Gongtan Ancient Town

Lining the cliffs above the Wujiang, Gongtan's stilt houses form one of the largest and most spectacular riverside groups in China, a scene once painted by Wu Guanzhong.

Descendants of the Ran chieftains of Youyang lived in this finely carved eastern Sichuan timber courtyard, where a Qing imperial commendation plaque hangs before the hall.

Ming-era salt boatmen of the Wujiang built Chuanzhu Temple to pray for safe passage, leaving soaring eaves and a grand opera stage in Ba-Shu style.

At the meeting of the Wujiang and Apeng rivers, jade-green water runs between knife-cut cliffs past this old ferry landing on a perilous gorge rapid.

In 1573, boulders blocking the Wujiang formed upper and lower transfer docks; salt and other cargo helped Gongtan take shape as a regional transshipment port.