Encounter The Most Beautiful Small Town in Gansu - Bikou

Nestled in green mountain and surrounded by clear river, Bikou Old Town is considered the Xishuanbanna in Gansu Silk Road tour. Gansu is also the place which planted the first tea trees in Gansu. Till now there are some over one-hundred-year-old tea tree in the town. Now let's explore the most beautiful old town in Gansu.
Located in the east Wen County, Longnan City, Bikou is one of "Four Great Old Towns in Gansu". Rising 624 meters above the sea level, Bikou is the transitional zone between Shannxi-Gansu culture and Bashu Cutlure so the local dialect and customs are very similar with that of Sichuan. With the popular of 100,000 persons, the town once paid 100,000 lian (measurement unit in ancient China for silver and gold) silver in its history. According to the bronze wares from Xianglang Tombs of Hang Dynasty, ancient people began agriculture and husbandry during Han Dynasty.
The ancestors from Shannxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei China tour deals came here to earn fortune. They aimed at the timber and medicinal herbs in the mountain and Bilong River was the most important corridor to transport these things. In this way, Bikou became an important wharf. In Qing dynasty, Bikou was the most prosperous town in China.
Siyun Palace is the must-see in the town. In the ancient time, the businessmen from Gansu, Sichuan and Shannxi gathered here. Now Bikou is still the strategic passageway from Gansu to Sichun. Nearly every one know that Longjing Tea is the best tea in Hangzhou but Bikou also planted Longjing.
If you want to experience the best of Bikou, you should not miss its tea garden. Tea trees almost planted in almost every valley and hill slope. It is the world of tea trees.
The first modern building in this old town is Bikou Hydroelectric Station. Bailong and Baishui rivers, the two main river in South Gansu, is the power source of Bikou Hydroelectric Station. Standing high to oversea the town, you will come out the infinite imagination about the past and the future. Kangzhan (Anti-Japanese war) Tower, like a weather-beaten old man, guard the past of the town; Bikou Hydroelectric Station, like a giant mirror, reflects the today's Bikou. These two are comprised of new Bikou.
tags: top China tours, China tourism
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