Top 10 Old Towns & Villages in China [2025 Winners]

Lijiang Old Town (丽江古镇), also called Dayan Old Town, is a famous ancient city with beautiful scenery, old history and splendid culture, as well as an important transit station on the Tea Horse Road, which was known as the "Southern Silk Road". Lijiang Old Town was listed as UNESCO World Culture Heritage Site in 1997 and it is also known as one of the four best-preserved ancient cities, along with Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi, Huizhou Ancient City in Anhui, and Langzhong Ancient City in Sichuan, which are all famous for their history and culture.

Until now, the architectural style in Lijiang Old Town is still consistent with the Ming and Qing dynasties, in terms of its outline, shape and structure, with the characteristics of the ancient Central Plains architecture, but also integrates the architectural style of the Bai ethnic group, and forms a unique Naxi architectural complex. Here you can fully experience the colorful local ethnic customs and recreational activities, such as Naxi ancient music, Dongba ceremony, divination culture, bars in the town as well as the Naxi Torch Festival and so on.

Furthermore, travelers usually enjoy 2 ~ 3 days in Lijiang to discover Mufu Palace, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Shuhe Old Town, Dongba mural paintings, Black Dragon Pool, etc. for a classic savory of this romantic ancient city. Besides, most visitors prefer to plan Lijiang as a middle part of a longer Yunnan tour with other top popular destinations, such as Shangri-La, Kunming, Dali, Yuanyang, etc., which needs about 6 ~ 11 days.

Wuzhen (乌镇), one of the top 10 charming famous towns in China, has long history of over 1300 years. Also, as one of the top 6 ancient towns in Jiangnan area, Wuzhen Water Town is your ideal place to savor the authentic features of a Jiangnan water town. In this best ancient place, streets are built along the water path with old bridges linking together into a complicated net, and the ancient houses constructed by two banks of the small river provide best cradle of the pure life of the locals.

Though this ancient town has been so aged, it still keeps the original appearance and a lot of praisable carving techniques on the doors, windows, pillars, etc. for visitors' admiration. Besides, no matter you leisurely stroll on the old paths, sit on a small boat to see the onshore scene, visit the top sites to get close to their culture and history or take some great pictures of this amazing beauty, you could surely enjoy your wonderful time!

As Wuzhen Water Town takes at least half a day, most tourists combine it with Hangzhou or Shanghai together. Because Wuzhen itself has no a railway station or airport, both Hangzhou and Shanghai are good options to visit Wuzhen. Visitors usually spend 1 ~ 3 days for a Hangzhou Wuzhen tour or Shanghai Wuzhen tour.

Fenghuang Ancient Town (凤凰古镇) or called Phoenix Ancient Town is a particular old town of ethnic culture of Miao and Tujia minority groups in the western Hunan province. With the special wooden tilted-houses standing on the two banks of Tuojiang River floating through, Fenghuang is a charming ethnic lady for your discovery. For the fascination of Fenghuang, an Irish writer praised Fenghuang as "the most beautiful town in China" after his visit.

It is said time slows down in Fenghuang, so when you visit there, you could shower in the sunshine along the hundreds-year old streets, appreciate the look of this town on the old pavilion of the bridge, walk across the stones on the river, take a boat to see the vivid scenes onshore, immerse into the romantic night splendors of the old but vigorous old town in China. Furthermore, a series of interesting ancient sites still tell about the stories and legend of famous writer Shen Congwen and others, and the relation and development of the ethnic groups for your enjoyment.

Normally, more than 60% of travelers would tour Fenghuang Ancient Town with the top highlight in Hunan - Zhangjiajie, one of the most famous UNESCO Heritage sites in China, and the capital of Hunan province - Changsha. If you want to extend your tour west to Guizhou, then don't miss Fanjingshan - the UNESCO Natural Heritage site in China.

Representing old villages of Anhui style, Hongcun (宏村) is really a great place to enjoy the traditional Chinese image. It has been listed as the UNESCO World Heritage Site and reputed as "the ancient village in Chinese paintings" for its amazing landscape. This old village was established during 1131-1162 AD, but for near 900 years, it preserves its buildings and layout really well. Besides, the world famous movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed in this place, so this attraction has been increasingly popular.

If you visit this village, do not miss its two major essences: one is the waterscape formed by the water conservation system, which you could enjoy at the large South Lake and the half-moon shaped Yue Zhao; another is the three carvings of Anhui category on the local buildings, namely the brick carvings, stone carvings, and wood carvings, and all that are exquisite like paper cuttings. As Hongcun is so tranquil and elegant that you are recommended stay some days to appreciate the different sceneries from the morning mists to the night moon light.

Furthermore, Xidi Ancient Village, together with Hongcun, was also listed as World Heritage Site in 2000, and it has 300 ancient dwellings left from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. If you also want to explore natural beauty in Huangshan, then don't miss Yellow Mountain also Mt. Huangshan, which was listed as World Heritage Site in 1992. It is famous for the five wonders – odd-shaped pines, spectacular rocky peaks, sea of clouds, hot spring and winter snow.

The well-known Zhouzhuang Water Town (周庄古镇) is praised as the "No.1 Water Town in China". Keeping over 60% residential buildings of Ming and Qing styles and 14 distinctly featured ancient bridges and the idyllic structure of water winding across the houses, Zhouzhuang Water Town shows perfectly of the scenes of small bridges, floating water and households in people's dreams. As a historic and typical water town near Suzhou, the black tiles and white walls, red lanterns hung on eaves, drifting boats along the narrow water way, calling of local products from the wooden shops, and the real life of local residents, you would have a true experience of a water town of tender Jiangnan style.

Also, as the hometown of the famous businessman Shen Wansan and the world influential painter Shen Yifei, you could visit their old places to know their stories and savor their ancient buildings. During every minute in Zhouzhuang, all the worries and troubles would disappear, what left there is the interest of getting lost in the maze and enjoy the pure life style in old China.

Generally, a classic Suzhou tour takes about 1 ~ 2 days. Visiting Suzhou, you can't miss elegant Suzhou gardens, like Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Master of the Nets Garden, etc. You can choose one or two of them for a great garden delight. If you like Jiangnan water towns, you can also visit Tongli Water Town and Luzhi Water Town to have a wonderful time.

Pingyao Ancient City (平遥古城), with a history of more than 2,700 years, is one of the best-preserved Ming and Qing Dynasties ancient cities in China. With rich historical and cultural heritage, it preserves many ancient buildings and relics from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is known as the "Museum of Chinese Ancient City" and the "Treasure of Chinese Ancient Architecture". Until today, it has preserved the features of the county town from the Ming and Qing dynasties, making it the existing most complete ancient city in Chinese Han nationality region, and enjoys the reputation of "Little Beijing".

Pingyao Ancient City is also one of the most important representatives of traditional Chinese culture, presenting an extraordinary picture of cultural, social, economic and religious development. The city walls here are full of traces of history, interpreting the vicissitudes of time, and it is only a small part of the architecture legacy of Pingyao Ancient City. Its overall settlement, design, architecture style, construction skills, materials, decorations of the ancient residences are the historical and cultural heritage that will really shock you when seeing.

Travelers usually take 1 full day to visit major scenic spots in Pingyao and take 1 more day to explore fantastic painted sculptures in Shuanglin Temple and Zhenguo Temple. If time allows, you may make an in-depth culture discovery around Pingyao to visit Wang' Family Compound and Zhangbi Ancient Castle.

Xitang Water Town (西塘古镇) is described as living ancient town. This old water town of more than 10 centuries old still maintains its simple and ancient characteristics with a featured leisurable and cozy life style. The well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasties buildings in the ancient town well-retained the Jiangnan style of the water town. The countless specially shaped ancient bridges and lanes is one of the unique features of Xitang Water Town.

And after the shooting of the world famous Hollywood movie Mission Impossible 3, this mysterious old place has been listed in the traveling lists of more visitors in and to China. Therefore, even you take a simple walk along the old streets, lanes or take a ramble boat to enjoy the antique houses and their reflections on the glittering water, happiness and interesting time you could easy enjoy. During day time, you could savor the real life style of locals by watching the old men playing chess, women doing daily routines at the river, however, at night hours, you could sip a glass of wine to feel the modern vigor of this old town.

Xitang Water Town is not large, generally travelers only need 1 day to visit all the essence of the ancient town. Therefore, Xitang is usually arranged as one of the destinations in a series of southern China tours and the most popular route is to travel to Xitang with Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou.

"There is Dunhuang in the north and Shaxi in the south." Shaxi Ancient Town (沙溪古镇) known as "the last thousand-year-old town of the Ancient Tea Horse Road", and its history can trace back to the Tang Dynasty. As an important station on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, Shaxi Ancient Town was prosperous, with merchants gathering and a large number of tea, silk, porcelain and other commodities traded here. The architectural style of Shaxi Ancient Town is unique, and many ancient buildings have been retained, such as wooden buildings and stone paved road in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Meanwhile, the folk culture of Shaxi Ancient Town is also its unique charm, and the residents here still retain many ancient customs and traditions. You can not only admire wonderful singing and dancing performance, but also participate in the inheritance of folk art. In addition to the rich cultural landscape, Shaxi Ancient Town also has beautiful natural scenery, where you can stroll through the countryside, breathe fresh air, and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Shaxi is a small town in Dali. Usually, about 1 day around is enough to explore its highlights. For Shaxi located almost halfway between Lijiang and Dali, it well-worth to stop over here for one or two leisure days and since both Dali and Lijiang have superior transportation conditions, it will be a good option to choose Dali or Lijiang as first destination.

Being the largest residential village of Miao ethnic minority in China so far, Xijiang Miao Village (西江苗寨) is also a terrific place completely keeping the original ecosystem of Miao ethnic group. Standing in this wide land consisting of over 10 natural villages, you would be impressed by the so amazing scene before you. That would be your great chance for admiration and photography. Furthermore, since in all the over 1400 households in this village with more than thousands of residents, 99.5% of which are real Miao people, you would surely savor the authentic and wonderful life essences and the unique and charming culture of the Miao ethnic minority.

Besides, Qijiang Miao Village has been complimented as an "Open Air Museum", and it is one of the best places to have a close-up to the developmental history, traditional dancing and singing, beautiful costumes, handicraft skills, famous silver ornaments, and great featured folk tradition of Miao ethnic minority. Just go and feel the hospitality of local Miao people!

Xijiang Miao Village, the largest Miao village in China, is an unmissable minority village in your Guizhou tour. In order to explore the culture and customs of Miao minority deeper, most travelers would spend 2 or 3 days in and around Kaili City. Besides visiting Xijiang Miao Village, visitors can go further to Upper Langde Miao Village, Matang Gejia Village and Qingman Miao Village, each villages has their own unique characteristics.

Zhenyuan Ancient Town (镇远古镇), known as the gateway of Hunan-Guizhou, has a history of more than 2,000 years and has existed as early as the Shang and Yin dynasties. Zhenyuan Ancient Town, as a famous "Mountain Cliff Architectures Museum" in China, not only has the majestic Qinglong Cave architecture complex, but also retain more than 160 ancient folk houses, lanes, wharfs from the Ming and Qing dynasties, all of which kept the old architectural style.

The integration of Central Plain Culture, Jing-Chu Culture, Ba-Shu Culture, Wu-Yue Culture, Min-Yue Culture, Indigenous Culture and more other cultures has made Zhenyuan a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-social museum, praised by experts as the "World Cultural Protection Circle". As one of the important settlements of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups, Zhenyuan Ancient Town has formed unique ethnic cultures such as the Dragon Canoe Festival of the Miao minority and the Drum Tower culture of the Dong minority. You can not only experience the local culture but also explore the unique ethnic customs.

With so many attractions and scenic spots to visit and admire, such as Qinglong Cave, Wuyang River and Shiping Mountain, etc. You usually needs 1 ~ 2 days to explore Zhenyuan Ancient Town. Since Kaili is located in the east of Guizhou, between Guiyang, Rongjiang and Congjiang. It is a good idea to extend your Kaili trip longer so that you can add 2 ~ 3 days for visiting Guiyang, Congjiang and Rongjiang.