Zunyi's old town occupies the area around Ziyin Road and the commercial streets radiating from it — a pedestrianised zone of Republican-era merchant architecture restored in 1930s style. The carved wooden shopfronts and covered ground-floor galleries are deliberate and somewhat nostalgic reconstructions, but the scale is human and the food choices are excellent.
The old town is the right place to eat in the evening: hot dry noodles (Zunyi mianmian), spicy tofu dishes, and the local lamb stew are the things to look for. The street food stalls that set up along the main pedestrian stretch from late afternoon are the best introduction to Zunyi's flavours. The area quietens after dinner but remains pleasant for a walk, and the signage connecting the Zunyi Conference site to the Yangliujie Church creates a self-guided walking circuit through the district's 1935 geography.