Lixian: A 6,000-Year-Old County with Lasting Vitality

Lixian, located in Changde, Hunan Province, is a city renowned for its profound historical heritage. It is home to the Chengtoushan Ancient City Ruins, its oldest historical site.

Along the central axis of the Chengtoushan National Archaeological Park, visitors can find the Agricultural Culture Experience Park, Inscription Stele Square, Ancient City Ruins Museum, and South Gate Square Ancient City Ruins, which together offer a glimpse into the historical context of China's earliest city.

Chengtoushan Ancient City Ruins

Photo by the Cyberspace Administration of Hunan Provincial Party Committee

The Chengtoushan Ancient City Ruins, a prehistoric cultural site dating back over 6,000 years, belongs to the Daxi and Shijiahe cultures in southern China. It is currently the earliest-dated, best-preserved, and most culturally rich ancient city ruins discovered in China, and is thus famed as "the ancestor of Chinese cities and the origin of rice cultivation in the world."

Today, Chengtoushan’s "agricultural culture" brand has been included in the five signature brands of Hunan's all-region tourism and promoted on a larger cultural and tourism stage, attracting numerous tourists seeking to discover China’s earliest city and explore the origins of rice cultivation.

At present, the scenic site is focused on building the Chengtoushan agricultural culture and tourism experience base, the base for the concentrated display of nationally protected cultural relics on the Liyang Plain, and a distinctive study tour and education practice base. Efforts are being prioritized for the development of a Chengtoushan study tour and education base, the relocation of a comprehensive museum, and the construction of an agricultural culture theme park. These projects will enrich tourism offerings and meet market demand. To date, the scenic site has attracted nearly five million visitors.

Chengtoushan National Archaeological Park

Photo by the Cyberspace Administration of Hunan Provincial Party Committee

Growing along the legacy of its ancient city, Lixian has in recent years relied on its rich archaeological remains and agricultural civilization resources, and leveraged its abundant natural resources to develop innovative "1+N" models of cultural and tourism integration such as "tourism + intangible cultural heritage, study tour, cultural relics, and homestay." It has also developed a number of high-quality tourism routes such as "Three Mountains, Two Waters and One Trail · Ten Picturesque Spots" and "Ancient City · Ancient State: Cultural Relics Thematic Trail on the Liyang Plain," thereby accelerating the vitality of its cultural and tourism market.