In the morning, we will continue our journey through the countryside to the World Heritage Xidi ancient village near Baishancun.
I woke up and started preparing for our next journey to World Heritage Xidi ancient village. We had breakfast at the Huangling Mountain parking area and enjoyed the views while driving to Xidi Gucunluo, a centuries-old village.
This was only a two-hour drive from Huangling mountains, so we could enjoy a more extended stay. Unfortunately, it started to rain heavily when we arrived at the site, but this did not stop us from visiting the village. This village is one of the most beautiful and well-preserved that I have seen. It has narrow streets, small shops, and happy people.
This one belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China and is a member of the World Heritage Sites.
Small rain does not bother us, just makes it funnier
Posing time with some old walls surrounding
Knock, knock ataged, weathered wooden door in Xidi, any one there.
Always in China, you must bargain. Sometimes prices are set really high so you have a lot of space to bargain
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Hongcun was established in 1131 by Wang Wen, a general during the Han Dynasty. Like the neighboring Hu family in Xidi, the Wang family became prosperous merchants and the city grew in size from 1400 to about 1900. The architecture and carvings of the approximately 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties are said to be among the best of their kind in China. One of the biggest of the residences open to visitors, Chenzhi Hall, also contains a small museum. The village is arranged in the shape of an ox with the nearby hill (Leigang Hill) interpreted as the head, and two trees standing on it as the horns. Four bridges across the Jiyin stream can be seen as the legs whilst the houses of the village form the body. Inside the “body”, the Jiyin stream represents the intestines and various lakes such as the “South Lake” (Nanhu) form the other internal organs. A 400-year-old waterway connects each residential household to the two water sources in the town, with most of the streets built alongside them. These streets are paved with original Yi County granite. The usual residences of the town contain a central courtyard surrounded by symmetrical bays of rooms, although there are much larger and more private houses for the weather citizens.
Wikipedia
Strolling around in the village, I found many interesting shops
Most shops are ancient, and the antiques for sale are attractive. Nowadays, needed to be careful as there are so many fake antiques. But if the price is correct and you like the design, why not? I had to cut down the number of pictures I put here as there were so many exciting places you could visit.
A very big family house(祠堂)located in the important location of the village, in the old-time, it is the so-called political center of the village. Villagers are mostly from the same family root. All the important meetings and decisions were released from here. It had the other function as a family court. The misbehaved villagers will be questioned and punished here to give a warning to others.
One tower was a place for the girl to pick up her husband. In the old-time, girls were not allowed to have an open social life as today, parents will choose the husband for them. But their also this tradition that the girl can choose her husband in the public. the tradition is that the girl throws a sick warped ball from the tower at the crowds, whoever fetches it will be her husband. of course, she will not throws it randomly, normally is the man she loves.
Wooden crab looks really realistic.The crab, with its detailed craftsmanship and realistic design, highlights the skill of local artisan
These are surely CNC machined but the design is appealing. We bought one with the dragons to protect our house
Old jewelry boxes, wanted to buy one but the prices went too high.
Arrive at the “To Journey-Huangshan Scenic Area” campsite.
We finally arrived at the campsite after driving past the mountains by road G330. This is a big camping chain in China, and this place is enormous. We had no issues registering even though we came late. As usual, during this trip, we were outside during the peak season, and the campsite was almost empty. According to personnel, this can accommodate about 2000 happy campers in the hotel or caravans. Let’s see what we can find here tomorrow.
Sightseeing review
安徽省黄山市黟县西递镇西递村
Our experience
Summary
Pros
- Really authentic village has not been destroyed by modernization
- Shops including other than the normal tourist stuff
- If you like beer there is also a small bar street with a couple of small bars
- The small alleys crossing here and there
Cons
- No campsite closeby
- Can it be negative? Raining all day 🙂
Location
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