A 6-Day Trip to Zhaji and Jinhua during the 2024 Spring Festival
Traveling during the Spring Festival holiday, we finally returned after three years of the pandemic. From February 9 (New Year's Eve) to February 14 (the fifth day of the New Year), the whole family took a trip to Zhaji in Anhui and Jinhua (Yiwu) in Zhejiang, simply because the New Year atmosphere in Shanghai was too "light"!
We spent New Year's Eve in Zhaji. We were initially worried about traffic jams, but that turned out to be unnecessary. The road conditions were excellent, and we arrived in Zhaji in just over 4 hours, just in time for lunch. Overall, the scenic area was not crowded, although it was a bit hard to find a place to eat—understandable! Without further ado, let's get straight to the photos, hehe!
Zhaji Ancient Village – a Hui-style ancient village founded in the early Tang Dynasty. Since the ancestor Zha Wenxi settled here, the Zha family has lived here continuously. Three streams—Cenxi, Xuxi, and Shixi—converge in the village, and white-walled, black-tiled Hui-style buildings line the streams. The village has many ancestral halls, and the three Hui-style carvings (brick, wood, and stone) on the buildings are exquisite. Student artists sketching everywhere also add a beautiful touch. The main sightseeing route in Zhaji is circular. The main entrance is on the east side. At the entrance of the pedestrian street (New Street), the South Anhui Zhaji Art Museum houses rich cultural relics such as jade artifacts, ancient architectural components, and stone inscriptions. If you're not in a hurry, it's worth a visit. After passing the pedestrian street, you officially enter the village. It's recommended to explore the southern half of the loop first, as the attractions along the Xuxi River in the south are more concentrated.
After entering the village, you can first visit Baogong Hall (Dusu Hall), rebuilt during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. Head west along the Xuxi River, and be sure to notice the various uniquely shaped ancient bridges over the stream. The Honglou Bridge from the Ming Dynasty has a Honglou Pavilion beside it, and the combination of bridge and pavilion is quite distinctive. After visiting attractions like Honggong Hall, if you continue westward, you'll reach Painter Village, named so because many painters have built their studios here. The hometown of Hu Ge in the TV series "The Life Revelation" is nearby, called Yuegui Villa. Finally, take the northern half of the loop, which includes Yuqing Hall from the Qing Dynasty and Xiangyi Hall from the Ming Dynasty. Among them, Erjia Hall is the largest ancestral hall in the village, built in the early Qing Dynasty, and its three Hui-style carvings on the architecture are well worth seeing. If you like rustic charm, you can find a fork road to Qingshan from the path between Cunrentang and the pedestrian street, cross a mountain ridge to visit Qingshan Tower, and smell the fragrant mist tea from the mountains; or take a hillside stroll along Zhaji Primary School–Fafeng Well–Linzhi Bridge; or climb the southeast Rousong Mountain to visit Rousong Tower. It all depends on personal preference. If you don't know the way, you can ask the villagers.
On the way to Chengkan, you'll pass the Taiping Lake Scenic Area, which is worth a visit—it's very beautiful. Taiping Lake is located north of Huangshan District in Huangshan City. It is a man-made reservoir with a large area, and the lake water is blue-green, with scattered islands like pearls. After touring Taiping Lake, you can find a lakeside restaurant for lunch, then head to Chengkan.
Chengkan is located 31 kilometers north of Tunxi District in Huangshan City. It is laid out according to the yin-yang and eight trigrams principles. Its scenery is no less impressive than Hongcun, but it's not as famous. Here, many three-story Ming Dynasty buildings are ancient "skyscrapers"; there are rare Song and Yuan structures; and there is the exquisite Baolun Pavilion, which is among the best of all Hui-style ancient villages.
On the way to Longchuan Scenic Area, you can stop at Yuliang Dam, which is quite worth visiting, especially in summer. Yuliang Dam is 2 kilometers east of the old town. The main attraction is the Ming Dynasty Yuliang Dam on the Lianjiang River. Whether you can walk on the dam depends on the water volume of the Lianjiang River—if the water is high and submerges the ancient dam, you cannot go on it. When on the dam, pay attention to the small stone bars called "Yuanbao Locks" embedded horizontally between the long stone slabs, which stabilize the dam; also, the Kaimen Gate in the center of the dam is used for drainage.
Longchuan, also known as Kengkou, is located 11 kilometers east of Jixi County. It is a typical Hui-style village, shaped like a boat running north-south. The Hu family has lived here for generations; the founding ancestor can be traced back to Hu Yan, a Sanqi Changshi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The village has produced many talents throughout history. A small stream runs through the village. Below the horse-head walls, there are "beauty rests" extending over the stream, and stone steps extend into the water. Village women still wash clothes in the stream; time flows slowly here.
Yangchan Tulou is located in Shendu Town in the mountainous area of southern Anhui. It is a small mountain village built against the mountain. Due to its high altitude and inconvenient transportation, the mountain people have used local materials for centuries: they pave roads and build bridges with local bluestone, and build houses with red soil and wood. They work at sunrise and rest at sunset, drink from mountain springs, eat grains, and grow various crops. Over time, they have formed row upon row, neatly arranged, simple and magnificent earthen buildings. The well-preserved Yangchan Tulou holds significant historical and cultural meaning for the study of ancient Chinese architecture.
Youbu Ancient Town is one of the four major ancient towns in Zhejiang Province. The town has a rich variety of traditional cultural activities, such as dragon lanterns, flower lanterns, and lion dances for visitors to enjoy. Many cultural relics and historical sites are well preserved, including ancestral halls, temples, memorial archways, and drum towers.
Zhuge Village, located northwest of Lanxi, is the largest settlement of Zhuge Liang's descendants. The village is laid out according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams pattern, surrounded by mountains and flat in the middle, like a giant treasure basin. With the Taiji-shaped Zhongchi Pond at the center, eight small lanes radiating in eight directions form the inner trigram, and eight small hills outside the village form the outer trigram, hence it is also called "Zhuge Bagua Village." Visitors need to purchase tickets upon entering the village. Starting from the ticket office, follow the recommended route on the scenic guide signs in a semicircle to visit all the main attractions. The most notable sight in Zhuge Bagua Village is Zhongchi Pond, the central landmark of the village. On the south bank is a steep slope, and several large houses built along it appear one higher than the other from the north bank. The row of small houses in front, reflected in the water, gives an elegant and beautiful silhouette. Besides visiting ancestral halls, wandering among the old Hui-style buildings in the village is also enjoyable. The memorial archway-style gate named "Xiangliang Shuang Kui" on Xiatang Road is grand and is the village's iconic structure. The narrow Yitai Lane lined with residential houses, the leisurely life of the villagers, and the traces of Zhuge culture everywhere all showcase the most simple and vibrant side of Zhuge Village. No matter which pond you come across, the ancient buildings and their reflections appear serene and beautiful, and photos taken there have a special charm.
Underground Long River, also known as "Liudong Mountain," is located 8 kilometers east of Lanxi. It is famous for three main attractions: the Underground Long River, Qixia Garden, and Qizhen Temple. The Underground Long River is a subterranean river over a kilometer long that flows all year round, with its source still unknown. Taking a boat ride along the underground river through the karst cave is the highlight and unique feature of the scenic area. You can either walk or take a boat in the cave; sitting on the boat and viewing the stalactites hanging down all around is quite interesting. Moreover, the ticket already includes the boat ride, so it's worth a try. The boat ride covers about 800 meters. After getting off the boat, you exit the cave by following the stone steps, and along the way, there are many stalactites of various shapes to see.
Guzi Cheng is an ancient city with a history of over 1,700 years and is the root of Jinhua. As the political and cultural center of ancient Jinhua, the city contains many cultural relics and historical buildings, which have been well preserved. It is recommended to visit at night, as the illuminated ancient city is even more splendid than during the day.
Jinhua Shuanglong Cave (Double Dragon Cave) is located 8 kilometers from downtown Jinhua, on the south slope of Beishan Mountain at an altitude of 350–450 meters. Besides the Shuanglong Cave at the bottom, there are also the Binghu Cave (Ice Pot Cave) at the middle level and the Chaozhen Cave (Reaching Zhen Cave) higher up. Shuanglong Cave consists of an outer and an inner cave, separated by only 5 meters by a huge stone screen, leaving an underground water channel over 10 meters long and more than 3 meters wide. The water surface is only about 0.30 meters from the limestone ceiling of the underground river. To enter the inner cave, you must lie on a small boat and go in. The outer cave is tall and bright, with a height of over 66 meters, length and depth of 33 meters each, and an area of over 1,200 square meters. Inside, rows of stone tables and chairs can accommodate a thousand people for tea and summer retreat.
Fotan Ancient Town is located southwest of Yiwu city center. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, countless boats have traveled on the river, and the floating bridge dock of Fotan was an important stop. The ancient town has long since declined, but you can still glimpse traces of its former prosperity in the dazzling array of carved brackets, window lattices, and brick and stone carvings on the residential buildings. As a scenic spot, Fotan Ancient Town is still being developed and is free of charge. There is almost no commercial atmosphere in the streets and alleys. The simple life of the local people in the deep lanes is a rare sight elsewhere.
The ancient architectural complex of Luzhai is right across from Dongyang East Bus Station. Covering several thousand square meters, this complex was built by the local Lu family over more than 500 years. Dongyang is famous for wood carving, and the painted decorations, cow-leg brackets (niutui), and sparrow braces (queti) from different periods in Luzhai are often masterpieces, very much worth seeing. Entering the scenic area, you first pass through three memorial archways: Fengji Shijia, Dafangbo, and Jingbiao Zhenjie, before reaching the main building area of Luzhai. Within the embrace of Yaxi Stream, the complex is centered on the nine-bay Suyong Hall. According to clan hierarchy and official rank, each family built their own halls and residences. Therefore, each large mansion has a central axis running through it, and the mansions are connected by many intersecting paths. Even with the scenic area map, it often feels like you are walking into a maze.
