Ciqikou Ancient Town

Legend says the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen shaved his head and hid at Baolun Temple, whose Ming-era wooden main hall was raised without a single iron nail.

Home of the scholarly Sun family since the Qianlong reign, this Jialing riverside residence is a classic Ba-Yu timber courtyard built around farming and study.

Zhong Yunting, said to have managed foreign affairs for Empress Dowager Cixi, built this Ba-Yu mansion combining a northern courtyard plan with southern column-and-tie framing.

Once among the busiest river ports of the Chongqing region, Ciqikou's old pier was famed for crowds by day and lanterns by night, beside a street of heritage mahua twists.

Part of Ciqikou Ancient Town's history: Jingnan Campaign. Fourth son of the Ming founder who seized the throne from his nephew in the Jingnan war, reigned as the Yongle Emperor and moved the capital to Beijing

Part of Ciqikou Ancient Town's history: Jingnan Campaign. Second Ming emperor, of the Jianwen reign, whose moves against his princely uncles provoked Zhu Di's rebellion and who vanished when Nanjing fell in 1402

Part of Ciqikou Ancient Town's history: Jingnan Campaign. Founding emperor of the Ming, a former monk who rose through the Red Turban armies, defeated his rivals and reigned as the Hongwu Emperor from 1368

Jingnan Campaign

Prince Zhu Di rebelled under the banner of Jingnan, captured Nanjing, displaced the Jianwen emperor, and took the throne as Yongle.

Local tradition says that after fleeing the capital, the Jianwen emperor took refuge at Baolun Temple on Baiyan Mountain, a story associated with the temple and old Longyin name.

As ceramics flourished in the Qing, Ciqikou's water-land junction became an important Chongqing transfer port for pottery and porcelain.