Xidi Village
» Huangshan, An Hui

西递 桃花源里人家

Xi Di

Xidi village is located in the southeastern part of Yixian County, Anhui Province and it has a long history of more than 950 years. At present, it has over 300 simple, yet graceful, Ming and Qing dynasty residences, of which 124 are well preserved. As a cultural site, Xidi Village was added to the list of World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000.

Something needs to know

It was built in the Huangyou period of the Northern Song dynasty, developed in the middle of the Jingtai period of the Ming dynasty, and was prosperous at the beginning of the Qing dynasty. It has a history of nearly 1000 years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the businessmen reached the period of highest development. They carried out an extensive building program, such as building houses and ancestral temples, making roads, building bridges and so on. Nowadays, more than 100 old folk houses in Xidi maintain the basic appearance and feature they used to be.

Names of the Village

Xidi Village is located at the south foot of Mt. Huangshan. Its original name is Xichuan. It can also be called Xixi. This name is given because there are three brooks which run from east to west. But because there is a relay station in the west of the village, so the name was changed into Xidi.

Why locals with surname "Hu"

Xidi has a population of 1,020; most of them have a surname Hu, who is the offspring of the Emperor Li Shimin in Tang Dynasty. Tang zhaozong, the twelfth generation of Li Shimin, was put to death because of Zhu Wen's insurgence, only his son left and he was bought to Kaoshui, Wuyuan County of Huizhou Prefecture by grandfather (Wuyuan County belongs to Jiangxi Province nowadays), and namely Hu Changyi.

He knew about his life experience until he passed the imperial examination, but Mr. Hu Changyi gave up his utility fame and gain, was buried alive in Kaoshui, Wuyuan County in order to research book of changes. In the same time, he taught his son that couldn't use the name Li by way of feeling deeply grateful.

Hu Shiliang, his the fifth generation, went to Jinling (called Nanjing at present) on business, passed through Xidi village. He liked the geomantic place with green mountain and blue water, so his whole family immigrated to Xidi village in 1047 and passed down generation by generation up to now. Surname Hu has passed 36 generations, in the history, there was a legend that surname Li was true and surname Hu was false.

Original style

The village streets and lanes with their original style remain as they have done for centuries, and the village has been praised by foreign architects as containing some of the best preserved old-time houses and one of the most beautiful villages in the world.

Typical structures in Xidi include a pailou to the residence of the Qing prefecture governor Hu Wenguang, the Ruiyu Courtyard, the Taoli (peaches and plums) Garden, the Big Mansion (home of a senior official in feudal society), and Lingyun Tower.

Getting around

As one enters the village, a five-storey bluestone archway catches one's eye. It is an ancient-style gate that is supported by four posts and five studs. Lofty and steep, it is a fit expression of the brilliant status achieved by the Hu family.

In the middle of the village is a hall named "Lufutang Hall." Dating back to the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1662 - 1722), the hall is known for its elegant decoration and scholarly atmosphere.

Another ancient building, called "Big Mansion," was built in 1691. A wooden sign on the building says "The Family of Peach Blossom Cradle." Somehow it has long been part of a folk lore that the main hall of this building served as the place where girls from the Hu family threw a highly elaborate ball of embroidery at random to find their husbands-a custom that was prevalent in many parts of China.

Typical presentation of feudal culture

Xidi, the same as Hongcun, is the typical representative of the culture of feudal society in the later stage of China - the carrier of Huizhou culture. From ancient times, the two villages had great respect for the thoughts of the Confucianists, they laid emphasis on education and culture.

That is the collective reflection of Huizhou culture in the peak era of Ming and Qing dynasty, such as feudal ethic culture, Zongfa culture featuring communal life, Fengshui culture during the establishment of the village, and the Huishang culture featuring the Confucianists; it has well preserved the dialects, colloquial language, costume, and the cultural phenomena in daily activities such as food and drinks. At the same time, the connection between the prosperous state of Huishang and Huizhou culture is well presented.

Attractions around » Huangshan, An Hui

Natural Scene

Natural Scene

Historical Site

Historical Site

Shopping & Leisure

Shopping & Leisure

  Transportation

  1. Tour bus transfer center at Tangkou
  2. How Can I get there?

  Food

  1. Why are food so expensive on the mountain? Am I getting ripped off?

  Travel

  1. How much does the ticket to Huangshan Scenic Area cost?
  2. What are some sceneries that I can't miss when visiting Yellow Mountains?
  3. What should I notice when climbing Yellow Mountains?
  4. Any ropeway there?
  5. Can I buy ropeway tickets from tour guides? Is it safe?

  Other Hints

  1. Anything interesting in the around-area of Yellow Mountains?

  • Tour bus transfer center at Tangkou

    You might be already confused by how many times to transfer and still confused about whereto transfer. Here is the introduction of transfer center at Tangkou transfercenter.

    • Zhaixi Transfer Station: If you live near Zhaixi, like Jinmangu Hotel (Golden Bangkok Hotel), Haizhou Grand Hotel, Zhaixi Grand Hotel, you can go to Zhaixi transfer station on foot.
    • Dongling Tansfer Station: It locates in the center of Tangkou. If you live near Xingang Grand Hotel (New Shore Grand Hotel), you can go to the station on foot or by bus.
    • Nandamen Transfer Station: If you live near the South Gate, you can go to this station on foot or by bus.


  • How Can I get there?

    The Huangshan (Yellow Mountains) that we usually talk about refers to Huangshan Scenic Area. There are three ways to get there.

    • Train: There are more than 30 trains that stop at Huangshan, but less start at Huangshan. After you arrive at Huangshan stop, you can take a tour bus in front of the train station to get to Huangshan scenic area. The tour bus cost about 15 RMB. Trains that start from Huangshan stop are ShanghaiN420 and Huaibei N410.

    • Airplane: The airport of Huangshan is locatedin the outskirt of the city, about 5km to the city center. You can take a taxi to Huangshan Transportation Center and then take a bus that goes from Tunxi to Taiping, get off at Tangkou and take a tour bus to Huangshan scenic area. The bus costs 13 RMB/person. Or you can take a taxi from the airport to Tangkou, which costs 200RMB/taxi.

    • Bus: If you come to visit Huangshan from Wuhan,Hefei, Tongling, Anqing, Nanjingor Wuhu, you should ask if the bus will stop at Tangkou, and if it does, you can just get off at Tangkou station to save some time. Buses from other cities like Shanghai and Hangzhouonly stop at Tunxi; therefore, you will need to transfer to the bus from Tunxito Taiping and get off at Tangkou, and then take a tour bus to Huangshan Scenicarea. The tour bus costs 13RMB/person.


  • Why are food so expensive on the mountain? Am I getting ripped off?

    Food is expensive on the mountain because all food was carried up to the top by porters working for Huangshan Scenic Area. A bottle of water is about 10 RMB, sometimes even 12RMB; a cucumber is 3RMB.

    Food in hotels and restaurants is also expensive. Avegetable dish costs between 30-40 RMB. Dishes with meat in it are even more expensive, which cost 60 to up to 100RMB. So if you are not planning to eat onthe mountain, please prepare enough food before you enter the area.


  • Anything interesting in the around-area of Yellow Mountains?

    Huangshan is sure the best place to visit in this area, but other small places around it areworth visiting too.

    1. The old streetsin Huangshan city is pretty interesting. Stuff there are not of very goodquality so if you want to buy some, make sure you bargain half of the pricedown.

    2. If you likebamboo shoot food, you should ask your taxi driver to take you to the outskirtof the city and try some food made by authentic farmers.

    3. Huashan PuzzleCave and Chengkan Eight Diagrams Village are twomust-visit spot near Huangshan. You can take a round-trip taxi there, whichcosts 100 RMB/taxi.


  • How much does the ticket to Huangshan Scenic Area cost?

    There are low season and shoulder period tickets.

    Low season lasts from December 1st to the next year's late February. Peak season starts from May 1st to November 1st.

    Low season's ticket costs 120RMB/person, and 100RMB/ticket for students, soldiers, and seniors above 60 years old. It is free for the elderly above 70 years old.

    It costs 200RMB/person during shoulder period and 100RMB/person for students, soldiers, and seniors above 60 years old.

    It is free for the elderly above 70 years old. The golden week holiday belongs to peak season, but the price of ticket does not rise.


  • What are some sceneries that I can't miss when visiting Yellow Mountains?

    Every scenic spothas its must-see sceneries. There are 10 things in Yellow Mountains that you have to see.

    1. Queer pinaster: Huangshan pinaster is a special species of trees. They usually grow on cliffs.Greeting Pinaster is the most famous kind of pinaster on Huangshan. ShixinApices is where most of the pinasters are at.

    2. Odd rocks: Theodd shapes of rock were formed due to the weather here with sunshine, rain,wind, etc, which are natural carvers for those rocks. There are some famousstones named Flying Stone from Afar, Monkey Watching the Sea, etc.

    3. Cloud sea: cloudsea is formed under special climate, and when the cloud is lower than the topof the mountain, people on the peak will see a sea of cloud below their feet.

    4. Hot spring: Hotspring area locates on the mountainside. If you climb up the mountain throughthe south gate, no mater where you go, YunguTemple or Ciguang Temple,you will have to walk pass the hot spring area. The temperature of the hotspring remains 42 degrees Celsius all the time. It is suitable for bathing anddrinking. 48 tons of hot spring is pouring out every hour. The hot spring canalso be used as medication. It is effective for several kinds of diseases.

    5. Odd apices: There are 77 mountain peaks that are higher than a thousand meters, including36 big apices and 36 small apices. Among those apices, LotusPeak is the highest while Tiandu Peakis the steepest.

    6. Sunrise: It will be such amagnificent scene like you have never seen before. Sunrise among the mountains and peaks, abovethe cloud sea will make you never want it to stop. The sunrise time differs indifferent seasons: 5:30am-6:00am in spring; 4:40am-5:20am in summer,4:50am-5:20am in autumn and 5:30am-6:00am in winter.

    7. Sunset: Thesunset dyes a golden color to all the mountains around. Image being on the topof Huangshan and enjoy the beautiful sunset. Guangming Top, Paiyun Pavilion andDanxia Apices are the best place to appreciate this wonderful sunset scene.

    8. Buddha lights: According to statistics in weather department, there are 2-5 times when Buddhalights take place on Huangshan each month. The best times when the lightsappear are after rain before 9am and late afternoon when it's going to rainsoon. Places above 1,600 meters of altitude are the best places to see thelights, such as Tiandu Peak, Lotus Apices,Guangming Top, Shixin Apices, Danxia Apices, etc.

    9. Rimed trees and Glaze: During winter, the temperature usually drops below zero, so fog or raindrops will become ice sticking to trees or rocks. This phenomenon is call RimedTrees. Cold rain drops on the ground and forms some hard see-through substance;this is called Glaze. On average, there are 62 days of rimed trees and 35.9days for glaze each year. Rimed trees can last for 24 days straight with adiameter of 23.2 centimeters. Glaze can also last for almost 25 days straight,with a maximum of diameter 41.3 centimeters.

    10. Plants and animals: Huangshan is also called the 'gene storage, the amusement park for bird'. Ifyou are lucky enough, you will see short-tailed monkeys, squirrels, thrush,etc.


  • What should I notice when climbing Yellow Mountains?

    Here we would like to provide you some useful tips to make your trip more enjoyable.

    1. Wear comfortable shoes like mountain climbing shoes or sports shoes. Leather shoesor shoes with plastic bottom are not advised because they are too slippery formountain roads. A walking stick is pretty necessary.

    2. Please prepare: raincoat (it is windy on the mountain so umbrella is not suggested), gloves, flashlight, walking sticks, enough fresh water, snacks that can keep youenergetic like beef jerky and chocolate.

    3. Lean forward a little when you climb the mountain, and walk in a "Z" shaped way to avoid from getting too tired.

    4. Walking fast is not good for mountain climbing, and to keep save, when you look at sceneries, please stop walking. It is dangerous to look at scenes while walking.

    5. When storm happens, water can flow very fast. So keep off from water when it's going to rain.

    6. When taking pictures on a high peak, photographers should not move after selecting shootingspot, especially not move backwards, in case there is a cliff behind.

    7. Please do not carve, paint or write on the architectures on Yellow Mountains, because most of them are protected historical sites.

    8. Please do not smoke in no-smoking area. After smoking in smoking area, please throw out thecigarette end in garbage cans.

    9. Please do not throw garbage along side the mountain road. A tree-shaped garbage can can be found every several meters away.


  • Any ropeway there?

    Yes. There are three ropeways on the mountain: Yuping Ropeway (Jade Screen Ropeway) which isfrom Ciguang Pavalion to Yuping pavilion, Yungu Ropeway (Cloud Valley Ropeway)which is from Yungu Temple to Bai'e Mountainsrange, and Taiping Ropeway ( Peace Ropeway) which is from Songgu Nunnery toSonglin Apices.

    • Each cable car on Yungu Ropeway can hold 50 people at atime, 300 people each hour. But it takes long time to wait for this ropewayduring golden holiday week or weekends.

    • Yuping Ropeway was built in 1996, it is the newest and most advancedropeway. Each cable car can hold 6 people at a time, and 800 to 1,000 peopleeach hour. It's good choice to take Yuping Ropeway when there are a lot ofvisitors to Huangshan.

    • Taiping Ropeway is the longest ropeway and can hold most passengers.Each cable car can hold up to 100 people.

    The prices for theride on the three ropeways are all the same, which is 65RMB/ticket during peakseason and 55RMB/ticket during low seasons.


  • Can I buy ropeway tickets from tour guides? Is it safe?

    When buy ropewaytickets, you will see some tour guides in front of the ticket counter trying to sell ropeway tickets.

    They are safe. No need to doubt the credibility of the tickets, because usually Yellow Mountains ropeways sell 16 tickets to tour guides and another ticket for free, or there must be at least 16 people in the tour for atour guide to get a free ticket so he can go with his tour.

    So usually tour guides will have to buy 16 tickets himself, get a free ticket and sell other tickets. So the tickets that tour guides sell are safe to buy.


Considered as "the Land of Peach Blossom" or "Home in Wonderland" for its beauty and tranquility, Xidi village is also called "a treasure house of ancient resident architecture" for its well-preserved ancient houses and archways in Ming and Qing dynasties.

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