A blooming cultural experience away from the crowds
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, October 11, 2017
Longmen Village 龍門村
This village in Fuyang County might steal thunder from the village with the same name in Kaihua County, however, its namesake is now catching up, thanks to improvements to its developing traveling industry.
First of all, villagers have augmented the area of growing tea. Tender leaves and a fragrant aroma characterize the local tea variety. Hills are shrouded with mist, even on sunny days, creating the ideal conditions for tea. A high-quality environment of fresh air and fertile soil in turn produces high-quality tea.
Meanwhile, local residents breed Qingshui fish and run eateries, cafes and restaurants to lure tourists. Qingshui fish is a local specialty that has found favor with gastronomes in the big cities. It features tender meat and umami flavor due to unique growing environment.
Xikeng Village 西坑村
Throughout dynasties, the Ye and Ding surnames have dominated the village. Their ancestors left more than 20 buildings dating to the Ming (1369-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and 40 folk houses built in the Republic of China era (1912-1949). Today, these antique buildings are still in use, and some are used as ancestral halls for worshipping forefathers.
Lush bamboo forests cover these ancient buildings and provide locals with raw material for arts and crafts. Bamboo-woven knickknacks, daily necessities and utensils that display sophisticated knitting techniques and simple designs can be found throughout the village. Most residents are skilled in the art of braiding bamboo.
Since the village sits at the bottom of a valley, mists shroud it throughout the year. Morning is an ideal time for shutterbugs to capture the village.
Lijiakeng Village 李家坑村
The village dates back more than 360 years after ancestors moved here from Henan Province. They settled down and built a complex of traditional buildings with painted windows and carved beams. These Ming and Qing dynasties-style constructions have been well preserved throughout the centuries and considered the epitome of classical Chinese architecture.
Different from common traditional houses in the Jiangnan region (in the south area of lower reaches of the Yangtze River), these quadrangles integrated northern Chinese architectural characteristics with the Jiangnan style, creating an uncommon design in Zhejiang Province.
Today, most of the villagers are surnamed Li, and an ancestral hall of Li family still exists in the village. It witnesses the family's glory days in the past and a development track in modern time.
Zhilin Village 芝林村
It is situated at the northern end of the undulating Siming Mountain range. With lush vegetation, serene creeks, rolling hills and pouring waterfalls, it is an ideal getaway for travelers with families.
The village was built a millennium ago when a traditional Chinese medicine physician traveled to the area and discovered a variety of herbs in the mountain ranges.
He and his family were the original residents of the village. They were believed to be the offspring of the highly skilled doctor Sun Simiao (AD 541-682). The village's name means "entering forest and picking herbs" in Chinese, which implies its origin with traditional Chinese medicine.
