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How to Visit Qikou Ancient Town (Tips, Photos & Map)

Sunday, December 26th, 2021

If you plan your Shanxi tour or Pingyao tour in particular, you should not miss a side trip to the ancient Qikou Town( 碛口镇, or Qikouzhen as recognized by Google Map). Qikou Town is a rarity of well-preserved ancient town in the style of Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368 – 1911). Unlike the noisy and a bit commercialized ancient Pingyao City, Qikou has kept much of its original outlook, mainly owing to its remoteness and inaccessibility.

Location of Qikou Ancient Town

Qikou Town is under the jurisdiction of Linxian County, Luliang, Shanxi Province, located at the western foot of Luliang Mountain, 58 kilometers south of (Lishi ) Luliang ; 243km west of Taiyuan and 177km northwest of Pingyao.

The location of Qikou and Lijiashan (Google Map)

The town is on the southeast of the Yellow River and on its south is Qiushui River, a tributary of the Yellow River.

Lijiashan Village, a long-forgotten ancient settlement of cave dwellings, is just 6 km southwest of Qikou Town. It is a must to include your side trip to the ancient village while planning your trip to the ancient town of Qikou.

ABC of Qikou Ancient Town

“Qi” in Chinese literally means “sand and rock in water”. “Qikou” is a place where the massive Yellow River suddenly narrows its riverbed to 80 meters wide with submerged sand and rocks from the upper 500 meters wide riverbed, a bottleneck which challenged the waterway transportation on the Yellow River.

The Yellow River used to be an efficient and important waterway transportation linking Northwest China (Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi…） and Northern and Southern China during the Ming and Qing dynasties ( 1368 – 1911 ) before the advent of highways, trains and flights.

Qikou Town flourished in Ming and Qing dynasties because the goods on the water transportation on the Yellow River had to be carried on to the land on Qikou. Qikou later became a busy port town with lots of wharves bringing numerous visitors and businessmen. It served as a trading port and a trading market as well.

Qikouzhen (Qikou Town) and Lijiashan Village

At its heyday, sometimes hundreds of boats berthed everyday. From the Northwest China, cereals, oils, salt, furs, medicines and many other products were carried to Qikou before they were transported overland by horse and camel to other parts of China.

Vice versa, from central China, silk, tea, cigarettes and liquor were transported to Qikou Town before they were carried on to the boats heading to the northwest China. Hundreds of dock hands worked at the port town and hundreds of camels horses carried goods on the route,which brought prosperity to the port town of Qikou. It remained a trading centre until the 1940s.

How to get to Qikou Old Town

You may take the morning long distance bus from Taiyuan West Coach Station （太原汽车客运西站）to Qikou Town, or via Lishi (离石). Taiyuan West Coach Station is located on Yingze Avenue 10km to the east of Taiyuan Railway Station. Take Bus No.01, 06 from Taiyuan Railway Station, you will get to Taiyuan West Coach Station. Add: Yingze W St, Wanbailin, Taiyuan Tel: 0351 6552571.

Basiacally you have the following choices to reach Qikou Ancient Town or Lijiashan Village as well.

1. Take the 10:00 am long-distance bus from Taiyuan West Bus Station directly to Qikou Town, about 5 hours.
2. Take buses from Taiyuan West Bus Station to Lishi （Lüliang 吕梁）, from Lishi connect the buses to Qikou
3. Take the buses from Pingyao Bus Station to Lishi (Lüliang 吕梁）, then from Lishi to Qikou.
Suggested accommodation: Qikou Guesthouse Tel: 0358 – 4466188

Virtual Tour of Qikou Ancient Town

Now please follow me to Qikou Town.

The terraced houses in the town dug into the hillside on the bank of the Yellow River. The ancient town is mainly composed of three old streets – the river front west street, the middle street and the east street, plus 13 narrow lanes on the slopes, connecting all the houses in the old town.

The west street faces the bank of the Yellow River was once teemed with piers, restaurants, inns and granaries. Today you could see the evocative stone houses and cobbled pathway, telling us the past glory.

The cobbled pathway brings you to the riverside west street in the town.

There used to be numerous piers below the high west streets rife with inns, restaurants and granaries.

The local residents still keep their old ways of doing things.

The middle street was once the most prosperous commercial street rife with restaurants, stores and money shops.

The Middle Street in Qikou

The middle street teems with shops and restaurants. But it is a tourist shoulder season, not much business on the street.

The narrow lanes connect all the houses on the hillside, linking the west street and the middle street.

Behind the three main streets in the town, higher on the platform is the Black Dragon Temple. From the Ming Taoist Temple, people can have a panoramic view of the Yellow River, Qiushui River, the town and Lijiashan. A few minutes hike brings you to the temple.

A Bird’s-eye view of the ancient town from the temple high on the hill

A panoramic view of Qikou Town by Yellow River

The sun is setting over the ancient town of Qikou.

Tip: Hassle-free Pingyao & Shanxi Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for organized tours to Pingyao and Shanxi Province:

Pingyao Tour
Pingyao Car Rental with Driver

Datong Tour
Datong Car Rental with Driver

Taiyuan Tour
Taiyuan Car Rental with Driver

Shanxi Tour

Basic Information on Qikouzhen (Qikou Town)

Over 500 years ago, Qikou Town started to flourish as a port town owing to the waterway transportation of the Yellow River. At its heyday, Qikou Town was a place for men or merchants in particular doing trading business.

Many wealthy merchants in the town, for various reasons, maybe, for safety or modesty, arranged their families secretly away in the mountains. Lijiashan was one of their choices. So husbands or men worked in Qikou Town and their wives and children lived in the hills away from the town such as Lijiashan Village.

Lijiashan is a village now. But in the ancient time, the villagers in Lijianshan were not farmers and they were rich merchants’ families living on the income from the port trading business in Qikou Town. If you understand this, you won’t be surprised if you see the faded, but still seemingly magnificent cave houses. These are not just earth caves dwellings, they are brick, stone and tile cave dwellings built deep into the hillsides at theirs backs, but have front courtyards of bricks and tiles, just like a Chinese traditional courtyard.

Basic Information on Lijiashan Village

The layout of the cave houses in Lijashan Village is like a phoenix with the cave dwellings perched on the both sides of wings. Between the two wings is the body or the valley of Lijiashan Mountain. The cave houses on the both sides of the valley hug the hillsides and scale nine storeys. All the cave dwellings ( including the dwellings on both sides of the valley are linked by the stone paths and stairways that wind up or down the hills. Some of the stone paths and stairs date back to the Ming times.

Lijiashan was once home to over 600 families, most surnamed as Li, but today’s population is about 40, and most of them are elderly. So where are the other villagers in Lijiashan Village? They have moved down to a new Lijiashan village with better living conditions and facilities at the foot of the Lijiashan Mountain.

Some inhabitants on the old Lijiashan Village are engaged in tourism, offering cave dwellings accommodation and food services to visitors and arts students who come and even stay here for drawing and painting.

Beside tourists, you will see many arts students use the caves for their classrooms and drawing the picturesque cave houses and the mountain.

At the time of my writing, Lijiashan Village is very peaceful, and free of charge. You can enter most of the cave houses. Some cave dwellings are just empty with nobody living there. Some are still inhabited by local villagers who are very friendly to visitors.

The local people and the government as well are aware of the cultural value behind the hundreds of cave dwellings and going to do something to promote the local tourism, an effective way to improve the local economy. Sincerely hope for a long-term serenity and peace for Lijiashan Village.

How to Get to Lijiashan Village

Lijiashan Village Address: 5 km south of Qikou Town, Linxian County, Shanxi 山西省临县碛口镇南5公里.
Lijiashan Village – Pingyao: 177km
Lijiashan Village – Lishi (Lüliang): 58km
Lijiashan – Taiyuan: 243km

The buses from Taiyuan West Coach Station will go to Lishi and Qikou
Qikou: 4 hours, one daily 10:30am
Lishi (Lüliang): 2 hours, hourly from 7:00am to 7:30pm
Lishi (Lüliang) – Qikou: one hour, frequent 7:00am to 7:30pm
Take the buses from Pingyao Bus Station to Lishi, then from Lishi to Qikou.

Alternatively, if you are in Pingyao Ancient City, most of the hotels and inns in the old town arrange a day trip to Qikou and Lijiashan Village on a shared van or bus tour.

How to Get around in Qikou and Lijiashan

You may hire a local mini-van at a cost of RMB 60 to bring you to the top of Lijiashan Village from Qikou Town if you don’t want to take a 6 km walk up to Lijiashan.

If you prefer to walk to Lijiashan Village, you just cross the bridge over Qiushui River by the side of Qikou Bus Station. Then follow the river for about half hour. Then you will see a rock carved with the Chinese name of Lijiashan (李家山).

Walk from Qikou to Lijiashan Village (Google Map)

This is the new Lijiashan Village where you turn up on to the mountain road and you will reach the old village for about 30-40 minutes. You may first visit the west side of the cave houses, then move on to the east. Standing on the top of the one hillside will allow you to have a fantastic view of the other side.

If you are mesmerized by the natural beauty and the ancient Chinese venacular buildings in Lijiashan Village, you may stay overnight here in a cave house for RMB 50 per bed. Here you will realize your dream of experiencing Shanxi’s cave houses, but you cannot expect the comforts – no TV, no shower, no heating, no air-conditioning and just basic.

Virtual Tour of Lijiashan Village

Well, follow me to have a glimpse of Lijiashan Village

When you come across the big rock carved with the Chinese name of Lijiashan Villlage (李家山), you should stop and turn left and go up on to the mountain for the ancient Lijiashan Village.

The Rock carved with the Chinese name of Lijiashan

The narrow zigzag mountain leading up to Lijiashan

A paved and narrow zigzag mountain road leading up to Lijiashan Village

Approaching Lijiashan Village, look up and you will see the cave dwellings built on the both sides of the valley at Lijiashan Mountain：West Wing and East Wing, like a huge flying eagle.

The cave dwellings are built on the both sides of the valley at Lijiashan Mountain

The east side cave houses viewed from the west side

Now we are on the top of the west wing. Standing on the west side, we clearly view the whole picture of the cave houses hugging the hillsides on the east side.

The cave houses hugging the hillsides on the east side.

Have a close look at a wealthy two-storey cave dwelling on the east side of the valley at Lijiashan.

Multi-level layers of cave houses with courtyards.

Visiting the cave houses on the west

This host’s courtyard is named Yellow River Family, a two-storey courtyard.

Peep into the stone kang beds in one cave room in Yellow River Family

We enter the courtyard of the cave house.

We are now in the courtyard of the cave house.

The cave houses are made of wood, stone and brick. Old wooden frame door and rings.

The entrance to Li Yinlan’s cave dwelling

The old wooden door is open for you to visit.

Li Yinlan’s courtyard is ornate and exquisite. The exquisite brackets, beautiful wood carvings and decorated tiles

Li Yinlan’s courtyard is ornate and delicate

Walking from the west side to the east side

We walk down the valley and walk up to the east side. In the valley, we look back at the cave houses scaling the hillsides on the west side of the valley.

Clamber up the old stone stairs up to the east side of the valley.

View the cave houses on the west side from the east side

View the cave houses perched on the west side from the east side

The cave dwellings on the west side of the valley

The cave houses on the east side of the valley

Ornate entrance to the most wealthy family on the east， but the door is closed.

A local senior’s cave house

A local elderly's cave house — A local elderly’s cave house

The first local villager we have seen

A group of arts students stay here for drawing classes

A perfect place for drawing

Checking her painting

On the top, you clearly see the cave houses on the both side of the valley

Before leaving Lijiashan Village, don’t forget to have a bite of the yummy noodles made by the host at Yellow River Family.

Tip: Hassle-free Pingyao & Shanxi Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for organized tours to Pingyao and Shanxi Province:

Pingyao Tour
Pingyao Car Rental with Driver

Datong Tour
Datong Car Rental with Driver

Taiyuan Tour
Taiyuan Car Rental with Driver

Shanxi Tour