Qikou Ancient Town is located in the southwest of Linxian County, Shanxi Province, with Wohu Mountain in the background. It is a large town on the edge of the Yellow River.
The ancient town has the reputation of "a small dock city for floods and droughts, and the first town on the Jiuqu Yellow River"!
There are five miles long streets in the ancient town, which are less than 5 meters wide and row upon row. It once accommodated 600 shops at its peak.
The entire ancient town is divided into three parts:
One, West Market Street, with many grain and oil warehouses
Second, Zhongshi Street, a high-end business district
Third, Dongshi Street, many mule, horse and camel transport shops
Historical records record that the water of the Yellow River fell from the sky in an endless stream. Although it was turbulent, the river channel upstream of Qikou was wide and the water flow was relatively calm. Unexpectedly, a Qiushui River to the east of Qikou came diagonally, carrying a large number of silt and boulders, which accumulated and jammed in the Yellow River channel, forming a rapid rapids called "Qi" by the locals.
The prosperity of Qikou stems from the danger of Datong Qikou. Datong Qikou is known as the "Second Moraine of the Yellow River". It is a nearly 500-meter-long reef with a drop of 10 meters. The water is strong and the waves are high, making it difficult for boats and rafts to pass. Qikou becomes the northern part of the Yellow River. It is a transfer station for the upper waterway on the main stream, hence its name!
Opposite Qikou is Wubao in Shaanxi
Looking back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qikou Ancient Town was once the most important transportation port in the middle section of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Gorge of the Yellow River. Various products going east from northwest Ningxia, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia had to be transported from here to the inland, and then the inland grain, cotton, salt and other materials From here, going westward, the ancient town is lined with shops and merchants, making it extremely prosperous.
However, the prosperity has faded, the merchants have dispersed, and the bustle of "the first town on the Jiuqu Yellow River" has returned to tranquility, looking a little bleak and decadent~
Looking at this period of history, the glory or decline of the past has long gone~
Although Qikou Ancient Town is not famous, its long history is unchangeable. Friends who like ancient towns may wish to stop and visit when passing by to see the folk customs of the first town on the Yellow River!