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Hongcun
Village and Xidi Village
Hongcun is known as the
"cow-shaped village" since the
pond is shaped like a cow's belly and the
dyke looks like one of the cow's legs. More
than 800 years old, the village was first
constructed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
The village now boasts 158 residential buildings
that date back to the Ming (1368-1644) and
Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Nearly 140 are
still in good shape. Although new buildings
account for 30 per cent of the village's
total area, they are either smartly ooncealed
or far removed from the aged ones. Some
villagers have already moved out of their
ancestral homes to make way for tourists.
Others still live there and open parts of
their homes to visitors. Local authorities
have bought ancient homes from owners who
prefer to move into new ones. And local
authorities only allow villagers to rebuild
their houses nearby the village, so that
they don't overshadow the ancient ones.
Before Mt. Husngshan became a city in 1987,
it had no air or rail links to the outside
world; the nearest city was hours away.
From their imposing look to delicate ornamental
details like woodcavings on window frames
and banisters, the buildings feature fine
workmanship that is hard to find today.
This area was free from gunfire for hundreds
of years. The Japanese aggressors didn't
come here.
Hongcun, like Xidi, is
a paradise for architects. Judging from
the general layout of the villages, Xidi
is meant to resemble a sailing boat. The
Hui School architecture is depicted in the
fancy architectural ornaments. The concept
behind Hui architecture is far more intricate
than what the visitors have learned about
saw-tooth, which local people call "horse-head,'
and fire gables, which local people name
"fish-belly" beams. Stunning delicate
woodcarvings were engraved on the beams
above the front lounge of the Chengzhi Hall,
the house of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) salt
dealer Wang Dinggui in Hongcun Village.
One depicts dozens of playful children celebrating
the Lantern Festival by setting off firecrackers,
beating drums and gongs or blowing trumpets.
Another portrays dozens officials playing
stringed musical instruments, painting or
doing calligraphy at four tables. Barbers
and tea servants are shown working behind
them. The memorial archway--built in 1578
and dedicated to Hu Weuguang, a Xidi native
who became a high official of the Ming Dynasty--is
a masterpiece of stone carving. The best
brick carving ever in Xiyuan, or west garden,
at the house of another prominent Ming-dynasty
official from Xidi. The pine, bamboo, plum
blossom and rocks look real. The 13 stone
pillars on the north end of the pond are
said to be the guardians of the village.
Behind them is Lexu Hall. It is the ancestral
temple of the Wang family, the first residents
who formed the village in 1131. No wonder
UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Committee
added both Hongeun and Xidi to the World
Heritage List in2000.
Hong Village is laid out
in the shape of an ox, with the higher end
of the village--the Leigang Mountain--resembling
an ox head. Centuries-old trees in the mountain
tower to the sky just like ox horns. Hundreds
of weU-preserved ancient houses spread from
east to west like the body of an ox. Another
attraction of the village lies in its water
supply system, which had been used for hundreds
of years.
Small and crisscrossing
waterways link various households. Streams
originating to the northwest of the village
flow across the area through waterways.
Local people describe the 1,000-metre long
waterways as "the ox intestines."
The Moon Pond and the Nanhu Lake were formed
by the streams and took the shape of the
ox stomach. Villagers built four bridges
over the streams, which are said to look
like ox hoofs. The effective water supply
system has survived two fires and was completed
by generations of villagers. The waterways
were like the reins of the village, deciding
the pulse of its daily life. Villagers grow
flowers in the courtyards and various kinds
of fish teem in the pond.
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