Furong Ancient Town

Located in Yongshun County in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of western Hunan Province, Furong Ancient Town (or Hibiscus Ancient Town) is originally known as Wangcun Village. It is where the famous movie Hibiscus Town was filmed, so it changed its name to Furong Town (Furong means Hibiscus in Chinese phonetic alphabet.) After the movie "Furong Town" was done in this place.

It is an old town with more than two thousand years where Tujia Minority people live together. It is one of the best attractions to seek peace and visit classicism and it is also the portal of Mengdong River scenic. Furong Town not only has the beautiful natural landscape and rich Tujia ethnic folk customs, but also is a perfect place to explore a lot of protected cultural relics and records of Tujia political and military history. More than three hundred relics collected in Tujia Diaojiaolou buildings (vernacular pillar-supported dwellings) is the best presentation of Tujia culture. The town is surrounded by green mountains and rivers. You will see winding paths and Tujia Diaojiaolou buildings by the river after coming into the township. And there is a waterfall inside the town and it is a must see here. This waterfall is about 40 meter wide with a drop height of 60 meters, and looks spectacular in rainy season from June to August. Walking behind the hanging water screen of the waterfall is like placing oneself in a crystal palace.

The Palace of Tusi (appointing hereditary headmen of national minority in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties in old China) is another highlight in the town. It is actually a Tujia Diaojiaolou building complex. It was built by a rich chieftain of the Tujia nationality for summer resort. In front of the palace is an ever-flowing stream and on the both sides are cliffs.

Everywhere in town reflects the honest and ancient folk customs of the Tujia ethnic minority, which let all visitors are full of praise and enjoy themselves so much as to forget to leave.

Due to it remote geographical location, village size, inconvenient transport and lack of promotion, Furong Ancient Town is less popular than Fenghuang Ancient Town. But this is also its advantage, as it is more peaceful compared with Fenghuang being stuffed with tourists. If you have enough time, you can stay in Tujia Diaojiaolou building with waterfall view in the town for one night, to experience the tranquil and easeful here. Furong Town is the only road to Mengdonghe River. You can go to enjoy Mengdonghe River rafting from the town.