Old towns around chengdu

The Catholic church is another landmark in Yuantong.[Photo by Chen Liang/China Daily]

The restaurant is a major attraction of the town. You can drink tea or play cards or mahjong while seated in a stone-paved courtyard, have a meal in a room, or on the wide cloister of the historical structures.

While waiting for your orders, you can stroll around the empty buildings of the two mansions, catching closer views of beautiful window frames and delicate stone or wood carvings on poles, gables, walls and roofs. Marks of different historical periods can be seen on the buildings. An example is "Long Live Chairman Mao!" painted on the wooden wall of a hall.

The food served in the restaurant is surprisingly good. Some signature dishes, such as sauteed toufu in crispy paste, fried spicy fish and spicy slices of "church" chicken (a church does stand on the opposite side of the restaurant), are authentic in Sichuan flavor and musts for diners.

Traders from other parts of China built their guildhalls in the small town. Guangdong Guildhall and Jiangxi Guildhall still stand along the stone-paved main street. Towering gables of these guildhalls are a conspicuous feature of the old town's roofline.

How to get there
  

There are regular buses from Chengdu to Pujiang county or Qionglai county in the city's major bus stations. The rides cost between 16 yuan ($2.58) and 24 yuan and take about one hour. There are mini-vans to Xilai Old Town from both Pujiang and Qionglai. All restaurants in Xilai serve decent Sichuan food.

The Yuantong Old Town is about 11 kilometers from the county town of Chongzhou. Visitors can catch a bus from Jinsha Bus Station in Chengdu to Chongzhou. The ride takes about 40 minutes and costs less than 10 yuan. From Chongzhou, one can take a mini-van to Yuantong. It takes about 15 minutes. The Jiangxi Guildhall in Yuantong has been turned into a guesthouse, convenient for visitors who wish to stay longer in the town. A meal for four in the Gongxiaoshe Restaurant comes to about 100 yuan.

(China Daily 05/23/2015 page17)