Down memorial lane

Later, while leading soldiers to fight against rebels, Nala Suqing was stabbed 37 times and died from his wounds. As he was poor and had fewer than 100 grams of silver, Longchang people raised funds to send his coffin to his hometown in Changbaishan, Jilin province.

It was the common practice that one archway honored one person. However, the General Memorial Archway for Chastity and Filial Piety on the southern part of the post road, built in 1855, is a commemoration of 188 women honored by the Qing court.

The Memorial Archway for Guo Yulan's Good Deeds and Merits was built in 1887 on the southern part of the post road after Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty issued an imperial edict to honor Guo, a native of Longchang, who had undertaken good and charitable deeds all his life.

During the Qing Dynasty, a person reaching 100 years of age was rare, and the Memorial Archway for Shu Chengshi, who achieved that milestone, was built on the southern part of the post road in 1880.

It is the only archway for a centenarian among China's archways under national-level protection. The words "being rare in this earthly life", by Sichuan governor Ding Baozhen, and "a peaceful nation giving people the auspicious sign of longevity", by Longchang county magistrate Yang Zhun, are inscribed on the archway.

According to Chen Juqiang, former director of Longchang's cultural relics administrative office, Shu passed away at 103.

Under an hour's drive away is Neijiang, where the memorials of the city's two cultural celebrities Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) and Fan Changjiang (1909-1970), are located.

Zhang was one of the most influential painters and calligraphers of the 20th century. Photos of Zhang meeting Pablo Picasso at the Spanish artist's home in Nice, France, in 1956 can be found at Zhang's memorial.