Huizhou Profile

Huizhou was the traditional name of the local territory, which covers about 10,000 square kms. There were very few residents 2000 years ago. With the historical evolvement, the local population was being built up steadily. Especially the refugees from the Northern China poured into the areas during the two war periods from 950—1050 AD, and 1250—1300 AD. The local production could not feed so large population, as farm fields were limited, therefore the youngsters had to leave home for the more developed areas, such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanking etc. working as apprentices in pawnshops, groceries selling tea, dried bamboo shoots, etc. When some of them opened their own business and got rich, building themselves a big house at hometown was their priority. Then the successful merchants sent their sons to the local private schools, hoping their kids would become an official to bring honor to the family. During Ming and Qing dynasties, there really appeared lots of high rank officials originating from the local, Huizhou. Since then Huizhou merchants had become one of the well-known merchant cliques in Ming and Qing Dynasties. When you go to visit Huangshan, you will pass by such kinds of villages: well preserved old houses, memorial archways, family memorial shrine hall, etc.

Notwithstanding this third century claim to fame, it was not until the middle of the Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279) that Huizhou took up a national position that it was to expand over the next 600 years. Under Emperor Gao Zong (1127 - 1187), the Imperial court plumbed new levels of decadence. It reacted to the threat of the invasion from the Kin Kingdom by relocating the Imperial capital to Hangzhou and initiating an extensive public works programs. When the Imperial court arrived at its new capital in 1132, Huizhou merchants were on hand to supple bamboo, wood, lacquer and craftsmen for the construction of palaces, pavilions, villas and temples.
This construction boom provided Huizhou traders with capital to branch out into new industries and provinces. It transpired that with the strengthening of the southern economy, Huizhou's location between Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces could be made to turn a profit. Soon Huizhou had become a key communications and trade route; local traders diversified into selling tea, grain, silk, cloth, paint, pottery, ink and paper. Commerce, frowned upon in Confucian ethics, became such a boon to this hitherto marginalized area that during Emperor Jiajing's reign (1522 ¨C 1567), some 70% of Huizhou's population was involved in it.
However, it was when Huizhou's merchants turned to the high margin salt and pawn broking businesses that they were able to accelerate their expansion. They thus spread to all corners of China and even expanded into some Southeast Asian countries. Indeed, it was said that by the reign of Emperor Guangxi (1875 ¨C 1909) all pawnbrokers were from Huizhou.
By investing in Huizhou's education they were able to field many candidates for Imperial Examinations and thus influence the Imperial bureaucracy. Between 960 - 1911 as many as 2,018 people from Huizhou achieved the highest level in Imperial government. In this way, these artful traders conspired to maintain such commercial advantages as their valuable salt monopolies.
Having gained fame and fortune, Huizhou merchants returned to their homeland to invest their gains in large-scale construction. To increase their personal prestige, to honor their ancestors and to strengthen their clan they built ancestral halls, mansions, memorial arches and bridges; all the architectural splendors that still decorate Huizhou's magnificent land
Owing to the wealth accumulated by Huizhou tradesmen from the mid-Southern Song (1127 - 1279) to Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736-1796) in the Qing dynasty, an influential, regional architectural style was able to develop in Huizhou. Many features of this local style were incorporated in the architectural development of the south, in particular the canal towns of the Yangzi River delta. As you walk around Huizhou villages, you will want to watch out for the following details:
Individual House Features
Most visitors, by the time they visit Huizhou villages, will be familiar with the typical design of a courtyard home, therefore we will here dwell on Huizhou's deviations from this familiar pattern.
On passing through a doorframe, constructed of stone rather than wood, the visitor will enter a small courtyard flanked on three sides. The reason this courtyard is so-sized is to allow for adequate illumination and ventilation, while restricting possible rain and draughts. The sloped roofs above the courtyard are so designed as to collect the maximum amount of rainwater. This is done because geomantic-minded Huizhou merchants were reluctant to let any form of energy escape their control; they were interested in amassing and accumulating property rather than letting it disperse and escape. The collection of rain is symbolic of their accumulation of wealth.
Either side of the small courtyard, which sometimes features a garden, are two bedrooms. Straight ahead is the central meeting hall behind which is the dining and kitchen area. Unlike other courtyard homes, often Huizhou homes are two-storied, sometimes three storied. The upper floors, shaded from view, sport verandas, fitted with benches. Since Huizhou women were discouraged from meeting men from outside the family, these benches were placed for them to survey goings-on in the main courtyard beneath.
The house so-far described only has one courtyard. Many of the homes that you will see possess two or three courtyards. The number of courtyards a home had depended on the status its owner; to build a home with more courtyards than your rank permitted was a punishable offense. The most immediate way, therefore, for a Huizhou merchant to increase his prestige was by improving the fixtures within the house. Consequently, Huizhou homes boast some of the best stone, wood and brick craftsmanship in China. Complex latticework adorns their windows. Beams, pillars and purling are gilded or painted. Brackets, eaves, arches, balustrades and shrines bear exquisite carvings.
Village Planning Features
A noticeable feature of Huizhou villages are the high, crenellated walls that separate neighboring buildings. Called fire-proof walls, or sometimes fire-wind walls, their purpose as conveyed by their names was importantly to prevent the spread of fire through the town from one building to the next. Their two further uses was to prevent draughts from entering the homes' courtyards, and also to discourage burglary.
Most streets in a Huizhou village line either a brook or a canal. Flagstones, paving the street, are on a gentle incline to drain water into the neighbouring channel. Further, the flagstones are often pitted so that in spite of their drainage function they are not slippery. Alongside the street, there are often steps leading down to the water's edge providing easy access to water for washing, cooking or bathing purposes.
Memorial Arches
Even if you do not reach Tangyue Arches Complex, you are likely to spot Memorial Arches as you drive around Shexian County, which with 94 arches has preserved over half of those chronicled in its county annals.
These arches memorialize three different categories of honor ¨C scholarly, imperial and ethical. Scholarly honor arches celebrate family members passing the provincial or national level imperial exams. Imperial honor refers to an Emperor's decree ordering the erection of a memorial arch in recognition of the contribution of a local government official. Ethical honor describes arches put up to recognize the uncommon personal integrity of a particular individual or set of individuals. Traditional themes were righteousness, charity, chastity and filial piety. The Long-Lived Arch, for example, celebrates a loving couple, who lived to be 100 years old during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Usually, memorial arches were made of stone. Single-fronted they bear calligraphy, describing the reason for the memorial arch. Often two posted, some have four posts and others, especially if they are square, have eight supporting posts. Although most of the arches are double-tiered some can be as many as five-storied.
The Tang Yue Arches are seven arches acknowledging the successful political career, filial piety, chastity and charity of continuing generations of the Bao family. Three of the arches were erected during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and four during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911
The most attracting characteristics of Xi Di are her perfectly well preserved 124 civilian houses, which were built one after another in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. All the houses are covered by grey tiles with white-washed walls around the courtyards. The 99 winding alleys or lanes, paved with large pieces of stone slabs, connect all the households together. Two crystal-clear brooks pass through the village, and provide endless streams for the housewives' frequent washing. The whole village is just hugged by small green hills, whose slopes are covered by bamboo or tea bushes and young pine forest.
At the entrance of the village, your attention will be caught by a magnificent memorial archway, which was built in honor of a celebrated official in mid-Ming Dynasty. Inside the village you will find that all the houses were built with one common feature: the wood-bricked structures with two stories, elaborately carved beams, and colorfully painted pillars. The designs of the wood carvings are all originated from Chinese legendary stories and ancient routine practice.
The ornaments with superb workmanship can be seen everywhere in the houses, which really reflect the prosperous period of the former dwellers whose business covered salt trade, pawnshop, etc. The representatives of such houses are several ancient clan halls and merchants' residences, the Hall of Kindness, the Hall of Auspices, etc. to name a few. Just as Hongtsun Village, it was also accepted by UNESCO as the World Cultural Heritage Site in 2000.
Hongtsun evolved in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, is located in a beautiful surrounding, with green hills around and clear streams winding through. The village, covering the territory of 30 hectares, has a great fame for her water-supplying system. The bird view of village's shape is like a resting water-buffalo. The running water flows in the winding ditches to every household, and is finally gathered in a little lake at the entrance of the village. The peaceful environment and beautiful surroundings present outsiders a piece of pleasing and tranquil picture of a typical country life in South China.
Everyday hundreds of visitors are attracted to the village by its beautiful views and more than 140 well-preserved ancient houses, among which several magnificent clan halls and the celebrities' former residences are most attracting. Inside these ancient houses you can appreciate the splendid wood carvings on the beams and columns. After your visit, you will conclude that Hongtsun’s major difference from other villages is that the well-preserved ancient houses get along harmoniously well with her beautiful surroundings. It was inscribed into the list of the World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
Hongtsun is also the location for the famous Chinese film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Chengkan village in Huizhou District, Anhui province is famous for the residential architecture of the Ming and Qing style. Baolun Hall in the Ancestral Temple of Luo's, built during the Jiaqing's reign, is a representative collection of typical Huizhou architecture.
The temple covers an area of 5 mu (1/3 hectare). Baolun Hall was well-designed and constructed with extreme delicacy. Through the first entrance, visitors reach "Tianjing" - a square dooryard with rooms on each side designed for enough lighting and draught. Secondly, comes a great hall, in which four vermilion posts support the timber frame. Further across a yard is the main hall - Baolun Hall.
The design of this timber frame hall is delicate and unique. Exquisite engravings of flowers and geometric pattern on the bluestone parapets and creative colored paintings on the beams, lintels and doorframe lure many foreign visitors. The colors remain bright and fresh although throughout ages. A pair of wooden staircases ascend to the second floor on which through the finely engraved casements, visitors can have a perspective of the Huangshan mountains.
The residential houses in Chengkan village are of high value on the research of China's folk architecture and have been designated as a provincial preservation.
The most attracting part of Nanping Village is her 300 or more ancient residential houses and her amazing winding lanes. Strolling in the village, you'll be surprised to find how simple and old-fashioned the village is. Wherever you go, you'll see the well-preserved ancient houses with white walls and grey tiles. Inside the courtyard, your eyesight will be caught by the traditional ornaments of the household: stone-carved windows, wood-carved beams and columns. Outside the yard, walking along the stone-paved path, you will soon lose yourself in the maze-liked winding lanes. Traditional-styled houses, old-fashioned decorations inside and winding small lanes stringing every household of the whole village are the main features of Namping, which is the reason why lots of traditional Chinese films, among them is Judou, an internationally renowned film, chose Namping as scenes on location. So if you have a tour in Yixian County, Nanping village is another choice in your tour lists.

For detailed information, just drop in an email and I can give detailed guide for this tour.
john@chinahuangshan.com congzhang35@hotmail.com

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