A Secluded Ancient Town Beside the Ancestral Taoist Court

Location of the Ancient Town
Shangqing Ancient Town is located in the southwest of Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, nestled at the foot of Mount Longhu, the birthplace of Taoism, beside the clear Shangqing Creek. The town is about 30 kilometers from Yingtan city center, situated in the core area of Taoist culture in northeastern Jiangxi. It takes only 40 minutes by car from Yingtan North Station. Adjacent to the Ancestral Court of the Celestial Master and connected to the ancient ferry crossing of Luxi River, it is an excellent starting point for exploring Taoist relics and Gan-style architecture.

Street Layout
The main street of the ancient town is paved with bluestone slabs, flanked by well-preserved Gan-style buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The residences with gray tiles and white walls stretch continuously, with horse-head walls of varying heights. Under the eaves, wooden carved window lattices are engraved with Bagua patterns and mythical beast motifs. The ancient wharf in front of the Celestial Master’s Mansion still retains bluestone steps, with thousand-year-old camphor trees casting mottled shadows on the shore. Bamboo rafts slowly glide on the Luxi River, creating a living scene reminiscent of the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" painting.

Core Attractions
The Celestial Master’s Mansion complex is a treasure of Taoist architecture. The Yuan Dynasty stone lions at the mansion gate are solemn and majestic. Inside, the Nanmu timber beams of the Sansheng Hall use a mortise-and-tenon structure, with a dome painted with the Taiji Bagua diagram. The Jade Emperor Hall houses a century-old agarwood altar inscribed with the full text of the Tao Te Ching. The alchemy well in the rear garden still flows with clear spring water. Deep within the town, the Changqingfang stone archway preserves Ming Dynasty mortise-and-tenon construction, with the four characters "Xianyuan Mijing" (Immortal Source Secret Realm) glowing golden in the sunset.

Cultural Experience
Every morning, visitors can join the Taoist morning ritual at the Celestial Master’s Mansion, listening to Taoist priests chanting the "Beidou Sutra" amid the sounds of bells and drums. The town’s intangible cultural heritage workshop offers the experience of talisman rubbing using cinnabar ink molds passed down for six hundred years. During the Lantern Festival, the town hosts a plank dragon lantern parade, with a thirty-six-section dragon weaving through the alleys with black-tiled roofs, culminating in a dragon transformation ceremony by the Luxi River.

Unique Food and Accommodation
For lodging, it is recommended to stay in the riverside loft rooms of the ancient town’s guesthouses. Opening the carved wooden windows reveals morning mist swirling over the river. Rooms are furnished with camphor wood canopy beds, and tables are set with Jingdezhen blue-and-white porcelain tea sets. The bathrooms feature soaking pools built from natural river pebbles. The must-try Shangqing Tofu Feast requires advance booking, featuring stone-milled tofu paired with dried bamboo shoots from Leixi, accompanied by local glutinous rice wine. Dining on the guesthouse rooftop offers a panoramic view of the ancient town’s lights gradually coming alive.

Overall Evaluation
Shangqing Ancient Town perfectly blends Taoist culture with the charm of a Jiangnan ancient town. Waking up to the temple bell in the morning and watching cormorant fishing boats return at dusk, this millennia-spanning lifestyle is intoxicating. For travelers seeking a culturally immersive journey, this is both a pilgrimage site to the ancestral Taoist court and a living museum of northeastern Jiangxi folk customs.

Post by Brooks_Mia_96 | Oct 25, 2025