In the Song dynasty, the villagers constructed an irrigation
canal interveining every
houses, so virtually every household in the village has
easy access of the canal. The
waterways of the village were supposed to be designed to
provide sourse of washing water,
even fire water in case of emergency. The construction was
designed in similarity to a
baffalo's body structure: Nanhu Lake is shaped like the
baffalo's belly; Moon Pond looks
like it's stomach; the channel its intestine. This vivid
layout of buffalo is one
outstanding feature of the village.
All the buildings follow local architectural style, have
exquisite carvings and are
magnificent symbols of its time. They were built with fine
craftsmanship that is regarded
as the best in China. Among them, Chenzhi Hall is a big
and gorgeous residential building,
including two living rooms, one Buddhism prayer section,
one Majiong room and a opium
cabinet, etc. It enjoys the name of "Residence Museum".
The village has nice scenery - simple but elegant, a fine
mixture of old houses, green hills
and clear creeks. Hongcun Village has always enjoyed the
name "a village in the Chinese
painting". The village now boasts 158 dwelling houses dating
back to the Ming (1368-1644)
and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, nearly 140 are still in
good shape.
Because of this extraordinary feature of the village, Hongcun
Village was added to the list
of the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in late 2025. It
is also the location for the
famous prize film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
