“Night economy” lights up Tianshui Ancient Town

Photo taken on the night of August 12, 2023 shows the night market at Tianshui Ancient Town is full of people, attracting countless citizens and tourists to come to check it out, taste all kinds of food, and enjoy the coziness brought by the “night economy”. Lighting up the night economy becomes a way to upgrade consumption in many cities. Tianshui Ancient Town at night is colorful, fragrant with the smell of food, crowded, and bustling with activities. On the food street, a number of snack bars and barbecue stalls attract many food lovers. Fresh juice, hot squid, and other food make many diners come to “feast”, to experience the taste buds explode of pleasure.

Tianshui Ancient Town of Xiguan area, located in Qinzhou District of Tianshui City, is one of the best preserved and larger existing scale Ming and Qing Dynasties residential compound groups. Many architectural remains from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the period of the Republic of China are preserved in the area. In March 2018, conservation and restoration work began in the area. In June 2021, it was officially opened to the public. In recent years, Tianshui City is dedicated to creating the Fuxi ancestral cultural heritage and innovation center and the integrated development of culture, tourism, agriculture, and recreation, where Tianshui Ancient Town of Xiguan area plays an important role. The ancient town, with its distinctive form, unique architecture, old alleys, scattered Ming and Qing residential courtyards, refreshing millennium crafts masterpieces, and modern fashion trends under the seven or eight hundred years old scholar trees with nearly a thousand years of history, awakening the cultural memory of the ancient city. The former residence of Li Guang, Ha Rui, Ge Jiyun, and Zhang Qinglin, the Zhao Ancestral Hall, Zhangjun courtyard are scattered throughout, showcasing the deep cultural heritage of the ancient city. City wall ruins, pavilions, and memorial gates are well arranged, highlighting the vicissitudes of history. “Let the city keep the memory, let people remember the nostalgia.”

At Tianshui Ancient Town, traditional culture and retro fashion intertwine, commercial neighborhoods, local snacks, teahouses, dining bars, bookstores, and music bars streets are all over the place. Antique coins and curiosities exchange, calligraphy and paintings everywhere, opened up a leisure and entertainment spot for fashionistas and created an important carrier for Fuxi culture in Tianshui. Come to Tianshui, and you will fall in love with the culture here.

(Article by Li Wangwang, Photography by Gao Qiang, Zhao Jianwei)