Hongcun Village - World Cultural Heritage

Hongcun Village is located in Yixian County, located near the southwestern slope of Huangshan Mountain. It is listed as one of China's top 10 charming villages and together with Xidi Village, it was added to UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List in 2000.

Morning mists, gray tiles, white walls, stone bridges, water lily ponds, and hills in the background, are all elements of traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Hongcun Village has all of these features, and has been named "a village in Chinese painting".

Hongcun, A Village in Chinese Painting

It is an inspiration for artists and film directors. Hongcun Village was the location for one of the fighting scenes in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", directed by Ang Lee. The film won Oscars for the Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography categories.

Hongcun Village is a wonderful village worth visiting and included in your Huangshan tours. Established in 1131, this well-preserved centuries-old village is unique. What makes Hongcun Village so unique is that the village was designed by a Feng Shui master to resemble a cow.

Visitors to Hongcun Village's tour guides will interpret which part of the village is the anatomically equivalent of the cow. For example, the two old trees at the entrance to the village represent the horns, the four stone bridges the legs, the ponds the stomach, etc.

Hongcun is unique among all Chinese villages for its very sophisticated water system. Water is the main feature of this village. Its two large ponds are connected to a series of flowing streams that pass by every house, providing water for washing, cooking, and bathing.

Hongcun Village

The best time to visit Hongcun is from late March to early April when the golden bright sea of rapeseed flowers is in full blossom. Another optimal time to enjoy colorful autumn leaves at Hongcun is the first ten days of November.

Visitors to Hongcun Village can leisurely ramble around, chat with villagers, listen to the ancient stories, taste local delicacies, shop for antiques, admire the wisdom of the ancients from poetry pasted on house columns, Hui-style architecture, the exquisite wood and stone-work, and the subtleties of the Fengshui arrangement. For anyone who loves to paint, don't forget your art supplies.

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