Tengchong enjoys a special status on the South Silk Road, and Heshun sits just nearby Guanma (Government Horse Caravan) Passage; therefore, people from Heshun could take this golden opportunities to frequently go abroad, and could make their hometown well-known.
Heshun residents living overseas is nearly twice that of living in Heshun; Heshun fellows could be found in more than ten countries including Myanmar, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Canada, U.S.A, etc. Over the years, this legacy of international trade has put its stamp on the town.
Located 4 km west to Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, Heshun is a traditional village surrounded by a river and built along the slope of a hill. Though not as famous as Dali Old Town or Lijiang Old Town, Heshun still has its own beauty with cobbled streets and old buildings.
‘Heshun’ means peace and harmony in Chinese, and the town is indeed a quiet place with many traditional courtyards, pavilions, memorial halls, archways and ponds. In the town, you could visit Heshun Library, Museum of Yunnan-Burmese Anti-Japanese War, Heshun Lane, Wanlouzi Museum and some ancestral halls.
Along the river there are dozens of pavilions which could tell you many romantic stories. These pavilions are shelters built by husbands who want to protect their wives from bad weather while washing clothes. As a tradition, most adult men in Heshun went abroad for business just after they got married. So they built the washing pavilions for their families.
If you are planning to relax yourself in Heshun, an overnight stay in a local guesthouse is a good choice. Most of guesthouses are traditional Chinese houses and courtyards. Some of them are hundreds years old but still well preserved, remaining the ancient style of Ming and Qing Dynasties.