The First Town of the Nine Bends of the Yellow River: Qikou Ancient Town

🌟 Qikou Ancient Town: A Millennium Legend in the Bend of the Yellow River

📜 The First Town of the Nine Bends of the Yellow River
When the Yellow River makes a stunning bend at the foot of the Lüliang Mountains, it gave birth to this "living ancient town"—Qikou. As a "small water and land port city" during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was once the starting point for Shanxi merchants heading west. Amid the sound of camel bells, furs and medicinal herbs from Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia met fabrics and porcelain from Jiangnan here. Standing on the stage of Heilong Temple and looking into the distance, the muddy waves of the Yellow River seem to still tell the commercial legend of "Qikou that can’t be fully loaded, Wucheng that can’t be filled."

🏯 Lijiashan Folk Residence Museum
Step into the cave dwellings layered like a "Han tomb" depicted by the famous painter Wu Guanzhong, where Ming and Qing dynasty ancient buildings stand prominently on the loess plateau. The seven-story courtyard built by the Li family merchants on the mountain is a living specimen of a "three-dimensional village." Pay special attention to the brick-carved lintels inscribed with "Deyan Fangsheng," showcasing the Shanxi merchants' tradition of "supporting culture through commerce" in vivid detail. (Tip: It’s recommended to visit early in the morning when the terraced cave dwellings shrouded in mist resemble an ink painting.)

🛖 Xiwang Village: The Shanxi Merchants’ Code
Walking along the stone-paved road by the Qiu River, the suddenly appearing castle-style buildings feel like stepping into another world. The "three horizontal and five vertical" courtyard system built by the Chen family over 300 years hides a secret: the side doors of each courtyard connect, so in case of bandit attacks, the entire village can instantly become a joint defense fortress. Don’t forget to touch the horse-tethering stone from the Ming dynasty, whose deep grooves record the prosperous days when "daily earnings reached a bucket of gold."

🌅 Yellow River Gallery Wonders
Take a boat upstream from the ancient town’s dock, and the "wave-eroded reliefs" on the cliffs on both sides are geological marvels. Billions of years of wind and water have sculpted natural paintings like "Tiger Descending the Mountain" and "Peacock Spreading Its Tail." The boatman will point to a rock wall and tell you: in 1942, a merchant ship sank here, and during dry seasons, the mast remnants still emerge above the water.

As dusk falls over the loess plateau and the ancient town lights up with twinkling lamps, sitting in a century-old shop sipping a bowl of red date millet porridge, you can faintly hear the copper bells of the Shanxi merchants’ camel caravans in the roar of the Yellow River. Here, there is no commercial hustle and bustle, only the authentic China preserved by time.

Post by AstroWarrior_901 | Aug 24, 2025