The villages of Xidi and Hongcun were registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2000 in view of their typical Anhui-style architecture. Picturesquely ringed by mountains, they are often referred to as ‘villages in a Chinese painting’. Both have a rich and unique legacy of buildings and gardens, developed through a sophisticated indigenous culture. Between both villages there are 29 Ming Dynasty (14th – 17th centuries) and over three thousand Qing Dynasty (17th – 20th centuries) residential buildings and family temples. Decorated with the typical local style of brick, wood and stone, carvings, they display the intricacy and elegancy of the traditional homes of the time.
Xidi Village is located in the south eastern part of Yixian County and has over 300 simple, yet graceful, Ming and Qing dynasty residences, of which 124 are well preserved. The village streets and lanes with their original style remain as they have done for centuries. Typical structures in Xidi include a residence of the Qing prefecture governor Hu Wenguang, the Ruiyu Courtyard, the Taoli (peaches and plums) Garden, the Dafu Grand House (home of a senior official in feudal society), and Lingyun Tower.
Hongcun Village is about 11 km away and the whole village was originally laid out in the shape of an ox. The west end of the village, called Leigang Hill, resembles an ox head and two huge trees stand like ox horns. At the front and rear of the village are four bridges that span a Jiyin stream and resemble four legs of the ox. The several hundred well-arranged houses form the body of the ox, and the 1,000-meter-long Jiyin stream that meanders through the village is regarded as its intestines! A crescent pond in the village is the ox‘s first stomach, and a larger South Lake is the second stomach.