Top 10 Old Towns & Villages in China [2026 Winners]

Notice! 2025 available cruise routes include 4~5 days Chongqing-Yichang (most classic) and 11~12 days Chongqing-Shanghai (limited).

For thousands of years, people of various nationalities have lived in the vast land of China with different customs and living habits, and have preserved their own distinctive architectural communities with long history and profound culture, such as the water towns in Zhejiang and Jiangsu, the Hui-style villages in Anhui and Jiangxi, the ethnic minority villages in Hunan and Guizhou, the western Sichuan towns in Sichuan and Chongqing, the ancient village dwellings in Yunnan, etc. The old towns and villages in China, as an important part of Chinese cultural heritage, highlight the unique architectural characteristics of different regions and ethnic groups. Even today, most of towns and villages in China still retain the old architectural style and traditional folk customs and wait for you to experience the old way of Chinese life.

Want to see the old town or village in China to seek the ancient charm of this country? There are a series of that kind of places with very old architectures of local styles, featured folk culture of the local villagers, unforgettable beautiful sceneries for your aftertastes, and long history telling the interesting stories in the past decades and centuries. As you enter the ancient towns, your mind would be comforted well by the primitive and simple atmosphere. For your coming discovery in our country, we here list the top 10 old towns & villages in China with outstanding reviews and feedbacks from our guests and other visitors on the Internet. Check the details of them and decide which one to visit in 2026.