The ancient town's architecture gives it a unique charm, and goods can only be bought and sold on an old street that is 1,500 meters long and 3 meters wide, keeping it busy at all times.

There are also ancestral halls, towers, bridges, memorial archways, and temples scattered everywhere.

A man walks down an alley in Longmen. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The village's layout is also very complex, almost like a maze. "Come here and you can understand China," said one native scholar.

Longmen cuisine and legends

Gluten is a must-eat when visiting Longmen. You can eat it in a variety of different forms throughout the village. It is said that Sun Quan's mother made gluten for him before he rallied an army.

Villagers fry gluten and sell it. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Another popular dish is eight bowls of Longmen cattle. It consists of eight dishes with eight different parts of the cow cooked in different ways. Legend has it that wives prepared this dish for their husbands who were about to go to war. Today people make it on special occasions or on important days.

Getting there

You can take the high-speed rail to Fuyang Station, then transfer to the Longmen Ancient Town bus digital tourism Line 9 and arrive in Longmen Ancient Town after one stop.

You can also drive your own vehicle, as the Hangzhou-Xin'anjiang-Jingde Town Expressway has added an exit at Longmen Ancient Town. Tourists can exit the expressway and turn onto the 307 provincial highway. The town is then just a six-minute drive away.