Photo: oldhouse.yin, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Heshun Ancient Town is famous for its rich historical culture and beautiful water country scenery, which is an ideal place to experience western Yunnan culture and water country style.
Heshun Town is an ancient town in Tengchong City, located four kilometers southwest of the city centre in Yunnan, China. The town's ancient name is Yangwendun which was changed to Heshun and eventually the name it bears today. Heshun is well known for its quadrangle courtyards that have been built into the town's hills.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
来凤山国家森林公园
A large park centered around Laifeng Hill (Laifengshan), the highest land formation in the central part of the city and one of the city's major landmarks. During the Second World War, the occupying Japanese forces fortified the hill and used it as a base for maintaining their stranglehold over the city. In 1944, this was one of the main battlefields of the Battle of Tengchong, during which the Chinese Expeditionary Force and allied forces fought to liberate the city. The Chinese ultimately won the battle but at a heavy cost. Many of those who fought in the battle are buried at the National Martyrs Cemetery. There are also many soldiers and other people buried on the hill itself, including Zhang Wende, the unofficial wartime governor of Tengchong County who mobilized local civilians to support the war effort. When walking through the park, you will see graves almost everywhere you look. You can also see remnants of the battle such as trenches and bomb craters. Visitors are requested not to touch the war remnants. At the summit of the hill is the famous Wenbi Pagoda, which was rebuilt in 2000. There are multiple walking paths. Take the 3-km-long path on the left if you want to see as many graves and war remnants as possible. The three steep paths in the middle will take you directly to the pagoda. If you take the easy path on the right, you will end up at the Laifeng Temple.
滇西抗战纪念馆
Large museum dedicated to the Western Yunnan campaign of World War II. Has lots of information in English, though captions for individual items tend to be in Chinese only. The main exhibition halls are on the ground floor, but the exhibitions on the second floor are worth seeing too, especially the exhibition on Japan's biological and chemical weapons program.
国殇墓园
One of a very small number of national cemeteries in China dedicated exclusively to the fallen of World War II.
李根源旧居, 李根源故居
Li Genyuan (1879-1965) was an educator, army officer, and government official who was born in Tengchong. He had a long and illustrious career, which included acting as principal of the Yunnan Military Academy, participating in the Xinhai Revolution and holding various senior government positions. In 1945, after the Second World War was over, he moved back to Tengchong and oversaw the establishment of the National Martyrs' Cemetery. This house of his was built between 1946 and 1947. It is now a museum dedicated to Li Genyuan's life.
药王宫
A Taoist temple dedicated to the Medicine King. The temple was established in 1626 and rebuilt in 1877.
叠水河瀑布
A beautiful natural waterfall right in the heart of the city.