[2025 Baoji Attraction] Travel Guide for Chencanglao Street (Updated Jan)

| Chencang Old Street. ◾️Chencang Old Street is the new name card of ancient Chencang and the reception hall of new Baoji. Baoji was known as Chencang in ancient times and is famous for the idiom "openly repair the plank road, secretly march to Chencang." The history of Baoji can be traced back to 762 BC. Due to the auspicious event of "stone chicken crowing," Chencang was renamed Baoji. The old street is located on the southeast side of Baoji City and was first built in the Tang Dynasty. It originated from Chencang County and was an important transportation route connecting the hinterland of Qin and the Weihe River Basin. ◾️Chencang Old Street is next to the Bronze Museum. You can see Chencang Old Street in front of the museum, and you can reach it by going down the stairs. After years of baptism, this street has preserved many historical buildings and cultural relics, making it a tourist street with the theme of old street culture. The architecture of the old street is mainly in the style of the Republic of China, and it also integrates traditional architectural elements, with unique regional characteristics. There are small buildings with blue bricks and red bricks, red wooden doors and windows, and carved walls, as well as imitations of Baoji Old Railway Station, Chencang Apartment, Shanxi Guild Hall, and other buildings. Every brick and tile reveals a sense of history. ◾️Chencang Old Street covers characteristic blocks such as Baoji 1941 Republic of China Style Street, Jiuxian Jiuyuan Western Mansion Folk Custom Area, Silk Road Pearl Grand Theater, and Shigu Cultural Entertainment Square. There is also the "Shi You Ba Jiu" Food Street, which gathers famous snacks from Guanzhong and all over the country. Strolling around the old street, you can see delicious food everywhere, and you can find almost everything you can think of. There is also a teahouse at the end of the snack street where you can rest and drink tea. ◾️There are many cultural and creative shops and animation cities on the old street, and you can also see intangible cultural heritage projects such as shadow puppets and Fengxiang clay sculptures, as well as Qin opera performances... The old street pays attention to cultural inheritance and display, and presents Baoji's history and culture and folk customs to tourists in various ways. There are various specialty shops on the old street, selling local handicrafts, souvenirs, etc. You can stroll around and buy a souvenir to take home.

Baoji has many ancient names, one of which is Chencang. As a key location in Guanzhong, its geographical location is of great military significance to all dynasties. 1. Liu Bang's "repairing the plank road by day and crossing Chencang by night" in the early Han Dynasty happened here. Before Liu Bang attacked Xiang Yu from Hanzhong, he deliberately publicly repaired the plank road to confuse the other party, secretly detoured to Chencang, and won. 2. During the Three Kingdoms period, Chencang was a strategic location. Zhuge Liang of Shu Han planned the second Northern Expedition, which was called the "Battle of Chencang". Wei general Hao Zhao used more than a thousand soldiers to resist the tens of thousands of Shu Han troops. The two sides held each other for more than 20 days. Zhuge Liang had no plan to break through and had to retreat due to lack of food. 3. During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Suzong of Tang took refuge here during the Anshi Rebellion. He was surrounded by the rebel army at the foot of Jifeng Mountain. Just when he was about to be captured alive by the rebel army, two pheasants suddenly flew down from the mountain to lead the way for him to escape into a broken temple. Emperor Suzong regarded the pheasants as national treasures, so he changed Chencang to Baoji.

The sudden rain has just stopped. The old street of Chencang is as clean as washed. The old street of Chencang is named after the ancient name of Baoji, Chencang. "Chencang Old Street" is located at the southern end of the Shigu Cultural Corridor, serving as a link between Baoji's high-tech zone and the old city area. The old street preserves cherished old buildings such as Chencang Apartments, People's Cinema, and Baoji County Office, and replicates the restoration of Baoji's old train station from 1941, including the waiting hall, platform, and old locomotive... Historical buildings and cultural relics together present the Republic of China style of Chencang Old Street. The sunken two-story pedestrian street of Chencang Old Street combines sightseeing, dining, entertainment, and children's play areas. The old street displays what is said to be the world's largest luminous pearl. The night view of the old street is quite attractive, and if your schedule is too tight to take it all in, make sure to visit next time. The cuisine of Chencang Old Street is diverse, with a variety of foods such as big meals, hot pots, roujiamo, lamb paomo, saozi tofu, biangbiang noodles, pulled noodles, noodle skins, guagua, fried cakes, etc. Travelers who love Western Mansion cuisine can fully enjoy a meal here! After eating, you can go up the steps to the Shigu Cultural Corridor, take in the view of the Wei River beach to the fullest, and enjoy the scenery while digesting in the breeze.

Baoji Chencang Old Street is located next to the Baoji Museum of Bronze Ware in China. The entire area is connected with the museum, the Chinese Stone Drum Garden, and the Bar Street. If you have a day to spare, you can spend the morning climbing up for a panoramic view, touring the Stone Drum Park, and then leisurely visit the Bronze Ware Museum in the afternoon (Baoji is known as the 'hometown of bronze ware,' and the museum is absolutely stunning with many first-class cultural relics). In the evening, you can search for delicious food in Chencang, and at night, find a small bar to enjoy some music and a drink. A very pleasant day will have passed.

Baoji, formerly known as Chencang, is located at the western end of the Guanzhong Plain, at the head of the Qinchuan area, and is strategically situated at the gateway to the Qinling Mountains, surrounded by a thousand rivers and embracing the Wei River. Three thousand years ago, the Zhou people came to this land, where billowing purple smoke rose, and streams of copper-tin alloy poured forth, casting a large number of bronzes. Since the Han Dynasty, bronzes have been unearthed continuously, with a quantity and quality of fine pieces that are unparalleled in the country, and with inscriptions of significant content, earning it the reputation of 'Hometown of Bronzeware.' Chencang also became a major channel for cultural exchange and integration in ancient times. The Shigu Mountain in Baoji once unearthed the Han script carrier: 'Stone Drums,' and the 'Stone Drum Script' engraved on them represents an important stage in the recording of history by Chinese characters, just as the inscriptions on bronzes: 'Bronze Inscriptions' do. To protect and inherit this historical stage of cultural resources, the Baoji Municipal Party Committee and Government built the 'China Stone Drum Park' on Shigu Mountain. In 2009, the Stone Drum Pavilion on the mountain top was completed and opened; in 2010, the original cultural relics office's bronzeware exhibition room was expanded on the hillside to become China's largest: China Bronzeware Museum, which was completed and opened (now a national first-class museum). The exhibits in the museum showcase the wisdom and talent of the ancients, and their exquisite craftsmanship is breathtaking. The China Stone Drum Park on Shigu Mountain consists of two attractions: the Stone Drum Pavilion and the Bronzeware Museum, which together highlight Baoji's long-standing historical and cultural status in ancient Chinese civilization. They also perfectly combine Stone Drum culture with Bronzeware culture. Walking between the exhibition rooms, it feels like a world full of mysterious legends, where each exhibit exudes a fascinating historical charm, a palace that witnesses history. Upon leaving the museum, walking down the spacious stone steps out of the main gate, you will find Baoji's ancient: Chencang Old Street. On New Year's Day, the street is bustling with visitors, lively and festive, with lanterns and streamers, a scene of holiday joy.