Hongcun Village is located at the foot of the southwest side of Mt. Huangshan, only 11 kilometers away from Yixian town. It is a unique, buffalo-shaped ancient village in the ancient village. The whole village is measured to be 30 hectares; it is bedded at Mt.Leigang, facing Nanhu Lake.
In the Song dynasty, the villagers constructed an irrigation canal reaching every house, so virtually every household in the village has easy access of the canal. The waterways of the village were supposed to be designed to provide source of washing water, even fire water in case of emergency. The construction was designed in similarity to a buffalo’s body structure: Nanhu Lake is shaped like the buffalo’s belly; Moon Pond looks like its stomach; the channel its intestine. This vivid layout of buffalo is one outstanding feature of the village.
All the buildings follow local architectural style, have exquisite carvings and are magnificent symbols of its time. They were built with fine craftsmanship that is regarded as the best in China. Among them, Chenzhi Hall is a big and gorgeous residential building, including two living rooms, one Buddhism prayer section, one Mah-jongg room and a opium cabinet, etc. It enjoys the name of "Residence Museum".
The village has nice scenery - simple but elegant, a fine mixture of old houses, green hills and clear creeks. Hongcun Village has always enjoyed the name "a village in the Chinese painting". The village now boasts 158 dwelling houses dating back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties; nearly 140 are still in good shape.
Because of this extraordinary feature of the village, Hongcun Village was added to the list of the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in late 2000. It is also the location for the famous prize film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". |
