World Cultural Heritage-Hongcun

    Hongcun, located at the southwestern foot of the YellowMountain and 11 kilometers away from Yi county, is a peculiar ox-shaped ancient village in the peach blossom valley of the ancient Yi county. Lying in the Thunder Hillock and facing the Southern Lake, it covers 30 hectares, and enjoys the good name of “Chinese village in picture”because of the beautiful mountain and water. The mountain is grassy because of the water, and the water is lively because of the mountain. In the shaoxing Period of the Southern Song Dynasty, people in Hongcun took the initiative in applying bionics by creating the unique artificial water system for firefighting and irrigation. They did everything according to the shape of the ox: the winding dam is the “intestine” of the ox; the “Moon Pond” dug beside the mouth of the spring is its “stomach”; the “Southern Lake” is its “belly”; the villagers lived in both sides of the “intestine” are its “body”. The sceneries of the mountain and the lake are in perfect harmony with layers of houses; the natural scenes and cultural implications reflect upon each other, --- the very uniqueness of the residence design in Hongcun, which distinguishes it from that of any other areas, and makes it as one of the wonders of the current World Historical and Cultural Heritage.
    Now there are more than 140 well-preserved folk residences of Ming and Qing Dynasties: the Ideal-Upholding Hall, famous for its exquisite and gorgeous “Three Sculptures” and thus called the “Civil Forbidden City”; the Southern Lake sceneries, the Southern Lake Academy, the Spring Morning of the Moon Pond, the Ox Intestine Ditch, the Jade Reflections of the Two Springs, the Big Tree in front of the Pavilion, the Sunset in the Thunder Hillock, the Man-Cultivating Hall, and one ancestral temple of Ming Dynasty: the Hearty Talk Hall etc. Around the village are the sights like the famous PheasantRockWoodcuttingBuilding, QishuLake, the Autumnal Sceneryin Tachuan, the BambooSea in Mukeng, the ancestral temple of Ming Dynasty in Wancun village: the Love and Respect Hall.
    Right after its foundation, the company conducted a lot of thorough researches and studies to the ancient Hongcun village, and invited some experts to formulate the “The Protection and Developing Plan of Hongcun Village”, which was unanimously passed in 1999 by the Experts Appraisal Committee of the National Construction Ministry, the Antique Management Bureau and other units concerned after they carried out a field investigation in Hongcun village. The village was formally assessed as the World Cultural Heritage in the 24th Meeting of the World Heritage Committee on November 30th, 2000, and one of the key units for cultural relics protection in the national level, plus the patriotic education base in AnhuiProvince in 2001. On December 30th, 2002, it joined the World Cultural Heritage Committee ofthe Association of Chinese Scenic Spots; in July, 2003, it was formally accessed as the state-list 4A scenic spot, and one of the first group of the famous historical and cultural villages in December, 2003. Hongcun Scenic Spot has excellently received many VIPs from the Party or the State, such as Mr. Jiang Zemin, former Secretary in General of the Central Committee of CPC in May 20th, 2001.
    Through the diligence of the ancestors and the protection from their offsprings, HongcunVillage has gained world-wide recognition. We will continue to make our efforts in protecting this precious heritage, developing and making use of its tourism resources, and enabling more and more people to know about it, and appreciating the profoundity in its culture.