Cicheng Ancient Town

First built in 1048, the Cicheng Confucian Temple impresses with its grand Dacheng Hall and an orderly layout of Lingxing Gate and semicircular pool.

Cixi County was governed from this site from 738, and halls such as the main hall, second hall and Qingdao Hall recreate local administration in imperial times.

Built in the Daoguang reign for local entry-level examinations, this hall brings to life a county that produced 519 successful jinshi candidates.

Once home to the Ming jinshi Qian Xiyu, this nationally protected mansion is a rare surviving example of a Ming official's timber residence in southern China.

Part of Cicheng Ancient Town's history: Reign of Kaiyuan. Tang chief minister under Empress Wu, Ruizong and Xuanzong whose reforms at the start of the Kaiyuan era were paired with Song Jing's in the phrase 'Yao and Song'

Part of Cicheng Ancient Town's history: Reign of Kaiyuan. Tang emperor of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras who took power in the coups of 710 and 713 and fled to Sichuan when An Lushan rebelled

Part of Cicheng Ancient Town's history: Reign of Kaiyuan. Tang chief minister from Xingzhou who defied the Zhang brothers under Empress Wu and succeeded Yao Chong in 716, the pair being remembered as Yao and Song

Part of Cicheng Ancient Town's history: Imperial Examination Founded. Second Sui emperor, Yangdi, who built the eastern capital at Luoyang and the Grand Canal, failed in three wars against Goguryeo, and was strangled in a mutiny at Jiangdu

Imperial Examination Founded

Sui and Tang courts institutionalized subject examinations for office, broadening recruitment through writing and classical learning beyond inherited rank.

Local historical accounts record about 519 jinshi from the Tang through the Qing, a tradition reflected in Cicheng's Confucian Temple and educational heritage.

Reign of Kaiyuan

Early in his reign, Xuanzong appointed Yao Chong and Song Jing, reformed administration, and fostered the prosperity associated with Kaiyuan.

In 738, Cixi County was established by division, with its county seat at present-day Cicheng in Ningbo.