Xidi Ancient Village
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Xidi and Hongcun are two outstanding traditional villages, located in Yi County, Huangshan City in south Anhui Province, with commercial activities as their primary source of income, family and clan-based social organization, and well known for their regional culture. The overall layout, landscape, architectural form, decoration, and construction techniques all retain the original features of Anhui villages between the 14th and 20th centuries. Deeply influenced by the traditional culture of pre-modern Anhui Province, these two villages, were built by successful officials or merchants returning home from official appointments and business, and gradually developed into models of conventional Chinese village construction. The unique and exquisite style of Anhui buildings is conveyed in plain and elegant colors, their gables decorated with delicate and elegant carvings, their interiors filled with tasteful furnishings. The rigid patriarchal system together with gentle and sincere folk customs reflects the cultural ideas of scholar-bureaucrats in feudal society who paid special respect to Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. Source: http://whc.unesco.org
Age: About 1,000 years - Highlights: charming rural architecture and countryside, history and culture
Anhui Architecture - The old merchant village was cited in 2000 by the World Heritage List for its well-preserved old architecture and water systems. Xidi is an outstanding representative of Huizhou traditional culture, building techniques, agriculture, and landscaping. The village has historical, artistic, and scientific value. Rich merchant families of the Hu clan built large structures that remain standing from the Ming and Qing eras. The clan made an ingenious use of the local water resources to provide running water to all the houses. The old houses had fire walls that have served to protect these wooden structures since they were built. This fire prevention architecture is part of the reason these very old wooden structures still remain to be appreciated till now.
History - Xidi Village is located at the south foot of Mt. Huangshan. Its original name was Xichuan. There was a relay station in the west of the village, so the name was changed into Xidi (or "Western Pass"). Xidi was built in the Huangyou period of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127), developed in the middle of the Jingtai period (1428–1457) of the Ming Dynasty, and was prosperous at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644). It has a history of nearly 1,000 years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the merchant families in this merchant town reached the period of their greatest prosperity. They carried out an extensive building program and built large houses and ancestral temples. They built roads, bridges, and the town's extensive water system. Nowadays, more than 100 old houses in Xidi retain the basic appearance and features of the dynastic era. However, many structures and gates were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. Source: www.chinahighlights.com - www.chinadiscovery.com
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Xidi and Hongcun are two outstanding traditional villages, located in Yi County, Huangshan City in south Anhui Province, with commercial activities as their primary source of income, family and clan-based social organization, and well known for their regional culture. The overall layout, landscape, architectural form, decoration, and construction techniques all retain the original features of Anhui villages between the 14th and 20th centuries. Deeply influenced by the traditional culture of pre-modern Anhui Province, these two villages, were built by successful officials or merchants returning home from official appointments and business, and gradually developed into models of conventional Chinese village construction. The unique and exquisite style of Anhui buildings is conveyed in plain and elegant colors, their gables decorated with delicate and elegant carvings, their interiors filled with tasteful furnishings. The rigid patriarchal system together with gentle and sincere folk customs reflects the cultural ideas of scholar-bureaucrats in feudal society who paid special respect to Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. Source: http://whc.unesco.org
Age: About 1,000 years - Highlights: charming rural architecture and countryside, history and culture
Anhui Architecture - The old merchant village was cited in 2000 by the World Heritage List for its well-preserved old architecture and water systems. Xidi is an outstanding representative of Huizhou traditional culture, building techniques, agriculture, and landscaping. The village has historical, artistic, and scientific value. Rich merchant families of the Hu clan built large structures that remain standing from the Ming and Qing eras. The clan made an ingenious use of the local water resources to provide running water to all the houses. The old houses had fire walls that have served to protect these wooden structures since they were built. This fire prevention architecture is part of the reason these very old wooden structures still remain to be appreciated till now.
History - Xidi Village is located at the south foot of Mt. Huangshan. Its original name was Xichuan. There was a relay station in the west of the village, so the name was changed into Xidi (or "Western Pass"). Xidi was built in the Huangyou period of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127), developed in the middle of the Jingtai period (1428–1457) of the Ming Dynasty, and was prosperous at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644). It has a history of nearly 1,000 years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the merchant families in this merchant town reached the period of their greatest prosperity. They carried out an extensive building program and built large houses and ancestral temples. They built roads, bridges, and the town's extensive water system. Nowadays, more than 100 old houses in Xidi retain the basic appearance and features of the dynastic era. However, many structures and gates were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. Source: www.chinahighlights.com - www.chinadiscovery.com