Two villages in Huizhou
Text and pictures｜Cheng Yuan
Xidi
The spring rain drops, Xidi wakes up lazily in the morning, and the soft Anhui language floats in the narrow alleys.Holding an oil-paper umbrella, or not holding it, and putting on a pair of slippers will cause blisters around the feet. I knew that in such a gloomy weather, I would have to wander around for a whole morning, maybe even longer.Xidi is a village with a history of more than 500 years. It is 700 meters long from east to west and 300 meters wide from north to south. It has 300 residents and a population of more than 1,000. Two streams pass through the village, with several deep lanes crisscrossing each other, white walls and black tiles, green trees and red flowers. Being in it is like entering a maze, and you can't get out for half a day.There is a Lufu Hall built in the Kangxi period in the village, with elegant furnishings and a strong scholarly atmosphere. There are regular couplets hanging on both sides of the hall: books, poems and articles about the world, filial piety and brotherhood are the basis of the newspaper; reading is good, doing business is good, and doing business is good, starting a business is difficult to maintain, and it is difficult to know whether it is difficult or not. It shows the style of combining Hui merchants, Jia and Confucians. Another ancient house is called Dafudi, which is also a relic from the Kangxi period. The pavilion-style building facing the street was originally a viewing building. It later became a place where ladies from wealthy families threw hydrangeas when choosing their husbands. Now it is the place where this folk performance is held in the village. It's a pity that when I came, I didn't see the lively scene of red sleeves and crisp hands and crowded people.In fact, the door frames and leaky windows of the people's homes in the village, the flowers, birds, fish and insects carved in the stone, and the figures and scenery carved in the bricks are more worth reading. The beauty is beyond words. It is these details that constitute the brilliance of Huizhou's architectural art.——The rain is still falling.When I walked to the bluestone archway with three rooms, four pillars and five floors at the entrance of the village, an old lady wanted to take a picture of me. She said: You don't want to leave a memorial portrait for me? Only charge 1 yuan! I shook my head, worried that she wouldn't be able to hold the camera steady.Hongcun
Hongcun is located at the southwest foot of the beautiful Huangshan Mountain. It is another famous ancient village in the mountainous area of southern Anhui, about an hour's drive from Xidi.If Huangshan is a long landscape scroll with rich ink and color, then Xidi and Hongcun are like two elegant sketches. Hongcun, in particular, is like a buffalo in Mr. Li Keran's works, lying quietly among the green mountains and green waters.The majestic green Leigang is the head of an ox, and the towering ancient trees are the horns. The residential houses scattered from east to west are like the body of a huge ox. From west to north, a canal with nine twists and turns around the houses gathers in the village. The spring water is like a pond filled with moons, and it is also like a cow's intestines and stomach. Finally, the water channel flows into the lake south of the village to form tripe. People also built four bridges as corbels on the streams that went around the village. Such an ingenious layout is nothing less than a master's stroke of genius.For hundreds of years, Hongcun's ingenious and scientific water system design has not only provided fire-fighting water for local people, but also adjusted the temperature, providing convenience for residents' production and life. It can be said that the road to Huanji Weifang River is far away, and there is a clear spring in front of every house. A scene of peach blossom land.Wandering around the village lanes and courtyards, you feel like you are in a folk museum. Each brick, tile, beam, column, window and door all embodies the vicissitudes of time. The towering ancient trees that are more than 400 years old and the century-old peonies that hide the tall gates become more and more lush and gorgeous. The bells of Nanhu Academy and the backs of Huizhou merchants attract many tourists to trace their roots.Friends say that Hongcun is a lost civilization, a lonely noise, and a silent singing. I didn't answer. I brushed off the rainwater on the stones at the entrance of the alley and sat there until dusk.
Black tiles, whitewashed walls and deep alleys are the main features of Huinan folk houses.
The clear stone archway at the head of Xidi Village/the central house for members of the Glorious Military and Family Planning Association/exquisite door carvings/exquisitely structured eaves
Rain Alley/The stream in front of and behind the house can be used by residents to wash clothes and household items.
The brick carvings on the lintel are simple and elegant
The water channel flowing into the south of Hongcun forms a "tripe"
Hongcun, which has a history of more than 800 years, is picturesque
Travel tips
Huizhou merchants are also called Xin'an merchants, Huizhou merchants or "Huibang". It is the general name for the merchant groups from the old Huizhou prefecture (She County, Xiuning County, Wuyuan County, Qimen County, Yi County and Jixi County). Hui people have a long history of doing business. There are records of Xin'an businessmen's activities as early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Later generations developed, and business gangs were formed during the Chenghua and Hongzhi years of the Ming Dynasty. From the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty to the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods of the Qing Dynasty, Huizhou merchants reached their peak. From the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods of the Qing Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, Huizhou merchants gradually declined. As a powerful force in China's business community, Huizhou merchants were active in the north and south of the Yangtze River, both sides of the Yellow River, and even in Japan, Siam, Southeast Asian countries and Portugal. Its huge business capital, including the number of businessmen, the wide area of activity, the number of business industries, and the strong management capabilities, are unmatched by other business gangs. It has dominated the Chinese business world for hundreds of years.Huizhou has rich cultural connotations and has formed unique schools and styles at all levels and in various fields. Such as Xin'an Neo-Confucianism, Huizhou Pu Xue, Xin'an Medicine, Xin'an Painting School, Huizhou Printmaking, Huizhou Seal Engraving, Huizhou Architecture, Huizhou Ink and Ink, Huizhou Dialect, Huizhou Opera, Huizhou Merchants, Huizhou Cuisine, etc. It is a film that reflects our country's An encyclopedia of ancient folk life.Pickled fresh mandarin fish: Among Anhui cuisine, "pickled fresh mandarin fish" is the most talked about. Why should fresh mandarin fish be salted and then grilled? It turns out that mandarin fish (mandarin fish) is a freshwater species, and people in Anhui often carry mandarin fish from far away. It is said that a shoulder seller picked up two buckets of mandarin fish, but the fish smelled bad halfway through the trip. The merchant was so anxious that he scraped off the scales, removed the gills, dug out the internal organs, smeared salt on the fish, and cooked it with the chef. The fish was mellow and tasty, and became the famous dish "pickled fresh mandarin fish", commonly known as "stinky mandarin fish". It's actually fragrant but not smelly.
Pancakes: Pancakes are a very famous traditional snack in Huizhou. They use fine white flour and vegetable oil to make the skin. They use dried vegetables and fat meat to make the fillings. They are sprinkled with sesame seeds and then put into a special oven and stuck on top. The oven wall is baked and taken out, so it is also called "stove cake". It is cheap and delicious.Fried edamame tofu: The tofu has been fermented and has a layer of white "hair" on the surface. Put the edamame tofu in a pan and fry it. After it is cooked, add seasonings, which gives it a unique flavor. You can eat it at many food stalls in Huangshan City.Hongcun and Xidi are located in Yi County, Huangshan City. Huangshan City is the ancient Huizhou. The city center is in Tunxi District. There are direct buses from Hefei, Nanjing and Hangzhou to Tunxi. Tunxi is about a 3-hour drive from Huangshan. Tourists can first climb Huangshan and then visit these two villages, or vice versa. 
