Fenghuang Ancient City - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Fenghuang City is located in the southwest of Hunan Province. It borders Luxi County in the east, Mayang County in the South, Songtao County of Tongren city in Guizhou province in the west and Jishou City and Huayuan County in the north, serving as the strategic gateway connecting Hunan and Guizhou provinces. In the 5th year of Xianqing under the reign of Emperor Gaozong in the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 660), Tian Zongxian the prefecture governor of Qianzhou sent his grandson Tian Yangming on a punitive expedition eastward to suppress the local ethnic groups. Tian Yangming initiated the Xidong (Xi Cave) Five Stockade Villages System ("Wuzhai") here and Tian Kechang, Tian Yangming's son was appointed by the imperial government as "Five-Cave Prefect" (called Wuzhai Prefect later) in Tuojiang Town where the ancient town now lies.

In the 2nd year of Chuigong period under the reign of Empress Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 686), Weiyang County was established with Fenghuangshan (today's Huangsiqiao Ancient Town) as the county site. After the chaotic Five Dynasties period, Weiyang County was abandoned and in the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Jiatai in the Song Dynasty (A.D.1203) the Wuzhai Office was changed into Wuzhai Legionary and Civil Prefect Office. In the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Jiajin in the Ming Dynasty (A.D.1554), Mayang Deputy Officer was shifted to command Wuzhai Prefect Office. Since Xisuo (today's Jishou County) and Ganziping Prefect Office was directly under its jurisdiction, it was named Zhengan Town. 

In the 39th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (A.D.1700) the garrison commander of Yuanzhou was shifted to Zhengan, which was then one of the four towns of the Hu-Guang Prefecture. Then in the 42nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (A.D.1703), the replacement of native official by government-appointed ones was enforced and Fenghuang Office was established with its seat at the former site of Weiyang County. In the 46th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (A.D.1707), the military and political dignitaries of Hu-guang prefecture concluded after an investigation that the Zhengan Town "neighbour Yunnan and Guizhou Province in the west, protrude into the reaches of Chengjiang River and Yuanshui River, connect Sichuan and Hubei Province in the north, and guard Guangxi Province in the south." "With its majestic landscape, it rules numerous towns and villages". Since it was a strategic gateway for Southwest China, the West Hunan Governor of the Chengyuan Jingdao was shifted from Yuanzhou to Zhengan and made it one of the four prefectures of Hunan province. Ever since then the high ranking officials of this prefecture had all stationed in this town. In the 48th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (A.D.1709), Fenghuang office was also been moved to Zhengan. In the 54th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the town was expanded and stone wall city sprang up. A large scale of construction was mounted inside. As a result, as a series of government offices such as of Circuit Intendant's office, Town office, Middle Battalion office, Concurrent Administrator office, etc. The Temple of Literature was built and expended along with the school buildings, academy yards and assembly halls successively, which was to be followed by the shops, stores, and stalls as well as the ancestral temples and other religious buildings.   The ancient town covers an area of 1.8 km.

There remain 20 ancient streets, dozens of ancient lanes and passages and over 200 ancient civil residences.