Langjing Ancient Village in Lufeng County, Chuxiong

Why is Langjing Ancient Village So Special

Langjing Village was known for salt production. It was even regarded as one of “the Nine Salt Wells of Ancient Yunnan” with a salt culture that can compete with Heijing Ancient Town. The religious culture there was enormously propelled by the salt industry. Kai’ning Temple, originally constructed in 725, is the best-known among those of Langjing to witness the co-existence of the Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It’s been listed as an important historical and culture site of Lufeng County.

Langjing also has kept a distinctive native culture represented by the Dongjing Music (a kind of religious music). Most folk residences are designed in the style of the Central China; however, one also can find traditional houses of popular style in Yunnan. The highlighted architecture complexes include the Family Wen’s Garden, the Folk Residence of Li Jibo, the former residence of Zhang Jingchen who is a martyr, Dalong Shrine and the Old Pavilion of Family Jiang etc.

Where is Langjing Ancient Village

Langjing Village Committee is located in the northwest corner of Lufeng County, Yunnan Province. It is located at the junction of Lufeng and Mouding Counties. It is 86 kilometers away from Lufeng County and 20 kilometers away from Mouding County. It had the reputation of “the Largest Village” in Lufeng County in the early years of new China. In 2008, it was announced by the Yunnan Provincial People's Government as a provincial-level historical and cultural village.

How to Get There

Langjing Ancient Village is 86 kilometers from Lufeng County. To some extent, it is inconvenient to get there. Car rental or self-driving is the best choice to get to Langjing Ancient Village.

History of Langjing Ancient Village

The Langjing Ancient Village was built in the foothill of the Tangdaishan Mountain(唐代山) and was produced in Nanzhao(A local regime in Ancient China). Langjing has a long history and profound cultural heritage. It is one of the “Nine Wells” in Yunnan. Langjing preserves the traditional features of the natural settlement of the thousand-year Salt Capital: the Quadrange Courtyard with five patios(四合五天井) of the civil structure. The most representative ones are mainly the Grand Courtyard of Wen Family (温家大院), the Folk House of Li Jibo (李继伯民居) in the middle street, the Former Residence of the revolutionary martyrs Zhang Jingchen(张经辰故居), and other traditional houses and ancient buildings have deeply confirmed the development of history and culture of Langjing. Langjing thrived due to salt. The development of the salt industry has brought about the development of salt culture.

Nearby Attractions

The Grand Courtyard of Wu Family
The Grand Courtyard of Wu Family is a typical Ming and Qing architecture that has been preserved to now. The Grand Courtyard of Wu Family was built in the 16th year of Daoguang in Qing Dynasty. It was expended in the 7th year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty and was built along the mountain. It is a “王(Wang)-shape”, with a unique layout. It consists of four patios with 99 houses. It, with a building area of ​​10,000 square meters, is well-connected and is one of the rare ancient residential buildings in Yunnan.

Feilaisi Temple
Feilaisi Temple is located at the hillside. Because of the steep mountain, looking from the bottom of the mountain, the whole temple is like a big bird entwined in the mountain. It seems to be flying and it also seems to have just landed from the sky. Therefore, Feilaisi Temple got its name. Looking down from the temple, the Longchuanjiang River(龙川江) passes through the deep canyon, and the town's buildings are dotted on both sides of the river.

Heijing Confucius Temple
The Heijing Confucian Temple is located in the Longchuanjiang River Gorge(龙川江峡谷), Lufeng County, Chuxiong Prefecture. The Heijing Confucius Temple was built in the 45th year of Ming Wanli (1617). It was repeatedly destroyed by mudslides in the Qing Dynasty and was repeatedly rebuilt. The Confucius Temple is large in scale. There were 13 scholars (进士), which could show the prosperity of Heijing culture education.

Heijing Ancient Town
With traditional folk residences, archways, and religion architectures, Heijing Ancient Town is well conserved in a traditional style as others do in China. Among them, 27 have been listed as county-level cultural relics protection units, and are known as “the treasure house of historical relics – the living fossil of Ming and Qing Dynasties”.