Learn the history of Wan’an - the compass capital of China

For over 700 years from the Three Kingdoms period through to the end of the Sui Dynasty, Wan’an was the administrative capital of the then prosperous Xiuning County, which left a legacy of cultural and economic traditions still visible today. Nowadays,the town mostly survives on rural trade and a small but increasing number of tourists passing through, however, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Wan’an was an extremely active commercial port with a population of up to 10,000 people, boasting a large and vibrant market and hundreds of shops and hotels.

The port was based on serving the flat river boats of the merchant who were using the Xin’an River to reach the Grand Canal. Grand Canal at the time connected Beijing to Hangzhou. Once the boats had reached the Grand Canal, they had access to two axes - the Grand Canal itself from north to south and the Yangtze River (on which you can cruise and enjoy the beautiful view along the bank during Yangtze River tour) from west to east.

Along with the construction boom that accompanied the riches brough back by the Huizhou merchant came the rise in popularity of the Wan’an luopan compass, as a prospective homeowners looked for auspicious sites on which to build new homes or looked for ways to spruce up their existing dwellings. The Wan’an became the perfect location for skilled craftsmen and fenshui practitioners to meet their merchant clients, discuss ideas and refine their compassed to meet their individual fengshui needs.

The fortunes of Wan’an declined along with the prosperity of the merchants, and as other methods of transportation started to eclipse shipping, many luopan stores and workshops that had sprung up around the town during the boom years began to close down. However, in spite of the economic hardships and persecution of “superstitious old practices” endured by luopan craftsmen during the 1960s, Wan’an remained famous nationally and internationally for its sophisticated knowledge and workmanship, and to this day you can still find a handful of craftsmen making the luopan compassed for fengshui practitioners and enthusiastic amateurs alike.

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