Nanjing Countryside Tour: A 'Tulip' Encounter with the Most Beautiful Xujia Courtyard

Travel date: March 2020

Travel mode: Self-driving

Route: Xiangban Sujia Cultural and Creative Town → Zhumen Farmhouse → Zhishan Reservoir → Xujia Courtyard

Address: Xujia Courtyard, Zhangxi Community, Wenge Road, Guli Subdistrict, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

From Zhumen Farmhouse to Xujia Courtyard, the journey is filled with beautiful pastoral scenery. Near Xujia Courtyard, a vast open view reveals colorful villas that resemble countryside guesthouses. Nowadays, it's not difficult for city dwellers to return to the countryside. Those with the means can go back directly; those without still have plenty of options to enjoy a day or two of rural life.

Following the lovely country road, you arrive at the west end of Xujia Courtyard village, where a village archway stands. Originally, Xujia Courtyard was called Zaofang Village, named after a distillery. Later, when the distillery closed, a courtyard compound was left behind and inhabited by the Xu family, hence the name Xujia Courtyard.

After parking at the west-side parking lot, you come across Qingshe Leisure Bar, a building with blue-grey brick walls and wooden doors and windows.

A little dog in front basks calmly in the sun.

The layout map of Xujia Courtyard shows the village embraced by ponds and waterways.

Instead of rushing into the village houses, I stroll along the pebble-paved waterside path, meandering forward.

Heading east along the naturally beautiful Yonglian Pond.

On one side of the path are village houses with white walls and black tiles.

On the other side is a lively pond, which also serves as the planting base for Xujia Courtyard's 'wild eight delicacies' and 'water eight delicacies' agricultural products.

At this moment, Xujia Courtyard's uniformly renovated white-walled, black-tiled residential houses look exceptionally beautiful under the blue sky and white clouds. Winding paths, cottages, pavilions, and elegantly curved bridges dot the landscape, creating a picturesque pastoral idyll.

Water is the soul of the Jiangnan region, and it's the same here; water features are everywhere. As the saying goes, 'reflections are the best,' and every snapshot is a masterpiece.

The scenes under direct light and backlight each have a different beauty.

By the pond, there are various artificially constructed rural landscapes. Due to tourism development, the countryside is no longer purely authentic but shows many traces of human embellishment.

Whether natural scenery or man-made landscape, as long as it's harmonious, it's beautiful.

Amidst the lush green water plants, a withered lotus seed pod also reveals a touch of beauty.

The Baxian Corridor stretches over the water—a long covered walkway with a distinctive thatched roof.

This is also a water eight delicacies planting experience area. Within the area, the originally fragmented water surfaces have been integrated and connected, with ecological landscaping. Reflecting the local aquatic planting characteristics, eight types of water vegetables are grown here: water shield, wild rice shoot, Gorgon fruit seed, lotus root, water caltrop, water chestnut, arrowhead, and water celery.

Watercourses in different zones are linked into one by bridges and paths.

Yonglian Pond captured through a backlight lens.

On the other side of the path is the Farming Paradise. Here, there's a large area of freshly turned soil. The tilled land is being prepared for sowing many varieties of vegetables. When they sprout and grow, they not only have high ornamental value but are also edible. Besides the plots for fruits and vegetables, there's a children's play area in the middle of the spacious field, equipped with many agricultural-themed recreational facilities. The laughter of children returning to the fields echoes in every corner. For city dwellers, this place is highly appealing, offering a taste of farming life that the city cannot provide.

Vegetable planting experience zone.

On a patch of yellow earth, a vegetable leaf shaped like a flower stands proudly.

The vegetable patch near the farmhouse is truly authentic.

Pink magnolia blossoms set off the simple village houses.

The eaves of a farmhouse form a unique shape resembling the Chinese character '众' (crowd). Upon closer inspection, it somewhat resembles a human face—quite amusing.

Leaving Yonglian Pond, I head north along the village road. A farmhouse converted into a guesthouse is still under construction. In the new rural development, guesthouses are a must. On one hand, for the village, having guesthouses helps retain visitors and generate diverse income. For tourists, it's an excellent place to rest.

You can follow the signs along the village road to easily reach places of interest.

A farmstay nestled among rapeseed flowers, beside a stream and field.

Arriving at the villagers' activity square, which has complete supporting facilities.

White walls, grey-blue tiles, pink peach blossoms, and green trees—ordinary scenes that you can't help but love at a glance.

Beside the activity square is a Qingshe restaurant. Standing here, I was stunned by everything before me, even a little dazed.

I couldn't believe—was this real? The farmland was entirely planted with flowers of every hue. Looking out, it was like a sea of blossoms. I have no sense of land area, but how big was this flower sea? Several mu, over a dozen mu?

Dense, layer upon layer of flowers covered the hills and fields, stretching endlessly.

By the pink-walled, black-tiled village houses, in the leisurely fields, a rich variety of tulips wildly ignited the spring of Xujia Courtyard.

The wooden boardwalk led us into the world of tulips.

Expanses of tulips—stretches of orange, dense yellows, fiery reds.

Like a colorful tulip sea surging wave after wave onto the 'shore,' each tulip, shaped like a wine glass, seemed to exhaust all the colors of the world.

Amid the intense colors, there were also elegant white petals set off by pale green sepals, gracefully refined.

The passionate fiery reds and subtly elegant whites were perfectly matched.

Such a scene can truly be described as magnificent.

The flowers gathered, appearing in stunning clusters, patches, belts, slopes, valleys, and fields.

Vast fields of blooming tulips in full unison create a visual impact. Strolling leisurely in this tulip sea, whiling away the springtime, offers a unique comfort and ease.

Snow white, creamy white; deep red, light red; goose yellow, golden yellow, lemon yellow; plus various shades of pink, blue, and purple—you'd almost mistake them for bolts of colorful Nanjing brocade laid out to dry.

The vast tulip fields transition into a rapeseed flower patch.

All sorts of nameless vegetable flowers. If not for visiting Xujia Courtyard and this planting area, you'd never know that vegetable blossoms could form such scenery.

Varying in height, shape, and extremely rich in color—it was my first time seeing so many varieties of vegetable flowers on one piece of land. After the intense sensory stimulation of the tulips, I felt that this vegetable flower field grounded my soul with a sense of belonging and authenticity.

Across the pond, the phrase 'Thought it was a dream, turns out it's Guli' was spelled out in rapeseed flowers. It perfectly expressed what I felt. Everything before me was as illusory and unreal as a dream.

Following the wooden boardwalk toward the pond.

A riot of colorful flowers stretches for miles.

In the fields, tulips bloom in profusion—a sturdy stem rises from smooth, green leaves, supporting a delicate flower. A single small branch, yet its beauty is commanding.

A sea of tulips so dense that even now, looking at these photos while writing, I feel a sense of overwhelming closeness.

Orange, pink, red, yellow, and other colors of tulips shine brilliantly under the sunlight! The tulip varieties here include 'Red Chang'an,' 'Adored by All,' 'Pure Gold,' 'Red Pride,' 'Barcelona,' 'Black Hero'... over 20 varieties. The planting area is so vast and the number of flowers so great that it left me speechless.

Spectacular—it is a stunning beauty. The tulips are like colorful ribbons winding around the village and the surrounding hillsides.

Tulips, like strands of ribbon, encircle the lake; their reflections in the water make it hard to tell which are real, on shore or in the water.

Looking back at the village and houses from the pond's edge, this place can absolutely be described as a 'flower sea.' Lingering among the vibrant blossoms, with gentle breezes, wafting fragrance, and overlapping waves of flowers.

In the fields of Xujia Courtyard, flowers blaze like the sea; in the green lines of poetry, hope is written everywhere.

An area within the flower fields without blooms is a rest and activity square for visitors, where agricultural models are vivid and fun. Due to the pandemic, we now have a late breakfast at home before setting out, bring some snacks for lunch, and have dinner back home in the evening. Because I hadn't eaten lunch and was faced with such dense flowers, I felt a bit light-headed from low blood sugar and sat down on one side of the square to rest for a while. Although resting, my thoughts kept racing.

How can there be such an intense flower sea? Xujia Courtyard truly surprised me. Every March and April, the tulips here reach full bloom. Lingering here, you deeply feel that spring illuminates the earth and flowers know their time. During this period, tulips are the main characters. But this philosophy won't let the land lie idle—there must be equally intense sights in other seasons. I'm eager to see what other months bring. I didn't search online for the answer because I want to come back in different seasons, different months, with my own curiosity, hoping for the same kind of amazement as today.

After a short rest, I quickly thought of going to the car to replenish my energy and relieve my low blood sugar. Passing through the village, I only walked quickly without a close look. Most of the village houses had been renovated. From the choice of materials to the design, it was clear that each building was thoughtfully conceived.

In Xujia Courtyard, aside from some houses that were completely rebuilt, many farmstead courtyards still retain their original appearance. Red brick with grey tiles placed next to white walls and grey tiles actually looked quite harmonious, not at all disrupting the overall beauty.

The overall layout of the village is clean and comfortable; every spot is a scenic view, every spot worth photographing. Since I was in a hurry to refuel at the car, I only snapped quick photos of these few roadside buildings. I didn't explore the village slowly and in detail, but thinking I'll return, I felt no regret—leaving something to look forward to next time!

Back at the parking lot, while replening energy and facing this peach blossom and the artistically stacked blue-grey stone wall of this building, I reflected on my first impressions of Xujia Courtyard.

Actually, although Xujia Courtyard is called a village, it is no longer a traditional one. The traces of the countryside have faded. The farmland is now planted with flowers, and the small square at the village entrance is filled with crop models that seem rural, but these are far from authentic rural life scenes. In recent years, Nanjing's beautiful countryside construction has been in full swing. With their beautiful natural scenery, simple rural customs, and distinctive tourist experiences, villages have become internet-famous destinations attracting visitors. Those who have spent too long in the city love to come to the countryside to enjoy slow-paced time and the leisurely comfort of fresh air. In truth, this place is no longer the countryside in the strict sense!