Have you seen China’s countryside? If not, would you like to see them? Alright, wait no more, here I’m bringing you a new article about a scenic Chinese village – the Hongcun village (宏村, Hóngcūn), now a UNESCO world heritage site. I liked the village so much that I’d absolutely recommend you to travel to Hongcun – at least once in a lifetime.
Well, I’m glad to live and work in Suzhou! I have been travelling wherever there comes a new opportunity. In July 2018, I visited Huangshan city located in Anhui province of China and visited Hongcun village that’s part of the city. Now is the time to pen down a Hongcun travel review along with the photos that I clicked during my scenic trip.
In fact, this blog-post is part of my article about Huangshan city. In my previous Huangshan blog-post, I discussed some of the logistical issues about traveling to Hunagshan city. If you have not read that post, please do so ASAP. In this post, the Hongcun travel guide, I’m going to share with you my memories of the Hongcun Village.
top things to do in Huangshan city
Please have a look on my other blog-posts to unravel Huangshan travel guide-
- Huangshan logistics and general travel issues,
- Hongcun village (宏村, Hóngcūn) – covered in this post,
- Yellow Mountain – Huangshan scenic area (黄山风景区, Huángshān fēngjǐng qū),
- Huangshan Hot Springs (黄山温泉, Huángshān wēnquán),
- Xidi village (西递, Xī dì).
Brief history of Hongcun village
The Hongcun village represents a typical ancient Chinese village. The village was first set up during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and witnessed an impressive economic growth throughout the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644 to 1912) dynasties.
Some of the existing buildings in the village were constructed during Ming/Qing dynasties that are often considered to be a unique Anhui architecture. Many of these buildings (such as Chengzhi Hall) are now open for general public viewing.
The village has a dedicated canal system that stretches from South Lake to Moon Pound, and beyond.
The Hongcun village was featured in the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.
In the year 2000, Hongcun and Xidi villages were listed in the UNESCO World Heritage site list.
Although a trip to Hongcun is often ignored the by the international travelers (I saw only a few foreign tourists at Hongcun), the village is indeed worth stopping by.
Hongcun travel attractions map
Here is the Baidu travel Map of the scenic Hongcun village – the most important Hongcun travel attractions are clearly marked in English (hope you know basic Mandarin Chinese)-
Why to visit Hongcun village?
Hongcun is an old village. If you like knowing about the Chinese villages, Hongcun wouldn’t disappoint you. Here you’d definitely get a better understanding about the ancient Chinese village system. As such, if you are interested to discover Chinese culture, history, etc. you’d love exploring Hongcun.
Also, it’s a highly scenic area. The scenery inside and outside the village is simply amazing. In fact, during my Tangkou to Hongcun trip, I clicked hundreds of pics from the moving minibus.
When I got down from the bus, I immediately clicked so many pics of the natural scenery and surrounding mountains. Let me show you one of the pics I clicked outside the village-
How much time you need for Hongcun?
Well, in my humble opinion, if you spend around 3 hours wandering in the village, you’d be able to visit all the tourist attractions and top things to do in the Hongcun village (listed soon).
Hongcun weather
As explained in my previous post, July is the peak summer season in China. In fact, it was so hot that wandering in Hongcun was indeed a difficult task. Thankfully, I carried an umbrella that proved to be a life saver. If you don’t like summer season, you’d better skip a trip in July/August.
Hongcun village accommodations
Unless you have some specific reason, there is no need for an overnight stay in Hongcun. In case you wish to stay, please check with Booking.com for the latest Hongcun hotel availability and pricing. The hotels are not at all very expensive.
How to get to hongcun?
Well, there are direct non-stop minibuses running throughout the day between Tangkou/Hunagshan Railway Station/Xidi and Hongcun.
From Tangkou bus station there is at least one bus (in the daytime) every hour to Hongcun (fare RMB 19). It takes 1.5 to 2 hours to get to Hongcun. The journey is highly scenic and keep your camera ready all the time if you like photography. Moreover, try to sit beside the bus driver so that you’d get a clearer view of the surroundings.
Tickets
The entry ticket fee to Hongcun village is RMB 104 (some discounts are available for students/senior citizens). I paid RMB 104 by Alipay. The ticket allows unlimited number of entries to the village for three consecutive days (from the date of first entry).
Timings
The official opening hours for the Hongcun village is from 7:30 to 17:30.
Shopping – a paradise for shopper
Hongcun village is a shopping paradise. I didn’t see any mega mall, but the village is full of small shops, restaurants, Chinese tea stalls. Moreover, from a village point of view, the food here is slightly expensive (especially the seafood, fish, etc.).
But then, since the village has become highly touristic, the expensive prices are quite understandable. Nevertheless, you can have a decent non-vegetarian meal for RMB 60/person.
Top things to do in Hongcun
Let me quickly go through the top Hongcun travel attractions:
Tree Hall (树人堂, Shù rén tang)
The tree hall means “everything must be refined, and children should be taught”. There is no back door in the tree hall. Its outer door has built-in hanging slats, which symbolizes the majesty and greatness of the builders.
The hall was constructed in AD 1862 and the three-story building covers an area of 266 square meters. The ceiling is painted with peony and butterflies with the hope that the future generations would enjoy a wonderful home time. There are two small study rooms in the courtyard. The east side of the hall has a relatively limited space.
Chengzhi Hall (承志堂, Chéngzhì táng)
Chengzhitang was built around 1855. It was the residence of Wang Dinggui, a salt merchant in the late Qing Dynasty. It has a brick and wood structure. There are 136 wooden columns in the whole house, nine large and small patios, seven floors and 60 rooms covering an area of 2,100 square meters.
The Chengzhitang wood carvings are mostly complex and have many characters. They are different in appearance, face different gods and have high artistic value.
Moon Pond (月沼, Yuè zhǎo)
Moon marsh, also known as Moon Pond, was built in the Ming Yongle period (AD 1403 – 1424). The Moon marsh water is green all the year round and the level of the pond surface is like a mirror. It was first polished by Wang Cunqi, the 76th ancestor of Hongcun village.
Jingdetang (敬德堂, Jìng dé tang)
Jingdetang building (built -1646) is simple in decoration. It is the masterpiece of Hongcun’s Ming and Qing Dynasties residences. It depicts living conditions of ordinary businessmen and the pattern of the Ming and Qing architectural styles.
The halls arranged in the back, front and rear have patios and the lighting performance is good. Jingdetang’s north side has a kitchen with a small patio.
Nanhu Academy (南湖书院, Nánhú shūyuàn)
The Nanhu Academy is located on the north bank of (South) Nanhu Lake. In the late Ming Dynasty, Hongcun people built six private schools on the north side of the South Lake, also known as the “Yihu Sixth Hospital.” In the 19th year of Qing Jiaqing (1814), the six courtyards were merged and named “Xiwenjia”, now commonly known as “Nanhu Academy”.
South Lake (南湖, Nánhú)
The Nanhu (South Lake) is located in the southern side of Hongcun Village.
The lake, built in the Ming dynasty, now has more than 400 years long history.
Stay safe
I have already explained in the previous post about a guy who stalked me for 20 minutes to get into his vehicle despite me not showing any interest. Please avoid such persons. In general, the village is otherwise very safe.
In summary, I loved visiting Hongcun village. If you like laid back atmosphere, scenic areas, Chinese culture, etc., don’t give a miss to Hongcun. You’d love it all over here. 🙂
That’s all in this Huangshan travel guide blog-post about travelling to Hongcun village.
If you have any question about the top things to do in Hongcun village of Huangshan city or simply about China tours, feel free to post in our forum so that others could also contribute and learn. For regular updates like us on Facebook, or follow on Twitter!
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Wish you a great time exploring Hongcun village!
Cheers!
Last updated: Monday, August 20, 2018