https://ph.trip.com/moments/detail/huangshan-120061-134223006
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I found the real-life version of the "Green Fairyland" in Huizhou

🏡 Xixinan: A Millennial Poetic Scroll at the Foot of Huangshan Mountain Strolling along the Fengle River on the western foothills of Huangshan, an ancient village once known as the "Richest in She County" quietly flows with 800 years of history. This is Xixinan—the best-preserved Huizhou ancient village at the foot of Huangshan, a living museum of Ming and Qing architecture. Walking through the "Three-Room Alley" built during the Ming Dynasty feels like stepping into an ink-wash painting. Beneath the mottled horse-head walls lie countless stories of time: 1️⃣ Old House Pavilion and Green Surrounding Pavilion In the old residence built by Ming Dynasty salt merchant Wu Zhilong, the Green Surrounding Pavilion still retains the refined elegance of Ming-style gardens. The intertwined lotus patterns on the stone-carved lattice windows bear witness to the legendary merchant guild era when "no town prospered without Huizhou merchants." It's said the Wu family often hosted tea gatherings here, where million-salt-contract deals were sealed amid laughter. 2️⃣ Millennial Ancient Dam on Fengle River The Lei'e water conservancy system built during the Southern Song Dynasty still irrigates fertile fields today. The stone weir clearly shows ancient water channels carved by ancestors. The Fengle River reflects the black-tiled, white-walled houses on both banks, perfectly embodying the Huizhou poetic scene of "a river's misty waters mirroring sunny mountains." 3️⃣ Alleyways Dense with Hundred-Eave Buildings The village preserves 72 ancient Ming-Qing alleys, with ancestral gates of various surnames lining the streets. The golden toad carvings on the Cheng Family Ancestral Hall's doors and windows, the "Four Waters Converging" courtyard of the Li Family Mansion—all whisper stories of Huizhou merchants' "scholarly merchant" family traditions. When morning mist drifts through the maple-poplar forest, old farmers lead water buffalo across stone bridges, and laundry-beating sounds startle egrets by the river—such scenes convince me that Xixinan is the real-life version of Tao Yuanming's "dimly visible distant village, curling smoke from homesteads." Here, time seems ground slowly by ancient millstones. Villagers still draw water with bamboo baskets, cultivate gardens left from the Ming Dynasty, and dry hams under corridors using century-old methods. Standing before the Jinshi Mansion built during the Qianlong era, I suddenly understand why Tang Xianzu wrote, "All my life's deepest longing finds no dream to match Huizhou." Xixinan needs no deliberate attractions—every corner is scenery. When sunset dyes the entire village amber, you'll comprehend the Huizhou saying: "Eight parts landscape, one part fields, one part roads and manors"—the ultimate flavor of earthly paradise.
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Posted: Jul 26, 2025
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Xixinan Scenic Area

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