I happened to be free recently, so I chose a circle and decided to go to southern Anhui on such a beautiful spring day and go to Chengkan ancient town there.
When I arrived in Chengkan, I found that the ancient city was far away from the ancient town: on the one hand, the area of the ancient city was much larger than that of the ancient town, and the ancient city was the size of a city, so it was difficult to see the whole picture. Secondly, because these ancient cities have long been developed into tourist attractions, no matter holidays, they are crowded, and the small ancient town in Chengkan is an independent appearance, with tourists in twos and threes and deserted streets. In my opinion, if the ancient city is an adult gorgeous young woman, then the ancient town is a shy cardamom girl.
Chengkan Ancient Town, also known as longxi village, also known as Bagua Village. It is said that this ancient Huizhou village is a huge gossip shape from the air.
As soon as I entered the entrance of Chengkan Village, rows and rows of Huizhou-style buildings with clear black and white came to my face, and the Longxi River passed through the village. In the era when there was no running water, the river supplied the whole village with drinking water and irrigated a large area of farmland. There is an ancient bridge across the river, the most famous of which is Huanxiu Bridge. Unfortunately, 13 was rebuilt because of the flood.
Entering the village, you will find countless small streets and alleys, short and criss-crossing. The most terrible thing is that there is no obvious difference between the streets and alleys, so that I have not been able to get out of this complicated gossip twice in a row. Finally, I invited a 77-year-old local grandmother as a tour guide and made a complete tour. This grandmother is very simple and lovely. She nagged as she led the way, saying that she had grown up and that her children and grandchildren were not well off. So she learned from the younger generation in the village to bring one or two guests every day to earn twenty or thirty, but she didn't speak Mandarin very well, so few people actually looked for her.
All the small streets and alleys in Chengkan Village are very narrow, only two or three people can cross them, and every household is next to each other. The direction of the gate seems to be east, west, north and south. The village is very large, with about 400 to 500 households and over 100 old buildings, most of which were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Looking closely at an old house opened by a family, it turns out that Huizhou architecture is not only black and white, but also has high walls and small windows, fat beams and thin columns, while the external walls are mostly wood. Grandma said that high walls and small windows are because men used to go out to make a living (these men were once famous Huizhou merchants). The wood is carved with beams and painted with pictures. Strangely, the exterior doorways of these old houses are made of heavy and exquisite materials, while the interior is unpretentious. Only when I asked my grandmother did I know that Huizhou architecture pays attention to four or two houses with golden gatehouses, and each gatehouse is the facade of every household. Therefore, every household is dedicated to the gatehouse. Almost all the old buildings here have at least two-story patios, and those three-story patios have an area of at least 1000 square meters. They are all families in which famous families in Ming and Qing dynasties can marry several concubines. The third floor is occupied by servants, because it is too hot in summer. The first floor is the reception room, and the second floor is the master bedroom, which is warm in winter and cool in summer.
At the corners of some streets and lanes in Chengkan Village, every corner about two or three meters high will be smoothed. This is the so-called meaning of beating around the bush: because the streets and alleys are too narrow, the coffins can't turn around in the narrow alleys when someone is in the village for a funeral, so these street-facing host families will grind down part of their corners to let the coffins pass, leaving the top and ground intact. The locals said: this is called not letting the world give way, and it is called harmony in the middle.
The legend of this village is that during the Huang Chao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, a pair of Roche brothers led their extended family to escape the war. In order to survive, they picked wild bracken and wild bamboo shoots in the mountains in exchange for the necessities they needed from people outside the mountains. The Luo family also invented a fresh and delicious food: hairy tofu. Tofu with small hairs on the tip of the tongue is also known to the whole country in China. I also tasted it with great interest. It's really delicious. I ate two servings in succession.
Because it has not been discovered and noticed by more tourists, people prefer to flock to Hongcun and Xidi in southern Anhui. These places are more mature and have a stronger commercial atmosphere, so the whole Chengkan can be quiet and serene, and it is easy to walk through the alleys. The high wall blocks the spring sunshine, and the wind blows gently on me. There are few shops facing the street, but there are several small households selling ink, paper, ink and bamboo carvings, two hairy tofu shops and a milk tea shop. In sharp contrast to the mature tourist areas where people come and go and shops are everywhere, my grandmother and I are walking leisurely on the street like two locals. After the tour, I gave the old lady ten yuan more. Although small, the old man held my hand and thanked me for making a fortune. I also sincerely wish her a long life! Then I went to the inn booked online. Although the inn is simple, it is warm and looks like home. What is rare is that this inn is a private house transformed from an old house with a history of more than 200 years. For dinner, I ate stewed dried bamboo shoots and stinky fish cooked by the innkeeper (both famous dishes in Huizhou), and then I visited Wangfeng Pavilion, the commanding height of the ancient town, overlooking the ancient town. The whole village of Daiwa with white walls is surrounded by mountains, and the black-and-white and green mountains and trees are like a big axis of ink painting. The pond at the entrance of the village radiates to the village, with clusters of tea trees and winding field paths on the hillside. Where are the tourist attractions here? It's obviously a paradise away from the hustle and bustle. ...