This small ancient town is still relatively undiscovered, as nearby Jianshui continues to get bigger and more bustling. Tuan Shan Village is the place to go for a less crowded 古城 (Ancient Town) experience. It is located about 16 miles back in the hills west of Jianshui.
Not much about it on the English internet, so I'll include some nuts and bolts about getting there. Take a yellow van 面包车 from the lot catty-corner across from the Bank of China 中国银行 around the corner from the Lin An Hotel 临安酒店。
The car you want has a sign in the front window marking its destination as 黄龙寺 Yellow Dragon Temple. The fare is 5 Yuan and the trip takes about 30 minutes. You will pass by the entrance to Yellow Dragon Temple; do not get off there.
It leaves once an hour, approximately on the hour or earlier if it gets full. If you are in a hurry and want to hire the entire car, that will cost 30 to 40 Yuan, depending on the driver. An alternative is to hire a taxi to take you, wait, and deliver you back once you are done. I don't know the cost of that.
When you get out of the van at the Tuan Shan parking lot, walk uphill to the ticket office. (The route is well marked.) Ticket costs 50 Yuan. Suggest hiring a guide for an additional 40 Yuan, because otherwise it will be very hard to find your way around the winding streets.
Most of the village is 600 years old, built during the Qing. Original settlers moved here from JIangxi and many prosperous residents made fortunes in tin mining in nearby Gejiu returning here to enjoy their later years.
Many of the dwellings are still occupied today. Most of the area is well kept up and there are a few restaurants and places to enjoy a cup of tea. Took me about two hours to walk around and see all the main features.
My guide was a lady who was born and raised here, and she was very informative. I took the same yellow van back to Jianshui. It made a pleasant half-day outing.
So many people say they want to "get off the beaten path" but don't know how to do it. Visiting Tuanshan is one way. Unfortunately, little or no English is spoken so far as I could tell.
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