Shawan Ancient Town is located in the central and western part of Panyu District of Guangzhou. It was originally built in the Southern Song Dynasty. Over 800 years’ development, it has formed the town and retained unique Lingnan culture. It is an outstanding representative of southeast China culture in the Pearl River Delta. Shawan Ancient Town is a typical southern town surrounded by water with an area of 153 hectares (0.6 square miles).
Culture of Shawan Ancient Town
Shawan culture is a traditional water town culture. Shawan Ancient Town obtains rich material and intangible cultural heritage resources, including a large number of ancient buildings such as ancestral halls and temples. There are many well-preserved commercial and residential sites like over 100 ancient ancestral halls. The represent one- Liugeng Hall has preserved a large number of fine arts. The artistic style of the artworks has strong Lingnan characteristics. Tourists could also find the folks in Shawan Ancient Town such as lion dance, Cantonese folk music, Piaose (a kind of folk art integrating play, magic, acrobatics, music and dance) and brick carving.
Natural environment of Shawan Ancient Town
Shawan Ancient Town has a natural ecological environment, with Shawan Waterway and Shiqiao River in the south and north respectively. The central part of Shawan Town is Dishuiyan Forest Park and Bird Nature Reserve. The inland water system of the town is criss-crossing. 52 small parks and green squares occupy a total area of more than 600,000 square meters, forming a beautiful picture of a water town.
Main attractions
Liugeng Hall
Sanren Hall
Wenfeng Tower
Study Room
Qingshui Well
Zhennan Ancestral Hall
Chichang Hall