Situated on the bank of the Jialing River (jiā líng jiāng 嘉陵江), not far from its confluence with the mighty Yangtze River (yáng zǐ jiāng 扬子江), is the ancient village of Ciqikou (cí qì kǒu 磁器口), formerly known as Long Yin (lóng yǐn 龙隐). People always said "One flagtone road, and one thousand years' Ciqikou". It was named as it had supplied large sum of chinaware dating during Qing (qīng 清) and Ming (míng 明) dynasties. It was a busy dock before, which located at the lower reaches of Jialing River. After a thousand years, the town now remains as a symbol and miniature of past Chongqing. 

Ci Qi Kou's history can be traced back over 1700 years. According to the history records, Ciqikou was first built during the Emperor Zhenzong (sòng zhēn zōng 宋真宗, 998—1004). Then, it became a commercial dock both by land and water dating from Ming Dynasty. Reaching its climax during the end of Qing Dynasty, the town had ever been written in poem as "one thousand people greet each other during day, and ten thousand lamps flicker at night". 
                                                                                                                                  Ciqikou is the source of Baci (bái cí 白瓷) Culture. Archaeologists have discovered over twenty ancient kiln sites there. It is because of the porcelain manufacturing that the village received its name which translates literally into Porcelain Village.
Lots of big-names during the Anti-Japanese War once lived here, such as Guo Moruo (guō mò ruò 郭沫若), Xu Beihong (xú bēi hóng 徐悲鸿), Feng Zikai (fēng zǐ kǎi 丰子恺), Fu Baoshi (fù bào shí 傅抱石), Ba Jin (bā jīn 巴金), Bing Xin (bīng xīn 冰心) and etc. Ding Zhaozhong (dīng zhào zhōng 丁肇中), a well-known Chinese-born American scientist studied here for many years during his childhood.In addition, the origin of the famous story Red Crag's character Hua Ziliang (huà zǐ liáng 华子良) escaped through Ciqikou's dock.
 

While Chongqing itself has undergone many changes over the centuries, Ciqikou seems to be a place that time has forgotten. It can give visitors a glimpse into what Chongqing might have longed like in the distant past.The majority of the houses in Ciqikou date from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Most of the two and three storey buildings are constructed of timber, and bamboo. In 1998 Ciqikou became a protected cultural site. 

As an ancient town, there are obsolutely lots of custom, most of which have lasted till now. The recorded ones includes family's ancestral temple, Pao Brother, temple fair, dragon dance, dragon boat race, buddies of Sichuan opera, chuntai drama as well as pingshu (píng shū 评书) and teahouse culture.The local tea bars offer the opportunity for you to meet the locals and also become acquainted with the unique folk opera.

The teahouse puts on a diverse range of entertainment with shows staged from time to time.And this is the famous Sichuan show, 'Changing the face' (biàn liǎn
 变脸). The biggest secret is how the performer changes his masks.There was an old show in Sichuan called Nine Changes and this is from that show. There was a knight-errant called Baiyong (bái yǒng 白勇) who is brings hope to many poor unfortunate people. And when he shows up, he changes his masks nine times. It's a way of indicating that he will help people, but not ask anything in return. He doesn't let people know who he is. Today it's purely a show of skill.                              

Compound of Zhong’s (zhōng jiā yuàn 钟家院)
This Compound is more than 120 Years old.It was built by a late Qing Dynasty eunuch by the name of Zhong Yunting （zhōng yún tíng 钟云亭）,who served as the staff of the notorious Ci Xi Empress of the Qing Dynasty （cí xǐ tài hòu 慈禧太后）.Traditional Chinese architect ural techniques used in both the North and the South are featured in this heritage compound.

                                                                                                                          
Bayu Dwellings Collection (bā yú jū mín guǎn 巴渝居民馆)
Let’s walk into the hall and cut across the separation of time and space to enter the gallery of memory to sense the construction of timber,stone and brick,to experience the space surrounded and feel the peace in the courtyard .                                                        
                                                                                        

Bao Lun Buddhist Temple (bǎo lún sì 宝轮寺)
The Jian Wen Emperor of China’s Ming Dynasty (jiàn wén dì 建文帝) spent the rest of his life living at this temple after he was ousted from Beijing and went into exile.The four large Chinese characters Da Xiong Bao Dian (dà xióng bǎo diàn 大雄宝殿) hanging at this temple was written by Zhao Puchu (zhào pǔ chū 赵朴初), a famous Chinese calligrapher who served as the president of China’s Buddhist Society.The main building at this temple was built 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty and is characterized by its resplendence.The whole building was constructed without using a single nail and is regarded as a miracle in China’s architectural history.Buddhist believers flock to this temple to pray and undertake other Buddhist activities year in year out.This is in particular the case during China’s Spring Festival.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Han Lin Academy (hàn lín xué yuàn 翰林学院)
The Han Lin Academy in Ciqikou used to be a school,which was operated by a sun family in Qing Dynasty. The Family’s offspring studied there and three of them including two other students, were respectively awarded the Qing Dynasty regime in recognition of their outstanding performance in a national examination organized by the Qing Dynasty’s Ministry of Education. In large due to this reputation, the Han Lin Academy in Ciqikou brought together many local academics and students at that time.

It is a wonderful place to do some shopping for local arts and crafts, as well as sample a large variety of Chongqing's traditional snacks.                                                                      

Local Crafts

Special Snacks