Where is Phoenix?

Known as "the most beautiful town in China", it was built in the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty. Phoenix belongs to Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, where Xiong Xiling, the famous writer Shen Congwen and the famous painter Huang Yongyu were born. Phoenix is an ancient city with a unique style, named after the mountains in the southwest. Legend has it that a pair of phoenixes flapped their wings from here, and the town has such a beautiful name. Fenghuang Ancient City is known as one of the two most beautiful towns in China, and is listed as a10/national historical and cultural city by the State Council. It was built in the fifty-fourth year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (17 15), with a perimeter of more than 2 kilometers, a wall height of 5.7 meters and a top width of 3.7 meters. There are four gates in the southeast and northwest, a towering gatehouse and a picturesque city with beautiful mountains and rivers. Birds and flowers are singing on the trees in Nanhuashan National Forest Park outside the city. All the streets in the city are paved with red slate. The Qing Tuojiang River passes through the city like a jade belt, and the diaojiao building stands by the river, which is full of the quaint style of ethnic minority architecture and has a special taste. In the old days, the Phoenix had eight scenic spots, such as "Dongling meeting light", "Qifeng beauty", "South China full of green" and "Xiqiao jathyapple". At present, the East Gate, the North Gate and the gatehouse are well preserved and connected by half of the city walls. Ancient buildings such as Dacheng Hall of Confucian Temple, Tianwang Temple, Chenghuang Temple, Guandi Temple, Wanshou Palace and Chaoyang Palace are still well preserved, with cornices and arches, blue bricks, red walls and blue tiles, which are antique. There are also the former residences of Premier Xiong Xiling, great writer Shen Congwen and famous painter Huang Yongyu in the ancient city. Twenty-four kilometers northwest of the city is the ancient castle of Huangsiqiao, which was built in the second year of the Tang Dynasty (AD 686). After thousands of years of wind and rain, this ancient building is still magnificent. Four kilometers north of the city is Qiliang Cave, which is known as the "underground palace". Nowadays, there is a wine cellar of Xiangxi famous wine "drunkard" in the cave, just opposite to the beautiful scenery "Rain Wash New Lotus" in the cave. The wine is delicious, and it is a must in the world. There is also a saying that "the strange beam does not hope to return to the hole."

The old streets in Fenghuang County are well preserved, and the bunkers and city walls on the mountain are now restored to what Mr. Shen Congwen described. The forest on the mountain is the same every year, but it may take some time for tigers to be in it. However, Fenghuang Ancient City won the title of "National Historical and Cultural City" with its profound historical and cultural connotations.

The most famous diaojiao building in Fenghuang ancient city is antique and full of Tujia charm, but most of the diaojiao buildings along the river are gone. Only in the back of Longtan, there are still more than a dozen old houses, and slender wooden houses stand in the river, supporting a heavy history. Wander in the alleys of the city and feel the simple local folk customs. At this time, the loneliness left by the hustle and bustle of the city will be washed away by the clear river in the town, making people feel that they are at peace with the world.

There is an ancient street connected with Hongqiao, and it is a food street at night. On the road, there are four chairs around a stove as a group, four to ten groups plus two stir-fried dishes as a household, and hundreds of households occupy this strip nearly one kilometer long and more than 30 meters wide, which is also a major feature of Phoenix. Here, you can eat all the snacks with Xiangxi characteristics, such as mala Tang, roasted pepper with purple foam ash, chop suey, baked potato, and Jishou vinegar radish, sour kelp, sour fish, sour meat, sauerkraut and so on.

Accommodation in Phoenix is actually very cheap and distinctive. The most expensive night in a small farmhouse hotel is tens of yuan, which is clean and makes people feel the beauty of the town. It is another charm to enjoy the ancient city of Phoenix in the night in the small farmhouse. The phoenix in the night is quieter and more beautiful, and the sky is as clean and clear as the distance, more like a paradise.