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 What's so special about the line
This route is good for both the young and the old, especially those who enjoy discovering the past. Through this route, you get to experience the flow of time, the ups and downs of an emotion. Just like an innocent happy teenager, we seek for history behind the Huizhou villages, by exploring its old streets and archways.
The peaceful Taiping Lake has the power to calm you down. Surrounded by mountains, Huizhou has water running under its passages. There is a saying that deep lakes and shallow waters flows and merges at Xin’an River. Xin’an River, is the main river for the people living in Huizhou. It fills the wonderful landscapes with profound meanings. “Striving for survival, Huizhou people earned their living by business. There was no town without Huizhou businessmen. Away from their homeland, Huizhou merchants left behind numerous archways which represented a prosperous but also oppressive family.” A chastity archway was built in 1905 in the south street in Shexian County, and it was the last of such an archway in Huizhou. The Chastity Brick Archway honored 65078 women for their chastity. Women in Huizhou earned the "honor” by staying chaste while waiting patiently for the returns of their husbands from overseas trips. The women were honored for their insistence on being chaste.
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 Introduction of the spots
★ Taiping Lake ★
Taiping Lake is the largest man-made lake in Anhui province. Surrounded by mountains, the scenic area boasts beautiful waters, differently-shaped peninsulas, and stunning stones. Its advantageous location, good harmonious ecological environment, abundant products, and profound culture predict a prosperous future of tourism.
As a mountainous lake, Taiping Lake covers an area of about 88.6 square kilometers, holding 2.4 billion cubic meters of water. It is 60 kilometers long from east to west, with a maximum width of 6 kilometers and a minimum of just 150 meters. Converged by the brooks of Huangshan Mountain and Jiuhua Mountain, the water is limpid and meets the frist grade of the national water quality standards. The forest coverage of the mountains around reaches 95 percent. Hidden in the green mountains, Taiping Lake enjoys a reputation as "Jade of South of Yangtze River".
Taiping Lake is endowed with superior ecological environment. Beside the lake grows over 400 kinds of plants from 41 species. Near half of them are ornamental plants. The area is inhabitated by about 170 birds, 70 mammals, and 40 freshwater fishes. It is also rich in fruits and various local specialties, such as the world famous Taiping Houkui green tea, Huangshan Maofeng green tea, Longmen persimmon, Chinese goosebeery, Qiaoshan Chinese torreya nuts, dried wild fish, and Taiping silver fish.
★ Xin’an River "Landscape Gallary" Scenic Area ★
Xin’an River is in Shexian county, a county famous for its long history, stretches for about 50km. The environment along the banks is very well taken care of and tourists are able to experience a 3D ecosystem: trees in the higher mountains, tea trees in the middle, with fruit trees at the bottom and fishes in water. In addition, old villages and folk houses are scattered along the banks, which makes it look like a scene out of a traditional Chinese watercolor painting. Down the river, you may find thousands-of-years-old camphor, Santan loquats, Jiusha old village, folk houses in New Yangcun, old workshops, Longmen waterfall, Dachuan Island and Phoenix Island. There are also many interesting activities to try out at the Happy Farmer’s House: catch a Hui Opera in Miantan, try your hand at picking loquats, oranges and tea leaves, or check out how silkworms are being bred, or try making some soybean milk. All of these activities will ensure that you will have a delightful time when visiting Happy Farmer’s House.
Wu Bihu, an expert on tour planning in Peking University remarked “Xin’an River is famous for its subtle mix of Hui culture, its landscape and old villages.”
★ Tangmo Old Village Scenic Area ★
Tangmo Old Village is suited in Qiankou county and is graded AAAA-state-level scenic area featuring Shuikou, Hui style gardens and scenery in water towns. Besides picturesque landscapes, the village is rich in Huizhou culture and was home to many intellectuals. The cozy scenery and cultural landscape bring out the best in each other and is integrated into the old Hui style villages. The village can be viewed as a model for its overall planning and the construction of Shuikou gardens; so it is also named “the No.1 village in China Shuikou garden”.
★ Tangyue Archway Group and Bao Family Garden ★
Lying in the Tangyue Village of Fujie township, Shexian county, the Tangyue Archway Group is a key historical monument under state protection.
There are seven memorial archways winding their various ways into a group, both simple and elegant. They are arranged in order of loyalty, filial piety, moral integrity and justice, with the last in the middle. Around the ancient memorial archways are the ancestral temples, old residential houses and ancient pavilions. The ancient architectural structures, coupled with the beauty of the countryside, have made this site a popular location for filming movies and television dramas.
Located close to the Tangyue Archway Group, the Bao Family Garden is a traditional Chinese private garden combining the typical ancient Huizhou-style with a potted landscape unique also to Huizhou.
Known as the Mother of the Oriental Potted Landscape, the Garden has been formally applied for inclusion on the list of World Intangible Cultural Heritage Sites, as well as the Guinness Book of World Records. The Garden covers an area of 24 hectares and houses nearly 10,000 potted landscapes. The latter incorporates the finest examples of potted landscapes of different schools both at home and abroad, and abounds in rare plants from far and near. The Garden, with all its unique features, is the largest and most beautiful aristocratic manor of the Huizhou merchants.
Editor: Li Jing
Photo from Anhui Tourism Magazine
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