Jianshui 建水

1

Jianshui County was established in the Nanzhao period; in the Ming Hongwu era Lin'an Prefecture was set up and the present town built. Its 600-plus-year-old layout survives intact — known as the 'Zou-Lu of southern Yunnan', a famed land of culture and literature

2

The east gate tower of Jianshui Ancient Town, built in the 22nd year of the Ming Hongwu era (1389) — 28 years before Beijing's Tiananmen. Its triple-eaved hip-and-gable tower and gate platform resemble Tiananmen, earning it the nickname 'Little Tiananmen'

3

A residence-and-garden complex built by the wealthy Zhu brothers of Jianshui over more than twenty years in the Qing Guangxu era: covering over 20,000 square meters with 214 rooms, it is the largest and most complete surviving private garden in southern Yunnan, hailed as the 'Grand View Garden of the southwest frontier'

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First built in the 22nd year of the Zhiyuan reign of the Yuan dynasty (1285), it is one of the largest regional Confucian temples extant in China, second in scale only to the Temple of Confucius in Qufu

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Commonly known as the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, built during the Qianlong and Daoguang reigns of the Qing dynasty: a 17-arch stone bridge 148 m long, named for the Lujiang and Tachong rivers converging here like a pair of dragons, and hailed as the 'No. 1 Bridge of Yunnan'

6

The oldest still-operating meter-gauge sightseeing line in Yunnan: the vintage train from Lin'an Station to Tuanshan passes century-old stations such as Shuanglongqiao and Xianghuiqiao

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An ancient clan village of the Zhang family west of Jianshui with 600 years of history: 19 Qing-dynasty residential courtyards survive, and their fine preservation earned it a place on the World Monuments Watch (endangered architectural heritage) list, earning it the nickname 'the Loulan of Yunnan'

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A vast karst cave east of Jianshui: named for the millions of white-rumped swifts that roost inside; around the turn of spring and summer, flocks veil the sky and their cries surge like a tide

9

One of China's four famous potteries: made from the five-colored clay of Wanyao Village, Jianshui; its unique craft is the 'broken-rubbing' decoration — calligraphy from broken steles and old rubbings incised into and refilled on the pottery surface

10

The Ming-dynasty Daban Well at the West Gate of Jianshui Old Town: its clear, sweet water earned it the title 'First Well of Southern Yunnan,' and it leads the old town's marvel of a hundred wells within one city

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The Grand Ceremony Honoring Confucius at Jianshui Confucian Temple has been handed down for centuries, held every September 28 on Confucius's birthday; it is a national-level intangible cultural heritage project

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A carbonated hot spring resort area in Qujiang Town, Jianshui: high outlet temperature and rich minerals have earned it the name 'First Hot Spring of Southern Yunnan'

13

Mile City, northeast of Jianshui, is the 'Hometown of Highland Grapes': the 'Kaleidoscope' red-brick complex of the Dongfengyun wine estate and art town, designed by artist Luo Xu, contains not a single steel bar yet takes astonishing shapes, and has become a viral art landmark (exterior free to view)

14

The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2013: the million mu of terraces carved by the Hani people over more than 1,300 years are hailed as the masterpiece of the 'people who sculpt the earth'

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A century-old French-style station in Bisezhai Village, Mengzi: opened in 1910 when the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway began service, it later became the junction with the Gebishi Railway (inch gauge) and was for a time the railway hub of southern Yunnan