Hongcun, Xidi

That said, yesterday afternoon, to Hongcun, coinciding with the day of heavy rainfall, many people, many cars, food and lodging are a problem. I'll continue to go forward and live in Lu Village, which is about two kilometers away from Hongcun.

Yesterday, said Lu village, said Lu village is Anhui is famous for Huizhou wood carving art of the best village, by the owner of the time to hire two craftsmen to spend 20 years carving from, known as "Huizhou wood carving the first floor". Woke up early, wandering around the village, carefully looked at the ancient building wood carvings, and other Huizhou carvings and not too much, may be I do not have the level of expertise in this area, I can not say good or bad. Instead, the village of small bridges and water, quite a few points of the Jiangnan water town meaning. The wife said, in a few years, if we are old, we will be here to retire, I said that we have a little retirement pay, in the old age here is afraid to laugh.

After breakfast, we went to see Hongcun. 30 years ago, in the 1980s, when I went to Hongcun, it seems that there is no admission fee. Now it's different, the entrance fee is 104 dollars. I heard on the internet that it seems to be operated by Beijingers on a contractual basis. With a visitor center, parking lot, ticket hall, installed cameras, there are special people in the village of each fork of the guard, like a big enemy. I didn't really want to go in, but it was my wife's first time and I wanted to see how Hongcun had changed after 30 years. We bought a ticket to enter the door, first reflected in the eyes is the South Lake, just yesterday a torrential rain, the lake is a yellowish, the lake of the remnants of the lotus still stand in the water, around the lake there are many old willow and poplar trees, the lake in the painting of the bridge people flow shoulder to shoulder and stretched endlessly, the painting of the bridge is the landmark of Hongcun, advertising slogan is "China's Hongcun". The advertising slogan is "Hongcun of China". Around the embankment of the lake and all corners of the village, there are many students and painters stopping to sketch, adding a scenic line to the ancient village. There are a lot of students sketching in groups, Hongcun, Chaji, and Xidi, which I'm going to talk about later.

Through the pond to Hongcun near, follow the free guide into the village, the house is the traditional Huizhou residence. First came to the school, the guide said the structure of the house with exquisite materials, columns are used for hundreds of years of ginkgo trees camphor tree construction into, will not be bitten by insects, and will not bear cobwebs, the school called "Zhicheng Hall", living here in the homeowner hopes that their children and grandchildren can be like-minded academic success to honor their ancestors.

Following the guide through the labyrinth-like winding stone road, there is a stream flowing in front of every house, but the ditch is also flowing in the muddy stream, I know that this is the reason for yesterday's rain, usually should be clear. You can see people washing things, the ancient village water system is designed to be scientific and reasonable in place, a lot of villages in southern Anhui are such a pattern, there is water and weir ponds, running water to generate wealth and gather wealth, but also feng shui, which is not common in our hometown.

Come to the "Jingde Hall", the Ming Dynasty building intricate but smooth lines, the hall's pillars are square, the house is mainly frame structure, without a nail with mortise and tenon structure. There are a lot of buildings, the guide explained as a treasure, I can not remember, only remember the three Huizhou carvings, wood carvings, stone carvings, and brick carvings. But I saw a lot of carvings, are later people repair the old as the old. In all fairness, Hongcun is not as good as Chaji in terms of architectural antiquity and diversity.

After touring Hongcun, we naturally have to go to Xidi, which is less than ten kilometers away from the Yixian Old Town. It is said to be ancient, it is said to have built the city for more than 1,000 years. County set up Biyang Town, built since the Song Dynasty as the county seat so far, has been the Yixian County political, economic, cultural and transportation center. It is now a provincial-level historical and cultural city. It is backed by Dongyue Mountain, near the Zhanghe River, surrounded by mountains, clear streams flowing back, beautiful scenery. The city was formerly known as "County Street". We came to the county full of hope, but very disappointed, the city is too small, drive around the city for less than five minutes, it is difficult to ask to the old city, but the newly renovated "old buildings", but also under construction, the new "old street" on the empty, no tourists, and few pedestrians, we have to go back to the old city, we have to go back to the old city, we have to go back to the old city. The new "old street" is empty, no tourists, and few pedestrians, we bought a few packets of local products, to the new town next to eat lunch, taste "tongue on the tip of the China" recommended Mao tofu and fern bacon, I think the taste is very good, but my wife is not very used.

After the meal went straight to Xidi a few kilometers away. Xidi in learning Hongcun, the ticket is also 104 dollars, very similar to the Hongcun tourism model. The selling point of Hongcun is the Huizhou-style residential buildings and the South Lake Painted Bridge, the selling point of Xidi is the Huizhou-style residential buildings and Hu's big pagoda, even the business model is copied almost exactly, but the tourists are much less. May be the publicity is not as strong as Hongcun's reason. But I think its geographic environment and cultural heritage should be better than Hongcun, Xidi from afar, the green hills surrounded by green water, the remnants of the red fall all over the shallow streams, a flying eaves and corners, black tiles and white walls of the village, is an outstanding representative of the Huizhou school of architecture.

Entering the scenic area, jumped into the eye, is a lofty, delicate structure, more than ten meters high, the pavilion-style green stone pagoda. It is said that this is the Ming Dynasty Wanli emperor's Royal approval of the merit plaque, the owner of the plaque Hu Wenguang, official to the assassin, is the most typical Xidi TEDI culture practitioners.

After the pagoda, you will enter Xidi village. Xidi, named after the water flowing westward and the ancient post station for delivering mails. Legend has it that the first ancestor of Xidi was the son of Tang Zhaozong Li Ye, who fled the country due to the chaos and changed his surname to Hu, and prospered here, forming a settlement village.

In a green stone paved alley string around, such as into the labyrinth. Especially those beams, square, arch, sparrow, partitions, leaky windows, as well as doorway, lintel on the brick, wood, stone carvings, exquisite, exquisite, profoundly demonstrated the ancient Huizhou humanities and geography, secular customs. Couplets and paintings show the cultural heritage of Xidi. Elegant furnishings, full of book aroma "Yurui Hall", "Peach and Plum Garden", "East Garden", "West Garden", "Dafu Di", "Jing'ai Hall", "Ciufu Hall", etc., inspire the descendants and show the Confucianism of the couplets and paintings: "calligraphy and poetry, filial piety and fraternal duty are the fundamental articles of the world", "filial piety and fraternal duty are the fundamental articles of the world", "the fundamental articles of the world", "the fundamental articles of the world". Fundamental", "reading good business good effect good better, difficult to start a business difficult to know difficult not difficult", and other intriguing.

The vicissitudes of time, obliterated the ruts of merchants, the smile of the career, obliterated, is that these large and small eight portals, pairs of stone lions to symbolize the glory of the corridors on the plaques containing matter of fact ...... curved, a hundred turns, wandering in the Hongcun Xidi cozy and elegant atmosphere, immersed in the Huizhou school of merchants and eunuchs The thick traditional cultural heritage.

From Xidi out, I came across a bicycle alone far away from the old man, the old man is 70 years old, has gone out for more than 20 days, riding more than 1,000 kilometers. We stood and chatted on the side of the road, he said he liked riding, he liked the ancient Huizhou, he liked Hongcun Xidi, he said riding in the south of Anhui is like riding in a Chinese ink painting.