Huili Ancient Town: Key to Sichuan and Yunnan

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Huili Ancient Town: Key to Sichuan and Yunnan

Huili Ancient Town, at the southern tip of Sichuan Province, was established in the Western Han Dynasty (111 BCE). It was a key stop on the Southern Silk Road, an ancient trade route to Southeast Asia. Huili is the only well-preserved Ming Dynasty military guard town. The town is laid out around a Bell and Drum Tower (built 1723–1735), with streets leading to four gates. The northern gate tower, Gongji Tower (first built in 1398), has a rare structure: Yuan Dynasty foundations and Ming upper parts—known as "Yuan foundation with Ming superstructure."

Inside the town, Kejia Lane ("Imperial Examination Lane") is only 100 meters long, yet during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1912) it produced over 390 high-level scholars. The town also preserves many Ming and Qing residences and ancestral halls, with grey-tile roofs, timber walls, and stone streets, still giving it the charm of a historic border town.

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