Private visit to Qikou Ancient Town and Yellow River from Taiyuan

Qikou Ancient Town is a well-known historical and cultural town on the south side of Linxian City in Shanxi Province. The well-preserved buildings in the town date from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are various commercial buildings, temples, houses, docks and more. The town has maintained its original size and simple layout, so it is also known as the living ancient town. On the Yellow River lies the Datong Temple in the ancient town of Qikou. It has a long reef with a large gap. The rapid currents make it very difficult for boats to pass. The ancient town of Qikou was a transit station on the main part of the Yellow River during the Ming and Qing Dynasties all through to the Warlord Era period. With the Yellow River transport links, it has become an important business location in the north.

Bounded on three sides by mountains, Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi Province and one of the most important energy and industrial bases in China. Comparing Taiyuan with any ancient capital in China, it is not inferior. With a history of more than 2,500 years, Taiyuan once was an important political, military, economic, and cultural center in ancient North China. It boasts abundant tourism resources varying from famous mountains to grottoes, temples, lakes, caves, ancient buildings and relics. Among them, the statues of the maid of the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) in the Jinci Temple show different postures vividly; the grottoes and statues of the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581 - 907) in the Tianlong Mountain and the two pagodas standing at Yongyou Temple have always attracted visitors' attention. In the evening, you can go to Liu Alley which has the largest night market in northern China, to taste local delicacies and buy special products. It is also very convenient to transfer to other hot Shanxi tourism spots from Taiyuan such as Mount Wutai, Yungang Grottoes, Mt. Taihang, Ancient City of Pingyao and Hukou Waterfalls.

The Yellow River or Huang He is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of 5,464 km.