We took a short DiDi car ride from Kuixinglou to Mountain City Alley.
Hidden along the steep vertical cliffs of the Yuzhong Peninsula, Mountain City Alley is also known as Shancheng Lane (山城巷). This is the only historical street in the entire municipality that officially keeps the name "Mountain City".
Dating back to the Ming Dynasty, this 1.5-kilometer-long stone cliffside trail is an open-air architectural museum. It cuts past hundred-year-old villas, secret bomb shelters, and ancient city walls. It delivers a completely authentic taste of local city life right on the edge of a cliff.
The undisputed highlight of navigating Mountain City Alley was traversing the Mountain City Third Walkway (山城第三步道). Engineered directly into the vertical face of the mountain cliff, this elevated concrete and timber boardwalk hangs completely out over the city below. Walking along it provided a thrilling sensation of floating in mid-air.
To our right were ancient stone facades and roots of giant banyan trees bursting through brickwork. To our left is a massive, unobstructed view looking down at the sprawling Yangtze River and the futuristic suspension bridges arching into the opposite Nan'an District.
Unlike other commercialized ancient towns, Mountain City Alley uniquely preserves layers of different historical eras stacked right on top of each other.
At the top of the alley, we went through a bomb shelter and arrived at the Ancient Ming Dynasty City Walls. Portions of the rugged stone walls built early in the Ming Dynasty still propped up the entire cliffside neighborhood.
The Ren'ai Hall Ruins (天主教仁爱堂旧址) is another key landmark of Mountain City Alley. Built in 1902 by French missionaries, this striking French-Gothic complex once served as the region's first comprehensive hospital. Its weathered belfry and grand stone pillars stood out as a romantic pocket of Western design deep inside the traditional Chinese neighborhood.
We then visited an olden day's school and brought back many memories.
上课咯!
We continued to explore the various alleys and lanes in this mountain city.
We had some snacks before leaving this place and returned to Hongya Cave (洪崖洞) for the night lights up.
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