rice pudding, adorned with a poster of the movie Furong Town. In the film, Liu's character sold midoufu for a living just in this place.

The next morning, before setting off for another ancient town, I hurried to the shop to savor a delicious bowl of midoufu, along with a deep-fried rice cake and a deep-fried dough stick, which was immensely satisfying.