芙蓉古镇 — Attraction in Hunan

Furong Ancient Town is the kind of place where history didn’t just leave footprints, it built an entire cliffside amphitheater and invited a waterfall to be the main act. Originally called Wangcun, this town was a sleepy riverside village for over 2000 years, home to the Tujia people and their stilted wooden houses clinging to rocks like barnacles with better architecture. Then in 1986, a film called Hibiscus Town (Furong Zhen) came along, painted the place in cinematic glory, and the town said, “Fine, I’ll rename myself after the movie,” because why not let art rewrite your birth certificate.

So now Wangcun is Furong, which means “Hibiscus,” and suddenly everyone thinks this is a floral paradise when in fact it’s a cliff-dangling marketplace where waterfalls and wooden beams coexist like grumpy old neighbors. The name stuck, the fame stuck, and the tourists stuck their phones in every possible angle.

By day, the alleys resound with sizzling woks, hawkers yelling, and the never-ending thunder of that 60 meter wide waterfall crashing through the town like an unpaid landlord. By night, the waterfall glows under neon spotlights, houses sparkle with lanterns, and the whole town feels like it’s auditioning to be China’s next music video backdrop.

They do charge an entrance fee, which is almost comical, considering you’re basically paying to watch humans live side by side with a hydropower-sized natural phenomenon. But then again, Furong is no ordinary village, it’s a history book with water damage, a film set that never wrapped, and the only place where you can buy ginger candy while walking behind...

From our Bus that was parked at the entrance, we went onboard the electric car riding to the Ancient Town of Furong.

Once inside, we walked through ancient bluestone roads paved with century old houses and shops on both sides where local products and souvenirs were sold . This town is super commercialised , its street is full of vendors, there is local tea hand processing demonstration, Restaurants & Hotels for visitors too.

It is indeed an interesting walk around this town to see ancient residential buildings on stilts, as well as understanding its history of 2000years which is also home to the Tujia, Miao Tribes and Han Chinese until now.

Furong Ancient village is like they say, a beautiful thousand-year-old ancient town hanging on a waterfall!", it highlights a two-tiered waterfall, approximately 60 meters high and 40 meters wide. Walking down , we pass through a small cave beneath the waterfall, some creative statues are placed inside the cave. On the mountain wall next to the waterfall, there were three characters "Furong Town".

Moving down a flight of steep steps to the wharf for the weak knees plus waiting under the hot sun for a boat to arrive was very challenging.

Nevertheless on the boat ride, a final view of ancient town buildings from all angles, Furong Town is a beautiful town with cultural heritage and is...

Furong Ancient village highlights a two-tiered waterfall, approximately 60 meters high and 40 meters wide. On the cliffs above the waterfall, presents its traditional stilted wooden houses, known as Diaojiaolou. Above the waterfall is Wuli Slate Street - an ancient 2.5km street, paved with century-old houses and shops, providing a window into Furong’s rich history. An interesting walk around the town with beautiful architecture of the...