Langzhong Ancient City is situated on the bank of the Jialin River. to the east of the city lies Mt.Bashan and to the west is the ancient Jianmenguan Pass. Langzhong covers an area of nearly 2,000 quare kilometers, and has a population of about 900 thousand. 

Most of the buildings in Langzhong Ancient City are contrusted in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. some of them retain the style of the construction in the last years of the Tang Dynasty. The city, with the grand Huaguang Tower as its center, stretches out like a fan. streets are no wider than 8 meters while alleys are only 2 or 3 meters wide. All the folk houses, simple and elegant, are bungalows with green tiles. The fame of ancient city is compatible to that of the Lijiang Ancient City in Yunnan Province. 

Langzhong is" the ancient city of geomantic omen "

constructed in strict accordance with the astronomical theory and geomantic omens of the Tang Dynasty. Langzhong Ancient City is proclaimed as one of the four well-known ancient cities in China. The other three are Lijiang Ancient City in Yunnan Province, Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province and Shexian County in Anhui Province.

the Architectural Features of Langzhong Ancient City 

the preserved area of the ancient city is 1.7 square kilometers where lie 91 crisscrossing ancient streets.The city site of the Han Dynasty and the ancient city wall of the Song Dynasty are still visible. You can find the bricks of the Qin Dynasty and tiles of the Han Dynasty, steles of past dynasties and paper-cuts and carving decorations of  windows everywhere. The folk houses and courtyards are scattered along the ancient alleys and streets.

the Legend of Langzhong City

in 221 A.D. Zhangfei was in a hurry to take revenge for his brother GuanYu who was killed by the army of Wu Kingdom. He forced his soldiers to make weapons and and night and infuriated his two officers, Fanqiang and Zhangda. The two cut off Zhangfei's head and took it to offer it to Sun Quan( the king of Wu Kingdom) for an exchange of their promotion. they went eastward along the Yangtze River in a boat. on their way, they heard that the king of Wu kingdom, had made a ceasefire agreement with the king Liu Bei of Shu Kingdom. The two were very horrified and threw Zhang's head into the Yangtze River. The head floated to Yunyang and was picked up by a fisherman, who burried it at the foot of Mt.Fenghuang( Phoenix Mountain) in Yunyang. But his body was burried in Langzhong. That is the tragic story about " the head buried in Yunyang while the body buried in Langzhong" 

snacks in Langzhong 

Langzhong is polular for its long-standing food culture which consists of that of Hui,Han and Man peoples. There are many types of snacks cooked by the super cooking techniques . In the early Qing Dynasty, Islam was introduced in Langzhong and thus brought about the Hui food culture. The different food cultures creat numerous types of snacks with various flavors . famous ones like Cold Beef Noodles, Spindle Pancake, Hot-pot Beef Braised in Soy Sauce. Pot-stewed Smoked Pork, Northern Sichuan Bean Jelly and Warm Bean Jelly, etc. 

Folk Arts

Langzhong was the capital city of Bazi Country. The Ba People lived with the Han People for centuries .Bayu Dance is a group dance of martial art created by the ancient Ba People while they fought with beasts and other tribes. The time-honoured Northern Sichuan Lamp Drama, also called " Gu Yue Sheng" is very popular among the common people in north Sichuan. Its contents are mostly taken from the legends and the life of the working people.