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If you ever make the trip to Guiyang, a small place called Qingyan is worth visiting. Qingyan is a famous ancient town in the middle of Guizhou Province. It is said that many films about ancient life have been shot here. Qingyan is not difficult to reach. From the capital Guiyang, the distance is 29 kilometres?less than an hour's drive. After getting off the bus and walking across the untidy and ordinary new town area, we stood on a big field with high walls and a large stone gate at the far end. A stone-paved passage stretched out from the gate. Farmers pulled ox and walked through the gate. I felt like we had travelled back in time by hundreds of years. Walking along the passage to the town, a memorial archway blocked our way. But I have never been interested in these lifeless archways, no matter if they were built for a chaste woman or a highly reputed scholar. Across the archway is a narrow street with old houses in the Qing style standing at the two sides. The town has a history of over 620 years. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Qingyan was a relatively important military place, as it was located at the crossing of passages to Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan and Guizhou provinces. Now Qingyan is as calm as other small towns in China. Elders sit at stalls and sell small articles, men and women pile rice straw in the garden and dogs sleep under the trees. Almost every family plants flowers in the back yard ?this is really admired by those of us living in a crowded city. Apart from many interesting places too numerous to mention, Ciyun and Shoufo temples can be said to be the two most famous scenic spots. The exquisite stone and wood sculptures in the temples are really attractive. In the evening, we left the town to the wall at the gate. There were interesting small tea stalls, a restaurant and residential houses on the old wall. We dined on the high wall, which reminded us of Chairman Mao's banquet at the Gate of Heavenly Peace. In the gentle breeze, we enjoyed dishes and wines made by local people. In my opinion, the food was much better than what you get in five-star hotels in any country. Travel tips Pudong International Airport has a flight to Guiyang at 18:10 on Thursdays and Saturdays. It arrives at Guiyang at 20:50. The price is 1,380 yuan ($167). If you take train K111, you can leave Shanghai at 9:10 in the morning and arrive at the destination at 17:17. The price is 351 yuan ($42). Then you take a bus to Qingyan. Accommodation in Qingyan is not easy to find, and it is not comfortable. It is better to accommodate yourself in Guiyang. The price of a three-star hotel is about 300 yuan ($36).