Ancienne bourgade de Tai'an

Taian Ancient Town is a small mountain settlement at the foot of the Back Mountain of Qingcheng, the wilder and quieter half of the Mount Qingcheng UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the first stop for most visitors arriving at the Back Mountain trailhead, and for many hikers it is also the place where they sleep, eat, and rest before or after a day on the trails. For travelers who want to experience the slower, quieter side of the Dujiangyan region, away from the busy Front Mountain and the Irrigation System, Taian is one of the most rewarding stops in the area.

The town has the feel of a traditional western Sichuan mountain village, with narrow stone lanes, wooden shop-houses with tiled roofs, small guesthouses, and family-run restaurants serving simple local food. Unlike the larger and more commercialized ancient towns of the Chengdu plain, Taian has kept much of its mountain character, partly because it sits at the end of the road leading into the Back Mountain and is shaped by the rhythms of hikers and temple visitors rather than mass tour groups. The air is cool and clean, and a clear stream runs along the edge of town, crossed by small stone bridges.

At the center of the town sits Taian Temple, an old Buddhist temple that gives the settlement its name and remains an active place of worship. The temple is modest in scale compared with the great religious complexes of the Front Mountain, but it carries its own quiet weight, and the combination of incense, mountain air, and old wooden halls gives the town much of its character. Many hikers pause at the temple before beginning the climb up the Back Mountain.

Most visitors reach Taian as part of a Back Mountain day trip, arriving in the morning, walking some portion of the trails, and returning in the late afternoon. A growing number of travelers stay overnight in one of the small guesthouses, which is the most rewarding way to experience the town: the day-trip crowds thin out in the late afternoon, the lanes become quiet, and the mountain setting is at its best in the cool evening air. The town also makes a useful base for a slower two-day exploration of the Back Mountain, with its waterfalls, cliff walks, and forest trails.